'I'm so grateful for your yes'
Bishop Martin tells priests: Proclaim the Good News to a world in need
HUNTERSVILLE — The spiraling, majestic sounds of organ and trumpet greeted a procession of more than 100 priests who filed into St. Mark Church Tuesday morning for the annual Chrism Mass.
Held each year at the beginning of Holy Week, the Chrism Mass is a special liturgy where oils used in the Church’s sacred rituals and sacraments are consecrated and priests renew their promises and commitment to their ministry.
Bishop Michael Martin called on his fellow priests to go out and “proclaim the Good News to a world in need” during his first Chrism Mass since being ordained as Bishop of Charlotte in May 2024.
The Chrism Mass was moved this year to St. Mark from St. Patrick Cathedral to enable more people to attend, especially students, families and those preparing to enter the Church at Easter. A diverse crowd of more than 650 people filled the pews, including many families with children and a group of 30 students from Holy Trinity Middle School in Charlotte.
“Immersed as we are in Holy Week, we come to a sacred moment where we celebrate God’s gift of the priesthood and these sacred oils,” Bishop Martin told the congregation.
He gave an emotional homily that focused on the promises priests make when they are ordained. The solemn ritual of the day reminded him of his ordination as a priest and as a bishop, he said, but “most importantly, the emotion most prominent in my heart is the memory of two priests in particular in my own faith journey that were unconditional in their sharing of the Good News.”
He invited the congregation to close their eyes for a moment and “picture a priest whose presence in your life was transformational.”
He told the gathered priests that the images brought to mind in that moment reflected the life-changing work priests are doing. He reminded the men that their ministry requires them to offer unconditional love and “spiritual fatherhood” not only to their congregation, but to everyone, especially the poor and marginalized.
“Any time we accept spiritual fatherhood, we accept unconditional responsibility,” he said. “We don’t get to pick our flock. In fact, we’re called constantly to expand our vision of who our flock really is – not simply those who go to church every Sunday but every soul who inhabits the area where we’re sent to serve.”
“What does unconditional responsibility mean?” he asked. “It means deep within the core of our being there is a heart of love that is always expanding in its desire to go out and love unconditionally those who we are called to serve.”
He added, “And like Jesus, who in the Scriptures spent much more time outside the synagogue, outside the temple, may we accept that same responsibility unconditionally, to get outside of our churches, outside of our chapels, outside of our offices, and go out and encounter the People of God – especially those most on the margins.”
Bishop Martin said he fights the temptation daily to “make his world smaller” as responsibilities and demands pile up, and he acknowledged that can happen to parish priests as they deal with tasks that can seem to take away from the work they promised to do at their ordination.
He encouraged the men to work “not to narrow the focus but to broaden it,” to always be willing to reach out to share the Good News of Christ with all they encounter.
“Praise God for the ways in which you all have been unconditional in your love for the people entrusted to you, and our Church is richer because of that,” he said. “Praise God for you…I’m so grateful for your yes. I am so grateful for your service. I’m so grateful for your love of the People of God.”
Bishop Martin then blessed the holy oils which are used in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, ordination of priests and anointing of the sick, as well as the consecration of churches and altars.
After the Mass, many people gathered in the courtyard to take photos with Bishop Martin and priests who attended.
The day offered people a chance to reconnect with priests they know and thank them for their ministry, said Kathleen RoseBellow, a member of St. Mark.
“It was a beautiful Mass – you could feel the holiness and a real blessing,” she said. Seeing so many priests together was just very moving. and the consecration of the oils was beautiful.”
Steve Hansen, who attends St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Mars Hill, was attending his first Chrism Mass and said it was a special experience for him as he prepares to enter the Church at the Easter Vigil on April 19.
“It’s a powerful Mass to witness,” Hansen said. “There was so much reverence and it was an awesome thing to see for someone like me who is brand new to the Church.”
— Christina Lee Knauss. Photos by Amy Burger and Troy C. Hull.
Watch the blessing of the holy oils
On the Diocese of Charlotte's YouTube channel, watch a video highlight from the Chrism Mass of the blessing of the holy oils
Jubilarian priests
Priests celebrating milestone anniversaries of ordination this year were recognized by Bishop Martin at the conclusion of the Chrism Mass:
- Father James K. Solari, 70 years
Father Richard N. Hanson, 50 years
Father Lawrence W. Heiney, 50 years
Father Joseph V. Milligan, 50 years
Father Francis J. O’Rourke, 50 years
Father David T. Brzoska, 25 years
Father Joseph L. Dinh, 25 years
Father Christopher M. Gober, 25 years
Father Matthew Kauth, 25 years
Father Shawn O’Neal, 25 years
Father Baiju P. Puthussery, 25 years
Father Frank J. Seabo, 25 years
More than 1,000 teens – a record crowd – attend first event led by Bishop Martin
BELMONT — Bishop Michael Martin encouraged a record crowd at the 2025 Diocese of Charlotte’s Bishop’s Youth Pilgrimage to respond to Jesus with hope.
