CHARLOTTE — On July 1, 1995, after completing several years of formation for the diaconate, three Hispanic men waited excitedly in the halls of St. Gabriel Church to receive the sacred orders that would consecrate them as deacons of the Catholic Church.
Carlos Medina, a native of Nicaragua, and Rafael Torres and Edwin Rodríguez of Puerto Rico were among 11 deacon candidates ordained that day by then Bishop William G. Curlin. It was the first ordination featuring several Latino deacon candidates, and the three men became the nucleus of what today is a growing Latino diaconate presence among the diocese’s parishes.
Early days
In the early 1990s, there were few Hispanics in the Charlotte diocese and finding a Spanish-speaking priest or deacon was rare. The Latino community gathered for Mass at the Catholic Center, on the corner of Shenandoah Avenue and The Plaza, where Our Lady of the Assumption Church was formerly located.
The three new deacons were assigned to the Catholic Center, where Bishop Curlin urged them to “ignite their communities with the fire of Jesus.”
Vincentian Father Vincent Finnerty, who was in charge of Hispanic Ministry in Charlotte at the time, welcomed the new deacons and put them to work in various parishes.
Since then the diocese has grown and changed, and the Latino community now comprises approximately half of the estimated 450,000 Catholics in western North Carolina.
The need for Spanish-speaking clergy remains, but most parishes across the diocese now offer liturgies in Spanish and have clergy who can minister to the growing and diverse Latino community.
The diocese’s Hispanic Ministry, led by Father Fidel Melo, now comprises nine vicariate coordinators. Diocesan events such as the Eucharistic Congress and the Marian Rosary Congress now regularly have Spanish programs that attract thousands. There are three Latino seminarians, and six of the young men studying at St. Joseph College Seminary are Latino.
It all began with these pioneers, who paved the way for a new generation of Latino Catholics who are reaping the harvest that these men planted in fertile ground more than 20 years ago.
Deacon Carlos Medina
Born in Nicaragua, Deacon Medina came to the United States in 1978 to escape a revolution that was bleeding his country.
At the age of 29, he initially settled with his wife and four children in Miami. He wanted to return to Nicaragua, but the war with the Sandinistas made going home impossible.
Looking for better horizons for his family, in 1981 he decided to move to Charlotte.
“The trip made me cry a lot,” he confesses, because the uncertainty of taking his family into an unknown future was hard to bear.
“God took me out of the war and I had to do something,” he thought, and that’s when his commitment and future were transformed.
After moving to Charlotte, he went to pray at St. Patrick Cathedral, thinking: “I do not have anything, and I do not come to ask for anything. I just want to do something for my church.”
He got involved at church, serving as an usher, lector and extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. His faith deepened through involvement with the Cursillo Movement and the diocese’s Lay Ministry program, and he soon felt called to serve God and His Church even more. After talking with his wife, he presented himself to then Bishop John Donoghue to inquire about the diaconate.
He prayed, seeking confirmation from God that it was His will he become a deacon. He went before the Blessed Sacrament and prayed that God’s will be done. “If you want me to be a deacon, I will be, no matter who opposes. But if you do not want it, it doesn’t matter who can help me,” he prayed.
He was ordained in 1995 and was assigned to Sacred Heart Parish in Salisbury, to assist Father Thomas Clements in starting a Hispanic ministry. Then he served for five years at St. Dorothy Church in Lincolnton. In 2002 he was assigned to serve at St. Patrick Cathedral, where he continues to attend daily to Bishop Peter Jugis in his pastoral work.
Deacon Rafael Torres
Puerto Rican native Deacon Torres is a veteran of the Vietnam War who moved to Texas after his job as a refinery supervisor in Puerto Rico ended when the refinery closed in 1982. He did not find work near his brother in Texas at the time, so he and his wife and three children moved to Charlotte where another of his brothers lived. The disruptions in his life caused him to draw closer to his Catholic faith, and he began frequenting the Catholic Center in Charlotte on Friday nights to pray the rosary.
There he met Sister Pilar Dalmau, who was in charge of the center at the time and offered the Cursillo de Cristiandad with instructors from Miami. They trained several faithful, among them Deacon Torres. He was among three who completed the program and continued through to diaconate formation.
Deacon Torres has served at the Catholic Center, in the diocesan Tribunal, and at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Charlotte. For the past 20-plus years he has attended Mass at St. Luke Church in Mint Hill, where every Sunday he preaches the homily for the 1 p.m. bilingual Mass.
Thanks to his commitment, attendance at that Mass has increased notably until reaching more than 400 people who fill the church today.
Deacon Edwin Rodríguez
Also ordained with Deacon Medina and Deacon Torres in 1995 was Deacon Rodríguez. Born in 1948 in Rincón, Puerto Rico, he was married and had three children. Before his death in 2012, he served at St. Mark Parish in Huntersville.
— Cesar Hurtado, Hispanic reporter
