Published: 31 August 2016

Last Updated: 30 September 2016

CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte is blessed to have a direct connection to one of the Church’s newest saints, Teresa of Calcutta. Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin, the third bishop of the diocese, was her longtime friend and confessor.

As the date of her canonization approaches, Bishop Curlin has been a sought-after resource on the life and legacy of this petite powerhouse of mercy.

His friendship with Mother Teresa lasted more than 20 years, until her death in 1997. And Mother Teresa’s ministry, the Missionaries of Charity, which now serves in more than 100 countries around the world, has a convent in east Charlotte where members of her order have cared for the poorest and most vulnerable for more than 20 years.

Pictured: Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin and Mother Teresa are pictured at the Charlotte Coliseum during her visit to the Queen City in 1995.

Mother Teresa herself visited Charlotte on June 13, 1995, to attend a private dedication of the convent and lead an ecumenical prayer service that attracted more than 19,000 people.

Bishop Curlin served for years as the spiritual director for the local Missionaries of Charity, and although he retired as bishop in 2002, he still celebrates Mass for the sisters regularly.

Bishop Curlin met Mother Teresa in the early 1970s when he was the pastor of a poor parish in Washington, D.C. He remembers celebrating Mass at the National Shrine of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception one Sunday, and Mother Teresa was there during a visit to the U.S. She approached him after Mass and asked if they could talk. They spent hours conversing about her plans to help the poor, and he was struck by her fervor and her faith.

Sometime after that, she phoned him from India to tell him he would be coming to give her and her sisters a retreat there. He told her that as a pastor of a poor parish he didn’t have the money to travel, but she was adamant about him leading the retreat. Sure enough, a friend gave him the money to fly to India for the first of what became many visits.

“It was a wonderful experience to meet her in her home environment and to be with her where she really began her ministry to the poor in the world,” Bishop Curlin says. He collaborated with her on several projects in the U.S., especially the Gift of Peace Home for AIDS patients, which opened in 1983 in Washington, D.C.

“Mother kept saying to me, ‘If you’re going to do work, it’s not social work. It’s Jesus working through you,’” Bishop Curlin recalls.

The first time he helped bathe a dying leper in India she encouraged him, saying, “If you see with your heart, you will see Jesus lying here.” She also reminded him that “when you look at someone, you are looking at the face of God.”

Bishop Curlin shares that Mother Teresa believed when you hold a dying person in your arms, or when you feed a poor person or cradle a sick child in your arms, your hands are the hands of Jesus. And when you speak to someone, your voice echoes His heart.

“She said that our life as Christians is not to lock Christ up inside, it’s to let Him out of us. She actually believed when you woke up in the morning, God woke up in you. Through you, Jesus continues His works of mercy and love and reconciliation. If you have the heart for it, He will do this.”

“You must never close your heart to Jesus,” he recalls her saying.

“It helped me as a priest, as I had never learned that in seminary,” he adds.

“This was the action she taught me. When you go to the door to help a poor person, give them your heart, not just the sandwich in your hand.”

Bishop Curlin notes that “All for Jesus” was her motto, and she really believed through each of us, Jesus is made present in this world.

“Mother believed that Christians should be possessed by Jesus alone, and that love drives them out to the streets to serve the most needy. She said the greatest hunger is not physical hunger, it is the emptiness of God in us crying out for the fullness of God. The greatest hunger is for God, even if we don’t know Him.”

“It’s your life that proves you are a Christian,” he emphasizes. “...The love that comes out of you which is Christ-centered and reaches another person. Whether they are dying, or whether they are hungry or whether they are depressed – they are all hurting. You have to take away that pain.”

Bishop Curlin, who attended her funeral in Calcutta and submitted testimony to the Vatican on the cause for her canonization, believes Mother Teresa’s canonization during this Jubilee Year of Mercy is providential.

“I think it’s wonderful,” he says. “Mother said we’re always judging people. She said, ‘I fear sometimes people look at the Church and say it’s a courtroom – saying who are the washed, who are the unclean, who are the saved and who are the damned.’ She said instead of that, we should always carry in us what Our Lord carried in His ministry: a tender heart of mercy.