The Bishop’s Youth Pilgrimage brought together more than 1,000 young people on Saturday to Belmont Abbey College for worship, engaging talks, fellowship, live music, food and games. Held each spring for the past 21 years, the event’s theme this year, “Hope Does Not Disappoint,” mirrored the 2025 Jubilee Year of the Church.
It was a theme that Bishop Martin emphasized in his homily to the teens, his first time attending the event since becoming Bishop of Charlotte. He presided over an outdoor morning Mass for the crowd on the sprawling lawn of Belmont Abbey College, with attendees enjoying clear skies and mild temperatures.
Bishop Martin asked the crowd of young people, “If I said, ‘Thank you,’ you all say?”
They replied with a resounding “you’re welcome.” He then asked them what someone would say after a sneeze. “God bless you,” they responded.
He told them that they should respond to Jesus just as enthusiastically – and with hope, not hesitation.
“My prayer is that at each response moment, your voices will be heard, not just by the person sitting next to you but by the people in the back, by the people driving by, and most importantly by the Lord our God. I hope that that’s how we all want to respond,” he said.
“And hope…” he continued, holding his microphone out to the crowd as they responded to complete the theme’s phrase, “never disappoints.”
He repeatedly cheered on the young people using that theme, saying the first part of the phrase with the crowd finishing it.
“The nature of our relationship with our God is call and response,” he explained. “He will do the things He said He will do. You can trust in Him.”
The Bishop’s Youth Pilgrimage, a teen rally that serves as a prelude to the Diocese of Charlotte’s Eucharistic Congress this fall, is organized by the diocese’s Faith Formation Office in partnership with Belmont Abbey College. The college’s 100 volunteer Hintemeyer Scholars assist college and diocesan staff in putting on the event.
The event began early Saturday morning with busloads of teen pilgrims arriving from all across the Charlotte diocese for the day of praise, reflection, fellowship and growth. Some left well before dawn to travel to Belmont.
St. Joseph in Asheboro brought the largest group of young people, 122. Divine Redeemer in Boonville left around 6 a.m. to make the trek, almost two hours away, with more than 80 youth group members.
The young people filled the lawn in front of historic Mary Help of Christians Basilica – a Jubilee Year pilgrimage site – sitting on blankets and folding chairs, donning event T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Hope Does Not Disappoint.”
Kicking off the day’s events, keynote speaker Father Stan Fortuna, who is professed with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in New York, told the crowd every time he thinks of North Carolina, he can’t help but think of Tropical Storm Helene’s aftermath.
“The hurricane did a lot of crushing,” he said. “The way people think and feel is crushing, people can self-destruct, but Lent gives us a path leading you, me, us, over the triumph of mercy, over all that would crush us or reduce us to something unworthy of our dignity as children of God.”
Father Fortuna spoke about the importance of Lent and the need to continually seek God. Mid-speech, he took out his cellphone, put on a beat and started rapping in his signature Bronx style, about God’s Word.
After the keynote address concluded, Gez Ford, a musical missionary from New Jersey, sang the processional hymn to start Mass. Bishop Martin offered Mass alongside Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari of Belmont Abbey and Father Peter Ascik of the diocese’s Family Life Office, as well as other priests, assisted by seminarians of the diocese.
After Mass, the young people dug into more than 300 pizzas and enjoyed games, fellowship and the opportunity to go to confession with Bishop Martin or one of 10 other priests waiting in quiet spots along the edges of the lawn.
“I really like how they do confessions outside, everybody has a good vibe, and this is a good experience,” said Celina Aguilera, a 15-year-old parishioner from St. James in Hamlet.
“It’s more energetic this year, and Bishop Martin is funny,” said 14-year-old Jasmine Martinez, also from St. James, who met the bishop for the first time at this event.
The young people played spike ball, cornhole and volleyball, occasionally having one of the seminarians or speakers join in.
Besides the pilgrimage experience, the Bishop’s Youth Pilgrimage offers teens a unique opportunity to visit Belmont Abbey College and meet its students.
