Celebrations begin Jan. 12 with Masses at cathedral, across diocese
CHARLOTTE — In a celebration of faith across western North Carolina, the Diocese of Charlotte will commemorate its 50th anniversary throughout 2022 – beginning in January with a special Mass and Holy Hour across its 92 parishes and missions.
The yearlong observance, themed “Faith more precious than gold” (1 Peter 1:7), will feature a variety of events and activities including 50 Acts of Charity, a Marian Pilgrimage to 100-plus sites, Catholic Family Day at Carowinds, Charlotte Knights baseball and more.
Bishop Peter Jugis will formally open the 50th anniversary year on Wednesday, Jan. 12, at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte. A Holy Hour will be offered at 5:30 p.m., followed by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at 7 p.m. It also will be livestreamed on the diocese’s YouTube channel, www.youtube/DioceseofCharlotte.
In a spirit of unity and communion, parishes also will offer Masses and a Holy Hour Jan. 12. Parishioners should check their parish’s bulletin or website for details.
“Our parishes will play the most significant role in our anniversary celebration since it is our parishioners and priests, along with our deacons and consecrated religious, who – with the grace of God – have allowed this diocese to thrive for 50 years,” Bishop Jugis told the Catholic News Herald. “With their creativity and passion, our parishes will find fitting ways to localize and acknowledge this special moment in our history, and we hope everyone will join us.”
In a recent letter proclaiming the anniversary year, the bishop noted that the celebration is particularly needed given current times.
Opening Mass Worship Aid
“During the pandemic, we have lived through a period of many trials, difficulties, and obstacles,” he wrote. “By God’s mercy, we continue to prevail. After much separation and isolation, we have in God’s providence the ability to come together in celebration of our unity as one family of God.
“During this year...we will celebrate in the present with joy and devotion; we will have the opportunity to recall our past and celebrate our diocese’s history; and we will resolve to strengthen our diocesan family and look for even greater ways to glorify God.”
Bishop Jugis is the diocese’s fourth and longest-serving bishop, installed in 2003, and has presided over significant multicultural growth among Catholics and communities from Greensboro to Murphy, in the westernmost tip of North Carolina. Now with more than 515,000 Catholics, the diocese is among the fastest growing in the country.
Launching in early January, the special anniversary website www.faithmorepreciousthangold.com will showcase the diocese’s history, treasured sites and communities that make the diocese what it is today.
The website will help visitors track parishes’ progress toward performing 50 Acts of Charity in their communities in acknowledgment of the anniversary and in addition to their ongoing charitable work.
Visitors can also follow a Marian pilgrimage featuring a special statue of Mary, Mother of God – the diocese’s patroness – that will visit parishes, schools and other Catholic sites throughout the year.
Events and programs will highlight the diocese’s shared faith and history, as well as its diversity and progress. The 2022 Eucharistic Congress, scheduled for Aug. 5-6 at the Charlotte Convention Center, will be a central highlight. Started by Bishop Jugis in 2005, the Congress serves as a “family reunion” that now draws well over 10,000 Catholics to celebrate Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist.
The Charlotte diocese was formally established on Jan. 12, 1972, when Bishop Michael Begley was ordained and installed as the first Bishop of Charlotte. The diocese was carved out of the Diocese of Raleigh, which previously encompassed the entire state – splitting North Carolina into two dioceses, each with approximately 30,000 Catholics at the time.
The bishop noted in his proclamation, “My brothers and sisters, let us recall once more that anything we celebrate in this anniversary year is a celebration of Christ. Whatever is good and praiseworthy in the diocese, which is composed of many branches connected to the true vine, comes from God.
We are His instruments and cooperators in carrying out His message of love and reconciliation.
And as Mary, the patroness of our diocese, is so closely connected with her Son’s work for our salvation, we also draw close to her in this special year of grace. May Christ’s hand guide our endeavors, and may Mary’s mantle always protect our work to further Christ’s Kingdom.”
— Catholic News Herald
Local, national marches resume in 2022
CHARLOTTE — The COVID-19 pandemic made giving public witness to the sanctity of all human life more challenging over the past two years.
Now that restrictions on larger gatherings have eased, pro-life advocates are encouraging people to attend March for Life events locally, and if possible, in the nation’s capital.
Mass and March for Life Raleigh
The Diocese of Raleigh will host its annual Mass and March for Life Raleigh Saturday, Jan. 15. Mass begins at 11 a.m. at Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, located at 715 Nazareth St., Raleigh. The rally and march begins at 1 p.m. in Bicentennial Plaza. For details, go to www.ncrtl.org/rally-and-march-for-life.
More information
Questions about pro-life activities happening in the Diocese of Charlotte during January? Contact Jessica Grabowski, director of the diocese’s Respect Life program, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 704-370-3229.
D.C. March for Life
Thousands of pro-life advocates from all over the country are expected to travel to Washington, D.C., for the national March for Life on Friday, Jan. 21. Organizers say it’s the largest annual human rights demonstration in the world.
The theme for the 2022 March for Life is “Equality begins in the womb.”
A rally will be held at noon on the National Mall, then at 1 p.m. participants will march up Constitution Avenue to the U.S. Supreme Court to pray.
Parishes from around the diocese are making plans to send busloads of parishioners to participate in various March for Life events Jan. 20-21.
Raleigh Bishop Luis Zarama will offer the annual Mass for Life for North Carolina pilgrims to the march, starting at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 21, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Priests from both the Charlotte and Raleigh dioceses will concelebrate.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
Annual March for Life still on this year in Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 49th annual national March for Life -- with a rally on the National Mall and march to the Supreme Court Jan. 21 -- will go on as scheduled this year amid a surge in the omicron variant in the nation's capital.
Outdoor events are not affected by the District of Columbia's vaccine mandate for indoor gatherings, but participants should expect to wear face masks. Indoor events associated with the annual march will have to comply with city COVID-19 restrictions.
The national Pro-Life Summit, sponsored by Students for Life, is also scheduled to take place Jan. 22 at Washington's Omni Shoreham Hotel. The event will feature former Vice President Mike Pence as its keynote speaker. Pence has been a frequent March for Life speaker, and in 2020 he introduced President Donald Trump at the event's rally.
The March for Life has canceled its three-day Pro-Life Expo and is combining two planned Capitol Hill 101 panel discussions Jan. 20 into a single event. The organization is still holding its annual Rose Dinner Gala.
Participants who are 12 and older attending the panel discussion or dinner will have to provide proof of receiving one COVID-19 vaccination by Jan. 15, or, if they are seeking a medical or religious exemption, they must have proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 24 hours of the event.
The Pro-Life summit is also requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination following the city's regulations. The summit, which in previous years has drawn more than 2,000 high school and college students, notes on its website that it is accepting vaccine exemptions "for a strongly (or sincerely) held religious belief ... in writing or orally" and it is also requiring masks at all events.
March for Life never projects attendance figures, but an informal survey by Catholic News Service of a few groups planning to attend this year's march indicates that the turnout may approach pre-pandemic levels.
Last year's march was turned into a virtual event due to the pandemic and the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Only an invited group of 80, joined midway by more than 100 others, marched from the nearby Museum of the Bible to just behind the Supreme Court. It was the first outdoor event in Washington since the Capitol violence, with both the Capitol and Supreme Court surrounded by high fences.
In previous years, total attendance for the rally and march up Constitution Avenue was estimated to be as high as 100,000.
"We have nearly 250 students and faculty headed to D.C.," said Ed Konieczka, assistant director of university ministry at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. "That is five full buses -- our largest contingent since leading the march in 2017."
A similar number was estimated by organizers of the bus caravan for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana.
However, the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire, decided in December 2021 that the COVID-19 risk was too high to sponsor a bus caravan.
Bevin Kennedy, diocesan secretary for communications, cited "the difficulty of monitoring and mitigating the COVID risk with a group of over 100 participants."
The march is held annually on a date nearest the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion.
The first march was held Jan. 22, 1974, organized by Nellie Gray, a government lawyer, and the Knights of Columbus. The idea was to form a "circle of life" around the Capitol and the Supreme Court. Jeanne Mancini assumed leadership of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund after Gray died in 2012.
This year's theme is "Equality Begins in the Womb." The rally is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with a performance by singer Matthew West. The march starts at 1:15 p.m. after the political speeches are completed.
There is considerable anticipation that this year's march could be the last one with the Roe decision hanging in the balance.
Later this year, the Supreme Court will announce its decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, an appeal by Mississippi to remove a lower court's injunction on its law banning most abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.
If the court rules in favor of the state law, it will effectively overturn Roe v. Wade and send abortion laws back to the states.
— Kurt Jensen, Catholic News Service
March for Life Charlotte
The 16th annual March for Life Charlotte was held Friday, Jan. 14, to mark the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion. Part prayer vigil, part public march, the event is meant to be a time of prayer to call attention to the more than 63 million lives lost to abortion since 1973, and the need to end the tragedy of abortion.
It began with a 9 a.m. Mass for the Unborn offered at St. Vincent de Paul Church, located at 6828 Old Reid Road in Charlotte.
At noon the march kicked off from the Pastoral Center towards Independence Square at the corner of Trade and Tryon streets.
Father Ernest Nebangongjoh, parochial vicar at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte, preached during a brief program in Independence Square.
Dr. Matt Harrison, a Catholic physician who pioneered the abortion pill reversal procedure, also spoke.
Then the rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy was prayed to conclude the march.
See the full schedule and other details at www.marchforlifecharlotte.org.
For inquiries, contact Tina Witt with March for Life Charlotte at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 704-301-2531.