MOUNT HOLLY — On March 17, Catholics of Irish descent in the Diocese of Charlotte will gather to celebrate their Irish roots with a special Mass at Old St. Joseph Church in Mount Holly.
All are welcome to attend the Mass at North Carolina's oldest Catholic church at 10 a.m.
Sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians in the Charlotte area, the annual Mass pays tribute to the historic church's first pastor, Father T.J. Cronin, who was Irish born and is buried in the adjacent church cemetery.
St. Joseph Church was built in 1843 for and by Irish immigrants, who had come to mine for gold along the Catawba River. It is the oldest Catholic church still standing in the state and is an official state and U.S. historical site.
Today St. Joseph Church is used for special occasions such at the feasts of St. Patrick and St. Joseph in March, and tours are available upon request through Queen of the Apostles Church in Belmont.
Father Paul McNulty, chaplain of the St. Brendan division of the Hibernians, will concelebrate the Mass on Thursday, March 17. The church is located at N.C. 273 and Sandy Ford Road.
For more information about the St. Patrick's Day Mass, contact Joe Dougherty at 704-942-6345 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
HUNTERSVILLE — St. Mark Church offered its first Lenten Friday Latin Mass March 3.
Close to 150 faithful attended the Extraordinary Form Mass, which was offered by Father Cory Catron, parochial vicar. It was his first public Latin Mass at the parish.
The Huntersville parish will continue to offer a Latin Mass each Friday during Lent at 12:30 p.m., preceded by Stations of the Cross at 12:10 p.m.
— Mike FitzGerald, correspondent; Photo provided by Amy Burger
ROME — Seminarian Michael J. Carlson was conferred the ministry of acolyte Feb. 26 during Mass in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception at the Pontifical North American College.
Bishop David Kagan of Bismarck, N.D., an alumnus of the Pontifical North American College, celebrated the Mass. During his homily, he reminded Carlson and the 62 other second-year seminarians that their new responsibility of serving at the altar, their second-to-last step before being ordained priests, is one to be shouldered with a spirit of humility.
“Remember that your service is never to be about you ... for the people of God whom you will serve look to you to model fidelity, devotion and humble joy in your service to Almighty God, and what a privilege you have in this vocation,” he said.
As part of the rite, the bishop placed the paten, which contains the hosts for the celebration of Mass, in the hands of each candidate and said, “Take this vessel with bread for the celebration of the Eucharist. Make your life worthy of your service at the table of the Lord and of His Church.”
The seminarians will have two more years of theological studies and spiritual formation before being considered for ordination to the priesthood.
The Pontifical North American College serves as the American seminary in Rome. Founded in 1859 by Blessed Pius IX, the college has formed more than 5,000 priests near the heart of the Church for service in dioceses around the United States, Canada and Australia.
— Pontifical North American College
HUNTERSVILLE — Father Michael Gaitley, MIC, director of Evangelization for the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception and director of Formation for the Marian Missionaries of Divine Mercy; and Father Chris Alar, MIC, director of the Association of Marian Helpers, will be coming to St. Mark Church March 13-15 to lead a joint Lenten mission.
This is the first time that they are speaking together at an event.
All are welcome to attend the parish mission, which will begin each day with 9 a.m. Mass and extended homily by Father Alar.
At the evening mission, which starts at 7 p.m., there will be talks by both Father Alar and Father Gaitley and will end around 8:45 p.m.
Childcare will be offered during the evening program (registration required).
Overflow parking will be at Grand Oaks Elementary School, with buses to take people to and from St. Mark Church starting at 5:45 p.m.
All three nights will also be live-streamed at http://www.stmarknc.org/livestream.
The event is free and open to everyone, but registration is requested to ensure adequate seating. For details and registration info, go to http://www.stmarknc.org/parishmission.
— Catholic News Herald
GREENSBORO — Anyone who teaches the faith to others – including parents, catechists, other teachers and parish staff, and clergy – is invited to a Marian-themed catechetical conference coming up Saturday, March 25.
The one-day conference at the Grandover Resort and Conference Center, entitled “Forming Disciples After the Heart of Mary: Catechesis for Discipleship and Evangelization,” is being organized by the Education Vicariate of the Diocese of Charlotte. It will feature speakers from both the diocese and the Denver-based Augustine Institute, which aims to teach the faith and equip Catholics for the New Evangelization.
Conference-goers can participate in any of four program tracks: adult faith formation, catechists and educators, parish evangelization, and a Spanish-language track.
The Adult Faith Formation track will include topics such as “The Baptismal Catechumenate as the Model for Adult Faith Formation” and “Effective Pastoral Leadership for Adult Faith Formation.”
The Catechists and Educators track will include topics such as “Our Hearts were Burning Within Us: A Biblical Paradigm for Evangelization and Catechesis,” “Key Catechetical Methods for the New Evangelization” and “Being Imitators of Christ: The Spirituality of the Catechist.”
The Parish Evangelization track will include topics such as “Becoming a Church of Missionary Disciples,” “Building & Sustaining a Parish Evangelization Team,” “How to Effectively Lead Small Discipleship Groups” and “Parish Evangelization/Outreach Strategies.”
In the Spanish-language track, topics include: “Ser imitadores de Cristo: la espiritualidad del catequista,” “Proclamando las escrituras: haciendo eco a la palabra de Dios,” “Integrando las tradiciones culturales en la catequesis” and “Convirtiéndonos en una iglesia de discípulos misioneros.”
The conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mass will be celebrated by Monsignor Mauricio West, vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of Charlotte, at 9 a.m.
The keynote address for the conference, entitled “The New Evangelization – The Extraordinary Mission of Our Time,” will be given by Lucas Pollice of the Augustine Institute. Pollice is the director of program development and associate professor of theology and catechetics at the Augustine Institute.
Other speakers include: Michelle Nilsson, associate director of evangelization and catechesis with the Diocese of Madison, Wis.; Scott Sollom, professor of theology at Franciscan University and coordinator of Campus RCIA; and Martha Toon, director of faith formation in Olathe, Kan., and a catechist with the School Of Faith Institute; Father Fidel Melo, Vicar of Hispanic Ministry for the Charlotte diocese; and Deacon Mark Mejias from Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro.
The registration fee is $25 per person and includes lunch and coffee breaks. Vendors and other amenities will be available throughout the conference.
For more information or to register, go to www.charlottediocese.org/ev/dcc
Questions? Call the Education Vicariate office at 704-370-3244.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter