Donates $35,000 to Jesuit Refugee Service in their honor
Donates $35,000 to Jesuit Refugee Service in their honorMOORESVILLE — Amid smiles, tears and much applause, the four Jesuit priests of St. Thérèse Parish took the stage at a special celebration in their honor April 29 in the Parish Life Center. Hundreds of parishioners attended one of two celebrations that day to express their thanks for the many years of service the Jesuits have given to the Church in western North Carolina.
Starting July 11, 2017, the parish will revert to the care of priests of the Diocese of Charlotte. The Jesuit order is turning the parish back over to the diocese because of lack of manpower to continue serving the parish.
Jesuit Father Frank Reese rejoices as parishioners applaud for him in celebration of his 90th birthday.St. Thérèse Church has seen explosive growth since its founding. Established in 1956, the Mooresville parish has been among the fastest-growing parishes in the diocese in recent years. It now ranks as the diocese’s third-largest parish with 4,041 registered families, behind St. Matthew Church in Charlotte (10,000-plus families) and St. Mark Church in Huntersville (5,400 families), according to diocesan statistics.
During the evening celebration April 29, Father Vince Curtin, pastor, and Fathers Frank Reese, Dominic Totaro and Don Ward humbly accepted a $35,000 check to Jesuit Refugee Service from parishioners. According to organizers, the amount donated surpassed the original goal by $10,000.
Janet Manzullo, a parishioner for 11 years, serves on the parish finance council and helped organize the JRS donation. She also served as emcee for the celebration. “Father Vince said, ‘We don’t want a gift. The pope has asked us as Jesuits to double our efforts with Jesuit Refugee Services, so I would rather you do that and give a gift.’
“They are so loving and they are so giving. They don’t want anything in return. They are such a great example to me and to our community here of giving and loving. They are wonderful people. They were key to our growth,” Manzullo said.
“Thank you very much,” Father Curtin said after the check presentation. “We all have said together what a gift it is to be here among you. This is a terrific Christian community. Just keep on keeping on. It’s wonderful. We want to say a personal farewell. We’re going to have some more parties. This is the start of the season!” he joked.
Father Curtin then took time to recognize Father Totaro and Father Reese, who are celebrating special events this summer. Father Totaro marks 50 years a priest in June and Father Reese is celebrating his 90th birthday. Each priest was given a special plaque to mark their milestones.
Marsha Beck and her husband Dick have been members of St. Thérèse Church for the past 25 years. “We have loved the Jesuits here for their understanding of humanity and their generous spirits. They have set us aglow at St. Thérèse, and we cry at their leaving.”
Denise and Ray Pausback, parishioners for 24 years, are also sad the Jesuits are leaving. “The Jesuits are very community minded, so we’ve done a lot more volunteering under this leadership,” Denise Pausback said. “We’ve done much more community outreach. We’ve become much more involved in the Christian way of life. The Jesuits bring that to the table.”
Parishioner Marilyn Schammel agreed. “We’ve enjoyed having the Jesuits here and we are sad that they are leaving,” she said.
“This is a very bittersweet moment,” Manzullo said. “We’ve been avoiding this moment for almost a year. But we’re very happy for our priests moving on to their next step. We look forward to hearing lots of good things that they will continue to do like they have done for us here.”
Looking at all four priests she continued, “On behalf everyone here, we can’t thank you enough for what you have done, for what you have built and what you have given to us. We thank you very much.”
Father Curtin will move to Portland, Maine, to serve as senior priest at Our Lady of Hope Church. Father Totaro will move to Washington, D.C., to serve as a consultant on the Spiritual Exercises at Gonzaga High School. Father Ward will move to Richmond, Va., to serve as priest in residence at Sacred Heart Church. Father Reese will join the community of senior Jesuits at St. Claude de Columbere House in Baltimore, Md.
Jesuits will continue to staff two other parishes in North Carolina: St. Peter Church in Charlotte and St. Raphael the Archangel Church in Raleigh.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
Pictured: Jesuit priests of St. Thérèse Parish accept a $35,000 donation to Jesuit Refugee Service in their honor April 29.(Photos by SueAnn Howell | Catholic News Herald)
COLUMBUS, Ohio — It was a day of great joy at the Pontifical College Josephinum, as the seminary celebrated its 118th commencement exercises on May 13. Members of the graduating class – 44 seminarians from 17 dioceses in the United States and abroad – were awarded degrees from the College of Liberal Arts, Pre-Theology Program or School of Theology, and thereby became alumni of the only pontifical seminary outside of Italy.
Graduates from the Diocese of Charlotte were Deacon Matthew Bean, Deacon Brian Becker Deacon Christopher Bond and Deacon Christian Cook, all of whom are expected to be ordained to the priesthood in June; and seminarian Juan Sanchez. Joseph Wasswa, also pictured, did not receive a degree, but completed some courses in the Pre-Theology Program, which he needed in order to apply to the School of Theology.
The day’s festivities began with a baccalaureate Mass celebrated by Monsignor Christopher J. Schreck, the Josephinum's rector and president. He was joined at the altar by many concelebrating priest faculty and visiting clergy.
Father Dan Schmitmeyer, vcoations director for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, in his homily defined the day as one “of joy and happiness. Joy for our graduates as they finish their (studies), move on to the next step in their lives, and continue to discern who God wants them to be. And joy and happiness for all of their friends and family gathered here today to congratulate them on all of their hard work.”
Baccalaureate Mass and commencement exercises were held in the restored and renovated St. Turibius Chapel, rededicated on April 24, 2017, by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States and chancellor of the Josephinum.
Monsignor Schreck’s commencement remarks referenced the profound impact the renovation has on the lives of seminarians at the Josephinum.
“Today, we confer degrees for the first time in this newly restored St. Turibius Chapel,” he said. “The new outpouring of spiritual energy which the Holy Spirit will infuse into the future liturgical and prayer life of this seminary, through this uplifting and edifying art and architecture of this sacred place, will make the chapel’s rededication and these 118th commencement exercises one of the great historical markers in Josephinum history.”
At commencement, degree candidates were presented by Dr. Perry J. Cahall, dean of the School of Theology, and Dr. David J. De Leonardis, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Degrees were conferred by Monsignor Schreck, in the presence of Bishop Frederick F. Campbell of Columbus, vice chancellor of the Josephinum.
A Bachelor of Arts in philosophy or humanities was awarded to 13 graduates of the College of Liberal Arts. Twelve Pre-Theology graduates earned a Bachelor of Philosophy or Certificate of Completion in Philosophical and Theological Studies.
The Master of Divinity degree, which signifies fulfillment of the requirements for priestly ordination, was awarded to 19 graduates of the School of Theology, 10 of whom completed the additional academic requirements of a Master of Arts in dogmatic theology, moral theology, biblical studies or evangelization. The Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology (STB), a pontifical degree conferred by the Josephinum in affiliation with the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, was awarded to 10 of the deacons.
College Senior Class Representative Daniel Rice, a seminarian from the Diocese of Arlington, Va., was invited to offer the valedictory address.
As alumni of the Josephinum, “we take with us a depth of inquiry, a sense of wonder, continuing to ask the most important questions about God, the world, and human nature,” he said. A graduate “leaves (the Josephinum) a better man, formed in the heart of the Church, more in love with Jesus Christ, and ready to pursue Him in another life.”
The 118th commencement exercises marked a defining moment in the vocational journey of the seminarians who received degrees. A majority of College and Pre-Theology graduates will continue their priestly discernment as they undertake graduate theological study. Graduates of the School of Theology return to their respective dioceses for priestly ordination. The Ordination Class of 2017 will join nearly 1,200 ordained alumni who currently serve the universal Church in nearly every U.S. state and in 18 different countries.
“We give thanks for the great events of this day,” Monsignor Schreck said. “In our bittersweet sense of loss and gain, of happiness at achievement and sorrow at departure, we proudly send our graduates forth into the world and into the vineyard of priestly ordination.”
— Carolyn A. Dinovo, Director of Communications, Pontifical College Josephinum