One of the Hintemeyer Scholars, freshman Maria Martin, said the interaction between the teens and the college community is important. “The students see us as people who love our faith,” she said. “I love being a part of a group that helps to revive the faith in the diocese.”
Attendees also had an opportunity to meet the monks of Belmont Abbey and learn more about the Benedictine way of life and religious vocation.
Middle schoolers from Holy Trinity in Charlotte, Will, Liam, Lily and Lena, were impressed with the beauty and charm of the monastery and college campus, which is nearly 150 years old.
Said Lily, “We have not really ever seen Belmont Abbey and hung out on campus. Having (the youth pilgrimage) here is really cool.”
After a performance by singer Ricky Vasquez, Bishop Martin ended the day’s events by leading the young pilgrims in a Eucharistic Procession that wound through the college campus. He held a monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament with Abbot Placid walking alongside him, processing down the tree-lined Abbey Lane.
“The procession reminded me of those mid-century videos of thousands of pilgrims processing to Our Lady of Fatima,” said Luke Hamlyn, a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Charlotte. “It was really beautiful seeing the faith practiced by all these numerous souls.”
The Eucharistic Procession ended at the Benedictine monastery’s cemetery. There, Abbot Placid gave more words of encouragement to the young people.
“We had the closing Benediction here in the Abbey cemetery. That might seem a little bit strange, but what is our motto about hope?” he asked the teens, who then shouted back, “does not disappoint.”
“The monks, the bishops, the priests, the Sisters of Mercy, so many people … who built up the Church of North Carolina, sleeping in hope,” he said of all those buried in the cemetery. “That is what we are celebrating, that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, never dies again, and will come again one day to take all His faithful ones with Him.
“That is the foundation of our hope,” he said, noting that thanks to Jesus, “there are no hopeless situations.”
“It is fitting that we join those who have gone before us in our procession, of the hope of the resurrection that has come to us through baptism,” he said.
— Lisa Geraci, Troy C. Hull and Amelia Kudela
CHARLOTTE — Thousands of people across the Diocese of Charlotte have taken part in a special survey evaluating their faith journey and their parish’s role in facilitating their spiritual growth. Now, leaders are diving into the data to help strengthen the local Church.
The “Disciple Maker Index” invited Catholic adults across western North Carolina to share insights on beliefs, parish participation, relationships and demographics. The survey measured aspects such as Mass experience, preaching and parish life.
The response was significant: 23,365 people from 78 of the diocese’s 93 parishes/missions participated. Top participating parishes included St. Peter, Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Matthew and St. Gabriel in Charlotte; St. Mark in Huntersville; Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission in Cherokee; and St. Joseph in Bryson City. A special outreach effort also gathered input from more than 200 Catholics who identified as inactive.
The data are now being tabulated by the Catholic Leadership Institute, which conducted the survey for free as part of a broader strategic plan for the diocese and Bishop Michael Martin as he enters his second year.
A PARISH SNAPSHOT
The Disciple Maker Index survey used a five-point scale instead of open-ended questions to provide a standardized “snapshot” of a parish, said Tricia Cellucci, a consultant with the Catholic Leadership Institute.
This format will help the diocese and parishes contextualize results, Cellucci said. Parishes can compare results nationally, identifying strengths and opportunities for growth.
“The data are not intended to provide all the answers,” she said. “Rather, the data are intended to start conversations at a parish level as to why parishioners responded in such a way and what it means.”
Focus groups, listening sessions and ministry meetings are some ways to do that, she said.
Bishop Martin is emphasizing the importance of this dialogue and notes that the CLI initiative builds on work done in 2022-2023 for the Synod on Synodality that Pope Francis launched for the Church worldwide.
“The Disciple Maker Index is a gift to the diocese and its parishes,” the bishop said. “Even more importantly, it engages the people of the diocese, and those who are somewhat disengaged from the faith, to help them think about their faith and tell us about their experience.”
“This process is a way of participating in synodality, for the local Church to hear about people’s experience,” he said. “It is an occasion to look at our current circumstances and discern how the Holy Spirit is calling us to walk together, listen and learn from each other as each one of us is called to be missionary disciples of Christ.”
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
After CLI finishes tabulating the results, it will host webinars in May and June for pastors and leaders to analyze their data and develop parish priorities. Parishes also will share their results with parishioners.
This summer, Bishop Martin will review the data alongside independent research and additional feedback CLI is gathering from priests, diocesan employees and other stakeholders.
By fall, he plans to present a strategic pastoral vision to guide the diocese’s future growth and help the people of the diocese better proclaim and live the Gospel.
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle