HUNTERSVILLE — Nearly 60 parishioners of St. Mark Church gathered at Northlake Memorial Gardens Cemetery for an outdoor Mass for the repose of all the faithful departed.
The Mass was offered by Father Cory Catron, parochial vicar, and assisted by Deacon Louis Pais. The Mass was followed by a procession around the grounds to bless the graves.
Unlike many in society, Father Catron said in his homily, Catholics are more comfortable with death because we put our hope in a living God knowing that we too will rise again with Him.
He said that we remember all those loved ones who have gone before us here at the altar on this day, all throughout this month and every day of our lives we pray that God has mercy upon them. During the procession and blessing of the graves, the group prayed the Litany of the Saints, led by Nancy McGahey.
— Photo provided by Amy Burger
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HUNTERSVILLE — St. Mark preschoolers also dressed as their favorite saint and took part in an annual All Saints Day procession at the school.
— Photo provided by Amy Burger
WINSTON-SALEM — At an All Saints Day Fair at Our Lady of Mercy Church, students learned about and dressed up as various saints, including one student who wore the old habit of the Franciscan Sisters of Philadelphia, pictured with Sister Kathy Grniel, a member of that order.
— Photo provided by Conventual Franciscan Father Carl Zdancewicz
DENVER — Holy Spirit held an All Saints Celebration for children on October 30th. This photo features the Living Saints Museum. Saint is Elizabeth Ann Seton is portrayed by Sarah Bartro as Crystal King with children Carter and Clare learn about the saint's life. Other activities included games and crafts, a reading nook and a saints selfie station.
— Doreen Sugierski
FOREST CITY — Children at Immaculate Conception Church celebrated Halloween as All Hallows’ Day by dressing up as their favorite saint. Saints represented in the photo include St. Faustina, accompanied by Jesus, St. Teresa of Calcutta, St. Patrick, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Joseph, St. Francis, St. Philomena, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Michael the Archangel, and St. John Paul II.
— Giuliana Polinari Riley | Catholic News Herald
HUNTERSVILLE — St. Mark students attended Mass Nov. 3 to celebrate All Saints Day. The yearly tradition sees all of the second-grade students come to Mass dressed as their favorite saint. But it is not just a dress-up day for the students. It is part of a larger class project where they study their saint, create poster and make class presentations for their sacrament preparation leading up to their first Holy Communion in the spring.
— Photo provided by Amy Burger
CHARLOTTE — St. Ann parish offered a Missa Cantata (High Mass in the Extraordinary Form) for the feast of All Souls’ Day. The Mass was offered by pastor Father Timothy Reid and after Mass, Father Reid vested in a new black requiem cope to offer prayers for the parish’s deceased members. The cope was funded by an initiative of the Charlotte Latin Mass Community and St. Ann parishioners. The evening also featured two other requiem Masses, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte and St. Michael Church in Gastonia.
— Mike FitzGerald | Catholic News Herald
GASTONIA — Students at St. Michael School also researched and dressed up as their favorite saint in preparation for All Saints Day. After their research was complete, students wrote a narrative about the saint’s life in the first person. Students then memorized their narrative and presented it at the “Saints Alive” museum. On Oct. 28, the “saints” took their place in the museum (a.k.a. gym), and held their pose until the red button on their back was pushed. Once their button was pushed, the saint came alive and told all about his or her life to the visitors. Parents, students and staff were impressed with the students’ depiction of their saint and some even said they learned a lot from the young saints!
— Photo provided by Tammy Eason
CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte has again passed an annual independent audit of its child protection procedures.
The yearly audit conducted in August by Stonebridge Business Partners of Rochester, N.Y., monitors U.S. dioceses’ compliance with the U.S. bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which addresses the Church’s commitment to respond effectively, appropriately and compassionately to cases of abuse of minors by clergy or other Church personnel.
The diocese’s efforts to ensure the protection of children include criminal background checks and educational awareness programs on recognizing and preventing abuse. Auditors have found the Charlotte diocese in compliance with the Charter every year since its inception.
In the previous fiscal year (July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016), the diocese conducted 5,339 background checks, which are required for all clergy, religious, employees and volunteers.
Since 2002, more than 45,000 adults have also received training in the safe environment awareness program entitled “Protecting God’s Children.” Last fiscal year, the diocese held 211 “Protecting God’s Children” workshops for 3,711 participants.
“Protecting God’s Children” helps adults learn to recognize the warning signs of abuse and the many ways that sexual abuse harms victims, families, parishes and communities. It teaches them appropriate ways to respond to suspicious behaviors and how they can help to prevent abuse.
The diocese has invested about $1.1 million over the past 12 fiscal years in the training program to prevent abuse.
The cost of these various child protection measures and the compliance review totaled $103,944 during the previous fiscal year.
The diocese provided financial assistance to, or on behalf of victims, totaling $17,408, all of which was for counseling and medical services. The diocese also incurred costs in connection with sexual misconduct lawsuits totaling $10,323.
Diocesan insurance funds and the diocesan general fund were used for payment. As in the past, none of these funds came from the Diocesan Support Appeal or from parish savings.
— Catholic News Herald