CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte will host a collection of relics of St. Pio of Pietrelcina – more commonly known as Padre Pio – from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 11, at St. Patrick Cathedral.
A Mass in honor of St. Pio will be offered by Father Christopher Roux, rector, at 8 a.m. Veneration of the relics will begin after Mass at 9 a.m. A Mass in the Extraordinary Form will also be offered by Father Jason Barone, promoter of vocations for the diocese, at 5:30 p.m.
The sacrament of reconciliation will also be available during the day.
St. Pio was born on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, Italy, and baptized Francesco Forgione. He first expressed his desire for priesthood when he was 10. The future saint entered the Capuchin order when he was 15, taking the name Pio. He was ordained a priest in 1910 at the age of 23.
During his lifetime, Padre Pio was known as a mystic with miraculous powers of healing and knowledge and who bore the stigmata, wounds that correspond to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ. They can appear on the forehead, hands, wrists and feet. The stigmata remained with him until his death on Sept. 23, 1968.
Pope John Paul II canonized him in 2002.
The relics of St. Pio that will be available for public veneration are: his glove; crusts of the wounds; cotton gauze with blood stains; a lock of his hair; his mantle; and a handkerchief soaked with his sweat just hours before he died.
The Saint Pio Foundation, which is sponsoring the tour, will provide books and items related to St. Pio in the entryway of the cathedral.
St. Patrick Cathedral is located at 1621 Dilworth Road East in Charlotte. Limited parking is available along city streets adjoining the cathedral. There is also a parking lot and an additional parking area behind St. Patrick School on Buchanan Street which runs alongside the cathedral.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Learn more
Information about the relic tour at St. Patrick Cathedral can be found at www.stpatricks.org. More details about the relics and the Saint Pio Foundation can be found at www.saintpiofoundation.org.
CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter J. Jugis announces the following pastoral appointments:
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Father Jason K. Barone will move from serving as chaplain of Charlotte Catholic High School in Charlotte to parochial administrator of Our Lady of the Mountains Mission in Highlands and St. Jude Mission in Sapphire, effective July 9, 2019, while continuing as Promoter of Vocations for the Diocese of Charlotte.
- Father Christopher Bond, parochial vicar at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte for the past year, will succeed Father Richard Benonis who is retiring as pastor of St. Margaret Church.
- Father Brendan J. Buckler will become pastor of St. Elizabeth Church in Boone and its mission, Church of the Epiphany in Blowing Rock, effective July 9, 2019. Father Buckler, 39, was ordained for the Diocese of Raleigh on June 4, 2011, after graduating from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa. He served as parochial vicar at St. Catherine of Sienna Church in Wake Forest before being assigned as administrator at Mother of Mercy Church in Washington, N.C. He served in this position for two years before becoming the parish priest there four years ago.
- Newly ordained Father Michael J. Carlson will serve as parochial vicar of Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro, effective July 9, 2019.
- Father Noah C. Carter will serve as pastor of Holy Cross Church in Kernersville and as chaplain of Bishop McGuinness High School beginning July 1, 2019. The Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, who have been staffing the parish since 1971, have had to withdraw due to a lack of priest personnel. Father Carter had served as parochial vicar of St. Mark Church in Huntersville.
- Father Matthew P. Codd will serve as pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte, effective July 9, 2019. He served as pastor of St. Elizabeth Church in Boone and its mission, Church of the Epiphany in Blowing Rock. He succeeds Very Reverend Patrick J. Winslow, V.G., who has been named vicar general and chancellor for the Diocese of Charlotte.
- Father W. Christian Cook will serve as pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville, effective July 9, 2019. Father Cook had served as parochial vicar of Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro and as chaplain of Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville. The Capuchin Franciscan friars who have staffed the Hendersonville parish for the past 28 years are leaving effective July 9, 2019:
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Father Martin Schratz, OFM Cap, from pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville to an assignment by his order outside the Diocese of Charlotte
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Father Roberto Perez, OFM Cap, from parochial vicar of Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville to an assignment by his order outside the Diocese of Charlotte
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Father Praveen Kumar Turaka, OFM Cap, from parochial vicar of Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville to an assignment by his order outside the Diocese of Charlotte
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Father Paul Dechant, OSFS, is leaving as pastor of Holy Cross Church in Kernersville for an assignment by his order outside the Diocese of Charlotte, effective June 30, 2019.