“So as a priest I never go into a confessional being harsh, but try to be as tender as I can,” he says. “When I meet people who say, ‘Father, it’s been so long, I don’t know where to begin,’ I say, ‘Welcome home.’ All because of Mother Teresa’s teaching.”

Bishop Curlin says he will always remember her joy and her smile, both trademarks of her ministry.

“Her joy was a gift, one of the precious gifts we need in the world today,” he says with admiration, adding that he tries to practice this wherever he goes.

“I smile at the many times we met, went on retreats together, worked together. I believe that she helped me more than I ever helped her. She would say to me, ‘You are my spiritual father, but you are also my son.’”

— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter

Bishop Curlin holds a photo of Mother Teresa and him that he displays in his home.

Published: 08 August 2016

Last Updated: 31 August 2016

St. Joseph College Seminary opens in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE — Suitcases and cardboard boxes. Guitar cases and snacks from home. Parents looking around dorm rooms, smiling and trying not to be anxious about the children they are about to leave behind.

But for eight young men moving in to St. Joseph College Seminary, Aug. 7 was no ordinary college moving-in day. It also marked the first step on a long journey of discernment and study of the priesthood. The new minor seminary opens this month on the campus of St. Ann Church on Park Road.

St. Joseph College Seminary is for undergraduate men considering the priesthood, one step before they contemplate enrolling in a major seminary for more specific priestly formation. Enrolled in the diocese's seminarian program, the men will work toward a bachelor's degree in philosophy at Belmont Abbey College.

A summer thunderstorm that rolled by did not wipe the smiles or slow the pace of the young men and their families as they hustled boxes and bags from their cars into the small brick building behind St. Ann School.

"We are so proud of him," said Matthew Dimock about his son Matt, who just graduated from Charlotte Catholic High School. As he helped his son unload and unpack his things, Dimock said he feels overwhelmed by his son's desire to follow God.

Similar sentiments were echoed by the other parents.

Kathleen Harrison said of her son Matt, who just graduated from Christ the King High School, "You know what he said to us the other day? He said he was following Jesus into the seminary, and if he ends up leaving it's because he was following Jesus out."

Her son's desire to listen and discern God's will in his life makes her heart swell, she said.

Move-in day began with Mass at St. Ann Church, offered by Father Matthew Kauth, rector of the new college seminary. In his homily, Father Kauth entreated the young men to take heart and follow Christ with courage and faith, citing the college's motto "Noli timere" – "Do not be afraid."

Those words from Christ appeared in the day's Gospel reading from Luke Chapter 12, and Father Kauth noted it as another sign of divine providence along what has been a bumpy road for the college seminary up to this point.

Courage and action are needed to follow God, he emphasized, noting the readings of the day (Wisdom 18:6-9 and Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-12) talk about the courage of the Israelites and the faithfulness of Abraham in following God toward the Promised Land. People who wish to follow God – particularly those who are called to shepherd souls to heaven – must be similar men of action and courage, he said.

"Courage is not something that a man has because he doesn’t have any fear. On the contrary, it's when he steels his heart and keeps his eyes fixed, and says, 'I will do this anyway, and I will trust Him who is trustworthy.' Courage is not meant for someone who does not act. It is the one who acts that needs it."

Courage is for those who leave a comfortable, worldly life to pick up their crosses and follow God – those "who have no idea (thanks be to God) what's in store for you," he continued, turning and smiling as he gestured at the eight young men in the pew in front of him.

Following God is not for the faint-hearted, he said, and it means leaving behind those things that the world considers important and valuable. But God, who is always faithful and trustworthy, will reward those who are obedient to Him.

"Every action you take is going to be measured by that: what you wear, how you eat, how long you sleep – eh?" Father Kauth said, again turning to the young men.

"Step by step, you will leave things behind," he said, just as a hiker on a long journey gets rid of anything he does not need to get home. "So I say to you, move forward … noli timere."

The eight students will live in private, dormitory-style rooms in the old St. Joseph Monastery, former home of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration. While the name has changed, St. Joseph remains the spiritual head of the place, with images of him in prominent places throughout.

Matt Dimock points out the nameplate on each door denoting various names for St. Joseph.Each room features a twin bed, desk, bookshelf and sink. And on each door, a nameplate features one of the names for St. Joseph: "Christi defensor sedule" ("Watchful defender of Christ"), "Joseph fidelissime" ("Joseph most faithful"), "Dei Genetricis sponse" ("Spouse of the Mother of God"), etc.

After moving in, the students will attend an orientation session on Monday followed by 10 days of Latin immersion before classes begin at Belmont Abbey College later this month.

While attending classes they will live in community, apart from the rest of the student body, and will follow a "rule of life" appropriate for this level of seminary, including daily Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, the rosary, spiritual direction and conferences.

They will start each day at 5:45 a.m. Starting at 6:15 a.m., they will have a half hour of private prayer, followed by Lauds (Morning Prayer) and Mass.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays they will travel to Belmont Abbey College via a newly donated Chevy Suburban, dubbed the "Suburbi et orbi," for classes from 9 a.m. to noon. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they will have classes at the college seminary.

After lunch, they will have recreation and free time back at the college seminary until Vespers, praying of the rosary and dinner. From 7 to 9 p.m. there will be a "minor silence," during which time the men will study, and then at 9 p.m. they will gather for Compline (Night Prayer) followed by a "grand silence" that will remain unbroken until after breakfast the next day.

This monastic schedule, which emphasizes both an interior and exterior quiet, is purposeful, Father Kauth said.

"I wanted to capitalize both on the fact that they're at a Benedictine institution but also, when you have a college this small … you try to cultivate a ground of silence for prayer to be able to permeate their life. Because they're boys – they're going to make noise and be loud. They need to cultivate that (silence) right from the very beginning, or they can't hear anything. They can't begin to listen to the Lord."

Peter Rusciolelli brought lots of snacks from home, presents from his family.Kathleen Harrison checks out the fridge during her tour of the college seminary, where her son Matt has enrolled.Besides the core classes they will take at Belmont Abbey College, the young men will study philosophy with Dr. Matthew Siebert, recently hired by the seminary and the abbey specifically to teach the young men. They will also take theology classes with Father Kauth, and sacred music classes with Thomas Savoy, director of the Carolina Catholic Chorale and music director at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte.

The college seminary will remain on the St. Ann campus probably for the next two years, Father Kauth said.

The Poor Clares' old home was renovated for the college's needs, with the former gift shop at the entrance converted into a formal drawing room for visitors. Furniture was mostly scavenged from consignment sales and auctions, while donations also helped especially with filling the pantry. The young men did all the painting and yard work, he said.

"There's a lot of sweat equity in this, so we didn't have to spend a ton of money," he said.

Fundraising for a permanent home for the college has reached just over $4 million, he said. A permanent site has not yet been chosen, he said.

Despite the delay in finding a permanent site, so far the college seminary has already exceeded Father Kauth's expectations, he said. The program is at full capacity with eight students in the building's eight rooms.

"I thought we'd have three or four, maybe, our first year," he said.

Seven of the eight young men are from the Diocese of Charlotte. Some are just starting college life, while others have completed some college classes.

Because the young men will remain in the diocese during their studies, Father Kauth said he wants them to interact regularly with people.

"We'll travel around," he said. "Any priest that wants us to come, we'll come. So we won't be isolated to St. Ann's."

— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor

Photos of the college seminary

The community gathering roomThe formal sitting room for visitorsThe kitchenThe refectory

Published: 03 August 2016

Last Updated: 25 August 2016

Singing praises for Eleanor

HAMLET — Organist Eleanor Adeimy has been the melody of St. James the Greater Parish for 60 years. Every smile, every hug and every good turn have been the notes she's played just as deftly as she's fingered the keys.

Now, at 93, Adeimy is ready to retire, and on July 23 the close-knit Hamlet parish family gathered to say thank you.

Mass was offered by Father Jean Pierre Swamunu Lhoposo, pastor, who only half-jokingly noted in his introductory prayer, "We pray God to send us another organist – another organist who is as patient, as kind as Eleanor."

Adeimy started playing the organ for the parish in 1956. The young wife, mother and nurse also played the piano, and thought her musical gifts could be put to good use. All three daughters grew up playing and singing beside her, which they say greatly enriched their faith and family life.

Adeimy now has 10 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. All three daughters and many more family members and friends were at the Mass to celebrate with her.

Also there were Father John Starczewski, the former pastor of St. James, and Benedictine Father Kieran Neilson of Belmont Abbey, who gave the homily.

Adeimy and Father Neilson have known each other for years. In his homily, Father Neilson recalled the many pilgrimages they had taken to Fatima, and he thanked her for her years of joyful service to the Church.

He encouraged parishioners to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, especially during this Jubilee Year of Mercy, and he entreated, "Pray that God will give you those things that you persistently pray for, and don't give up."

Appreciate what gifts God has given you, he also told them, and "use those gifts to the best of your ability, for His honor and glory and for the honor and glory of those with whom you live and those with whom you associate.

"God has given us life, He has given us everything we have. Let us, then, not take for granted those gifts."

His message was echoed by members of the parish council after Mass, who expressed gratitude for Adeimy's gift of music to the parish over the past six decades.

"Your ministry of music has constantly lifted our hearts in praise and worship for the glory of God," said one parish council member.

They presented her with a crystal sculpture engraved with Psalm 40:3: "He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God."

Father Lhoposo also presented "our young sister" Adeimy with an apostolic blessing from Pope Francis.

Adeimy was at a loss for words in reaction to others' compliments and messages of thanks, but her face beamed as she laughed and talked with parishioners after Mass.

"When I was 75, I tried to retire," a smiling Adeimy told well-wishers gathered in the parish hall. Since 75 is the retirement age for bishops, she joked, "I thought I'd do the same." But a friend told her, "Eleanor, we can replace the bishop. We can't replace you!"

Parishioners agreed that Adeimy may be replaced as organist, but she is irreplaceable.

"She has been a gracious, uplifting, righteous person who has been kind and outgoing," said parishioner Ella Ratliff.

Butch Adeimy, one of her nephews, noted, "Had it not been for Eleanor, there would not have been any music in our church."

Gayla Eichorn has served alongside Adeimy for years. They divvied up the weekend Masses between them, and the two ladies have sung and played together for years. Eichorn sang the Communion hymn at the July 23 Mass, standing beside Adeimy, who was seated at the organ just as she has done so many times before.

"It was a huge gift to have her come up and play with me," Eichorn said afterwards. "Eleanor taught me how to pray. She taught me that when you sing, it's a prayer, not a performance."

For her part, Adeimy thanked Eichorn for their musical partnership over the years. "She has stood by me for almost 30 years. She has been very special to me. I couldn't have done it without her," Adeimy said.

Besides her musical ministry, Adeimy has been active in other aspects of the parish. She helped start the parish's annual barbecue several years ago, and still lends a hand at the successful fundraiser. She also encourages others to get involved in parish life. In fact, many parishioners nodded in agreement when Eichorn commented, "It's absolutely impossible to say no to Eleanor Adeimy."

"That's what she does: she runs things," Butch Adeimy said.

"There's nothing that she hasn't stepped up to do for people in need," said Connie Lindstrand, from cooking meals, sewing blankets and donating a wheelchair to sharing a smile and a warm hug with everyone she encounters.

"She believes in the good of all of us St. James family," added Kim Kondrat, who has known Adeimy since she was 8.

Parishioner Don Meany recounted the day he met Adeimy 30-plus years ago. After burning his hand, he had to go to the local doctor's office every day to have the dressing changed. Adeimy was the nurse who tended to him during each visit, and when she had to be absent one day she called in the other nurse to explain how to change his bandage just the right way.

"From that moment on she has been a very special person in my life," Meany said.

Every time he sees Adeimy, he said, "I could always expect a warm smile, a gentle hug and always a kind word.

"There's just nobody like her."

— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, Editor

Published: 22 March 2016

Last Updated: 09 February 2017

Bishop Jugis preaches unity, forgiveness at Chrism Mass as priests renew promises

CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter Jugis took special care during this Jubilee Year of Mercy in the Church to emphasize unity during his homily at the annual Chrism Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral. More than 90 priests from around the Diocese of Charlotte attended the Mass on a fine spring day, renewing their priestly promises to Holy Mother Church and their bishop.

Bishop Jugis addressed his brother priests during his remarks, reminding them that there is unity in Christ.

“This coming together as brother priests at the Chrism Mass especially demonstrates in a very visible way the unity of the priesthood in Christ. No matter where we serve in the diocese, wherever we exercise our priestly ministry in many different locations, when we come to this Chrism Mass, we see again what we knew all along – even though we may be separated geographically by the distance of miles – we see once again made manifest that we are all brothers in one priesthood and are united as one,” he reminded them.

Bishop Jugis stressed to them, as Jesus did to His disciples that, “‘You are all brothers!’ How true this is of the priesthood…What is it that unites us as brothers? The grace of the sacrament of holy orders. There are nearly 100 men here today who go by the same name, 'alter Christus.' We all have the same name. How’s that for unity?

“Our love for Jesus Christ unites us as brothers, our love for the priesthood unites us as brothers. Our love for the Church unites us as brothers. Our love for the work of salvation unites us as brothers. Our love for each other – our love for each other – unites us as brothers. ‘You are all brothers,' Jesus tells us.”

Bishop Jugis addressed how "our old enemy" original sin has left divisive tendencies in the human heart, a tendency to separate from one another.

“The remedy we know for all of those tendencies that original sin has left behind in us, the remedy is love. There can be no true unity without unconditional mutual love, and the readiness to serve each other generously and an ability to forgive up to seventy times seven.”

He explained that priests are all brothers in the priesthood because they are all brothers of Christ first and foremost.

“What a great name for a religious order. Brothers of Christ. And in fact it is the name of a religious order. It is a description of the order of the priesthood.”

Bishop Jugis emphasized that every day priests pray to remain deeply united to Jesus when they celebrate Mass, and especially before they receive Holy Communion, praying to be always faithful to the commandments and to never be separated from Christ.

“He is the source of our unity, our brother Christ. It is a very special relationship we have with the Lord to not only call Him Master and Teacher, Savior, Redeemer, but our brother in the priesthood.”

Before renewing their priestly promises, Bishop Jugis recalled that he and the priests gathered exercise their ministry in a divided, quarrelsome American society, but the Chrism Mass manifests what is always present among them – that although the society is quarrelsome and divided, he and his brother priests see unity in Christ the High Priest as His brother priests.

Concelebrating the Chrism Mass were Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari of Belmont Abbey; Monsignor Mauricio West, vicar general and chancellor of the diocese; Father John Putnam, judicial vicar of the diocese; and 97 more diocesan and religious order priests who gathered around the altar for the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

All the priests also stood during the blessing of the sacred chrism with hands outstretched, joining with Bishop Jugis in prayer as he performed the blessing rite.

The oils blessed during the chrism Mass are used in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, anointing of the sick, as well as for ordination of priests and the consecration of churches.

Bishop Jugis stirred balsam into the chrism to give it a sweet perfume and breathed the "breath of the Holy Spirit" over the chrism.

In his final remarks before the conclusion of the Chrism Mass, Bishop Jugis shared that there is an increased interest among young people in the diocese for the priesthood and religious life, and he encouraged the priests and all gathered to promote vocations.

“The college seminary is our response to increased interest in that age group. I ask you to please continue to talk about the priesthood and the consecrated life to the young people in your faith formation classes and in your youth ministry programs, because that personal contact makes all the difference when a young person is considering special service to the Church,” he concluded.

After Mass, deacons divided the blessed oils into smaller oil stocks that will be distributed to all 92 parishes and missions across the diocese for use in sacramental celebrations throughout the upcoming year.

-- SueAnn Howell, senior reporter