- Newly ordained Father Alfonso Gamez Jr. will serve as parochial vicar of St. Mark Church in Huntersville, effective July 9, 2019.
- Father Gregory Gay, CM, has been named pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Charlotte after serving as parochial vicar there. He succeeds Father Vincent H. Finnerty, CM, who is retiring and leaving after 24 years to serve at a small parish in Alabama.
- Father Paul McNulty will be succeeding Father Richard Sutter at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Waynesville and Immaculate Conception Mission in Canton. Father McNulty is currently the chaplain of Christ the King High School. Father McNulty will move Oct. 15 when Father Sutter moves to St. Gabriel Church.
- Father Richard Sutter has been named pastor of St. Gabriel Church to succeed Father Frank O'Rourke who is retiring. Father Sutter has served as served as parochial administrator at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Waynesville and Immaculate Conception Mission in Canton since 2018.
- Newly ordained Father Britt A. Taylor will serve as parochial vicar of Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville, effective July 9, 2019.
- Newly ordained Father Leo Tiburcio, CM, will serve as parochial vicar of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Charlotte, effective June 1, 2019.
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Very Reverend Patrick J. Winslow, V.G., leaves as pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte to serve full-time as the Vicar General and Chancellor of the Diocese of Charlotte, effective July 9, 2019.
— Catholic News Herald
CHARLOTTE — Members of several Charlotte area parishes gathered May 11 at St. Gabriel Church to learn more about “Responding to the Sin of Racism,” an effort to continue the dialogue and raise awareness about racism in light of the U.S. bishops’ 2018 pastoral letter against racism entitled “Open Wide Our Hearts – the Enduring Call to Love.”
The event was one of four educational opportunities being offered in May and June that are being jointly sponsored by Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, the Diocese of Charlotte’s African American Affairs Ministry, and the Sisters of Mercy to reflect on themes presented in the bishops’ pastoral letter.
Presenters included Donna Toliver Grimes, assistant director of the U.S. bishops’ Office of African American Affairs, and Deacon Clarke Cochran of St. Peter Church in Charlotte. Grimes addressed how to implement “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love,” and Deacon Cochran’s presentation covered “Promoting Racial Justice and Ending Health Disparities in the USA.”
St. Charles Borromeo Church in Morganton hosted the first event on May 6, entitled “Saved by Grace in Striving for a More Racially Just Church and Society” presented by Mercy Sister Cora Marie Billings.
St. Eugene Church in Asheville was also expected to host a program May 23.
The fourth program will be held Saturday, June 15, at St. Mary Church in Greensboro. All are welcome: details can be found online at www.ccdoc.org/education and www.charlottediocese.org/african-american-affairs-ministry/events.
— Joseph Purello and Rosheene Adams, Special to the Catholic News Herald
Joseph Purello is director of Catholic Charities’ Office of Social Concerns and Advocacy, and Rosheene Adams is director of the Diocese of Charlotte’s African American Affairs Ministry.
Pray for an end to racism
This prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary closes the U.S. bishops’ 2018 pastoral letter against racism entitled “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love,” and attendees at the four Diocese of Charlotte events have been concluding their discussions with this prayer to Our Lady:
Mary, friend and mother to all, through your Son, God has found a way to unite Himself to every human being, called to be one people, sisters and brothers to each other.
We ask for your help in calling on your Son, seeking forgiveness for the times when we have failed to love and respect one another.
We ask for your help in obtaining from your Son the grace we need to overcome the evil of racism and to build a just society.
We ask for your help in following your Son, so that prejudice and animosity will no longer infect our minds or hearts but will be replaced with a love that respects the dignity of each person. Mother of the Church, the Spirit of your Son Jesus warms our hearts. Pray for us.
