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: Published: 20 October 2011; Last Updated: 24 August 2016

Pictured: Father Frank Cancro (kneeling far left), pastor of Our Lady Queen of Apostles in Belmont, is pictured during his ordination in 1981. Also pictured (from left) are the late Father John Parsons, the late Bishop Michael J. Begley, and Monsignor Joseph Kerin, now retired. (Photo provided by Father Frank Cancro)

A question answered becomes 'a life emptied out'

BELMONT — A question changed Father Frank Cancro's life more than 30 years ago. That question, "How come you're not a priest?" was posed to him repeatedly during the 1970s by an older Sister of Divine Providence. She would point her finger at him as she'd pass him in the halls at a tiny hospital in Martin, Ky., where he worked.

"I decided I didn't want her to ask me that question anymore, so I was going to go away for a weekend and come up with an answer, give it to her and then she wouldn't bother me anymore," Father Cancro said.

"The Glenmarys ran a little reflection center north of where I was, and I spent a weekend there thinking about that very question and had to come back admitting to myself that maybe that is actually what I ought to be open to the possibility of."

What happened next can only be described as divine providence.

"I didn't know what to do about that, so I talked to the only person I knew to talk to."

That was the man who was in charge of a pastoral letter process that Father Cancro was also working on besides his mission work. The man, Bishop Michael J. Begley, just happened to be head of the Diocese of Charlotte at the time.

Father Cancro called him and asked if he could come over the mountains one weekend to talk about the priesthood, but when he got there he instead spent the weekend talking with the vocations director and meeting with the vocation team, with whom Bishop Begley had arranged meetings for him.

"After that process it all seemed very comfortable to me and I said 'yes' to it and started seminary in Baltimore the following fall to study for the Diocese of Charlotte."

Father Cancro greatly enjoyed the graduate work in the seminary and found it to be exciting, so he worked on two degrees there. He also appreciated the help of a spiritual director during that time.

"It was also energizing to be in a community of like-minded people... It made for good friendships and the kind of support that you find when people share a common commitment," he added.

Father Cancro's first assignment after ordination in 1981 was at Bishop McGuinness High School, which was located in Winston-Salem at the time. He found it to be a positive experience to be part of the administration of the school and responsible for the spiritual development of students and faculty, he said.

"That was a very gratifying time, where I think I was able to help shape some things and was able to be taught myself by the experience of those who had been in secondary work for a long time, and the students themselves."

He also really enjoys teaching and has made great contributions over the course of the past 30 years, serving as a professor at Wake Forest University and the Catholic University of America, and also in the Diocese of Charlotte in the area of adult religious education.

"We were only about 10 years old as a diocese and still developing when I was ordained, so I was very much a part of helping to shape what has become our adult formation program here. I found it a joy to not only teach people but to see them make connections, and to recognize something they have learned that might have been just one-dimensional in terms of the theological perspective, now all of a sudden have meaning for them."

In 2005, Father Cancro took a sabbatical and traveled to Asia and the Pacific.

"I experienced that the Church lives and breathes in many different ways around the world and to be in situations where Catholics are in a minority, or where there is still some persecution of the Church, or the presence of the Church is fragile because of the history of a country, and to see that still the faith lives there and that people seek to do the best they can to be Catholic. That was an amazing experience.... You really get a sense of what matters."

Father Cancro, now pastor at Queen of the Apostles Church in Belmont, has also always enjoyed parish life.

"I think the give and take of creating a community, nourishing it in Word and sacrament and being part of how a parish family grows with its challenges as well as its joys – I find it energizing as well as exciting."

In reflecting on the priesthood, Father Cancro shared that "the life of a priest is a life of being emptied out. There are two significant things that a priest does, I believe, in terms of some of the ritual actions of his life. The first is at his ordination: he lays flat on the floor. That prostration is an important sign, not just as who you are humbly before God, but before the rest of the Church as they pray over you. And there is only one other time that a priest gets down on the floor: that is on Good Friday. For me, that is always a sign – a powerful connection of priesthood and the Cross."

His advice to men discerning a priestly vocation? "Pray, pray some more, and let go."

— SueAnn Howell, staff writer

: Published: 13 April 2012; Last Updated: 17 October 2016

HIGH POINT — At 92, Monsignor Anthony Kovacic is the Diocese of Charlotte's most senior member of the clergy. He also holds the current record for most years being ordained, as he celebrates his 65th ordination anniversary this month.

Monsignor Kovacic, affectionately known as "Father Tony," was born in the Slovenian town of Bizeljsko in 1920. His life has been filled with joys and sorrow, narrowly escaping the Nazis who invaded his home country and killed many of his family members in concentration camps and making his way to Rome to study for the priesthood.

"In a way, my life is many miracles," said Monsignor Kovacic in an interview included in his farewell celebration booklet, compiled when he was leaving Queen of the Apostles Church in Belmont, to move to his current residence at Pennybyrn at Maryfield in High Point in March of last year.

"The biggest miracle was that I became a priest."

Pictured: Monsignor Anthony Kovacic, a pioneer of desegregation in the Diocese of Charlotte, is pictured at Pennybyrn at Maryfield in 2011. In the background is a photo of the home he lived in as a child in Slovenia. (SueAnn Howell, Catholic News Herald)

Monsignor Kovacic is one of a handful of seminarians from his homeland who was "rescued" by Pope Pius XII. He studied in Rome and was ordained a priest in 1947. He was assigned to work in the Colonia Marina refugee camp in Salerno, helping fellow displaced persons from 1948 to 1951. He had hopes of working in foreign missions in Australia, but after discovering he had tuberculosis was prevented from doing so. After review of updated medical records, he was found to be cured of the tuberculosis and cleared to work in the U.S.

In 1951 Bishop Vincent S. Waters of the Diocese of Raleigh put him straight to work as assistant pastor at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte. At that time, there were only 5,000 Catholics in all of North Carolina. Monsignor Kovacic spent a year at the cathedral before being transferred to eastern North Carolina, where he helped build up the Church in Kinston, Tarboro, Scotland Neck, New Bern and Greenville over the next 13 years.

His love for all people helped him during the 1960s when he was charged with creating the first desegregated school, St. Joseph Catholic School, in New Bern. Monsignor Kovacic traveled to nearby military bases and communities and appealed to the families there to enroll their children, and eventually he reached the goal of 100 students split evenly along racial lines.

Monsignor Kovacic served in 12 parishes in the state, with more than 29 years of service spent in the Diocese of Charlotte. His legacy in the "missions of North Carolina" also includes the construction of churches and parish centers, the directorship of the diocese's permanent diaconate program at its inception in 1980, leading the Cursillo movement in the diocese for many years, and bringing the first active Knights of Columbus Council to Queen of the Apostles Church.

"Parish work was always enjoyable," Monsignor Kovacic said in an interview with the Catholic News Herald last summer. He believes his ministry has always been to help people know the faith, and his greatest joys have come from his work with converts, visiting the sick and spending time with families in his parishes over the years.

Though Monsignor Kovacic formally retired in 1994, he continues to concelebrate Mass alongside the other retired priests at Pennybyrn and share his stories and his infectious smile with all those he meets.

-- SueAnn Howell, staff writer

: Published: 30 May 2012; Last Updated: 24 August 2016

GASTONIA — The feast of Pentecost marked a special milestone for Father Roger K. Arnsparger, pastor of St. Michael Church and diocesan vicar of education. His bishop, Peter J. Jugis, along with clergy and laity from around the Diocese of Charlotte celebrated Mass on May 27 to honor his 35th anniversary of ordination.

Bishop Jugis, the main celebrant, pointed out that the feast of Pentecost, which commemorates the Holy Spirit igniting and expanding the Church from its beginnings in the Upper Room over the centuries and around the world, is also a celebration of God's grace flowing into our lives and our vocations.

This "river of grace" flows from Jesus, and is seen today in the clergy of the Church. Priests are instruments of grace, Bishop Jugis noted, and in their priestly ministry they extend the grace of the Holy Spirit through the sacraments into people's lives.

"The Holy Spirit turns us away from our selfishness and frees us to be self-giving and in service to others," he said of the priesthood. "The Holy Spirit makes Jesus' self-giving love come alive in us."

Father Arnsparger, who grew up in a Protestant home and is a Catholic convert, was ordained May 14, 1977.

"The priest whom we are honoring today was swept off his feet 35 years ago by the river of grace of the Holy Spirit flowing through Jesus," said Bishop Jugis. "The Holy Spirit transformed him into an 'alter Christus' ('another Christ'), giving him a new identity, by the grace of the sacrament of holy orders imprinting that indelible character on his soul.

"Through him, then, the Holy Spirit has continued to do what the Holy Spirit does best. He has used Father's priestly ministry as an instrument to even further extend the graces of holiness – to extend that grace into the lives of many more Christians."

After Mass, a reception was held in the parish activity center on the church campus.

Several groups of children sang in Father Arnsparger's honor during the luncheon. The students and staff of St. Michael School also presented him with a large, handmade rosary they made for him from colored construction paper, a basket filled with prayer intentions, and a video of the students singing and sharing well-wishes.

"On behalf of all the school – students, parents and PTO – we thank you for all you do for us," said Joseph Puceta, principal of St. Michael School.

Parishioners of St. Michael Church, represented by members of the pastoral council and vocations committee, presented Father Arnsparger with a framed photograph of him meeting Pope Benedict XVI in Rome on May 7 during Bishop Jugis' recent ad limina visit. They have also contacted the Vatican to arrange for a papal blessing to commemorate the anniversary of his ordination.

"Thank you to everyone for your many, many kindnesses to me. It has been a privilege to enjoy the graces that God gives me in the privilege of being a priest," Father Arnsparger said after the presentations.

"Every time we celebrate a sacrament, the priest is filled with joy in his heart that he is permitted to extend the ministry of Jesus' cross and resurrection," he added. "Let us continue to pray for our young men to listen to Our Lord's call to serve the family of the Church and the evangelization of the world as His loyal and loving priests."

— SueAnn Howell, staff writer

Below is a photos slideshow and video from the Mass.

: Published: 23 May 2012; Last Updated: 24 August 2016

SALISBURY — Twenty years ago this month, Father John Putnam was ordained to the priesthood by the late Bishop John Donoghue at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte. Over the past 20 years, Father Putnam continued his studies, specializing in canon law, and accepted several positions in parishes around the Diocese of Charlotte.

His first assignment was as interim parochial vicar of St. Lucien Church in Spruce Pine and St. Bernadette Church in Linville. Since then he has also served as parochial vicar of Holy Family Church in Clemmons and as the administrator of Holy Infant Church in Reidsville. He served as sacramental minister of St. Joseph Church in Eden as well.

Father Putnam is currently the pastor at Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury, a position he has held for the past 12 years. Since 2003, he has held the position of judicial vicar for the diocese, overseeing the marriage tribunal. He has also served as Tribunal Assessor, Tribunal Judge, Vicar Forane for the Salisbury Vicariate and Interim Vocation Director.

The various boards and councils he has served on include the Priest Vocations Board, Presbyteral Council, College of Consultors, Priest Personnel Committee, and the Eucharistic Congress Steering Committee.

To mark Father Putnam's 20th anniversary, there will be a Mass at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 10, at Sacred Heart Church at 375 Lumen Christi Lane in Salisbury. A celebration dinner will follow.

The Catholic News Herald recently interviewed him about his priestly ministry over the past 20 years:

CNH: What do you enjoy most about your priestly ministry?

Father Putnam: In addition to the celebration of the sacraments, I think being able to celebrate significant milestones in the lives of parishioners and parish families.

CNH: What is the biggest lesson you have learned over the past 20 years, now that you are a "seasoned" pastor?

Father Putnam: Don't forget that God's in charge and sometimes you just have to get out of the way.

CNH: What advice would you give to a man discerning a vocation to the priesthood?

Father Putnam: Be faithful to prayer and the sacraments and seek out guidance from a priest whom you trust and admire.

— SueAnn Howell, Staff writer

Other ordination milestones in May

Other priests of the diocese celebrating major milestones this month include:

Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin: 55 years. Look for a special in-depth interview with Bishop Curlin in our June 8 edition.

Father Andrew Latsko: 20 years, now retired and living in Pennsylvania

Father Bernard Manley: 25 years, retired and living at Pennybyrn at Maryfield in High Point

Father Carlo Di Natale Tarasi: 40 years, now living in Charlotte

: Published: 07 June 2012; Last Updated: 24 August 2016

On Friday, May 25, Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin celebrated 55 years as a priest by administering the sacrament of confirmation to 75 children at St. Thérèse Church in Mooresville.

"I continue to help Bishop (Peter) Jugis with confirmations throughout the diocese," Bishop Curlin says. "I am encouraged and deeply moved when people invite me to special occasions and celebrations."

As a retired priest, Bishop Curlin sees his current ministry as one of providing this spiritual support to God's people.

Pictured: Bishop William Curlin is pictured blessing a child at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, France. (Photos provided by Diocese of Charlotte and Catholic News Herald archives)

Primarily, this ministry brings him to hospitals and nursing homes, which he visits on a daily basis.

"I find in my own retirement being very busy," he explains. "I no longer have all of the administrative duties and responsibilities – thanks be to God! But I feel myself free now to totally devote myself to the spiritual needs of God's people... I see this ministry to the sick and dying as a gift from God."

Even the nurses know that he is available at a moment's notice to come to the aid of a sick or dying person.

"I shave before I go to bed, and I shave as soon as I get up," Bishop Curlin explains laughing. He wants to be ready any time day or night that a sick or dying person is in need of the sacraments.

Forming a habit of serving

From his first parish assignment after ordination as assistant to the senior auxiliary bishop of Washington, D.C., John MacNamara, Bishop Curlin has devoted his priestly life to spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

"I was told by my first pastor: your primary task as a priest is to help people form an intimacy with Jesus Christ in their personal life," he says. "He kept repeating Jesus' words that He would live in us. And that's the same message as Mother Teresa. My first pastor and Mother Teresa had the same words: a Christian's life is to reveal the Christ in them in the way they treat others."

It's no wonder, then, that Mother Teresa and Bishop Curlin formed a fast friendship when they first met in the early 1970s. "People could criticize me maybe for mentioning her too many times!" Bishop Curlin says, laughing.

But his work with the famed nun – whom Bishop Curlin calls "one of the greatest saints of our times" – led him to aid in founding homes for the poor and homeless with terminal diseases, notably AIDS.

"Gift of Peace" is the home in Washington, D.C., for those dying of AIDS and other terminal conditions. It is staffed by Mother Teresa's sisters.

"It's very sad sometimes – the loved ones don't want them, they don't seem to care about them," Bishop Curlin recalls. "We had one little girl there. She was not a Catholic; she was 7 years old, but we said she was an angel in many ways and a joy to know. And I had the privilege of presiding at her funeral at the cemetery."

"These people are dying wanting to be loved," he says. "And nobody ever died at Gift of Peace without knowing they were loved and we were keeping them in our prayers. It's hard to die unloved and unwanted. And Mother opened the home for that reason, so people would know they weren't abandoned, that they were loved by God."

'Adsum'

"The day I was ordained, we used the word 'adsum' when we stepped forward to present ourselves for ordination," the retired bishop explains of the Latin phrase for 'I am present' that is used in the ordination Mass.

This little answer, however, became a daily part of his spiritual life.

"Every day I repeat that word. I need to say it not just once when I became a priest, but every day. You re-consecrate your life to Jesus through prayer, through devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and a willingness to spend your life in serving others."

Even as a bishop, he never saw his vocation as a job, but as a privilege and a joy.

"If the bishop loves his priests, they will in turn be good pastors," he explains. "For example, I can think of several occasions where priests were not well, and I took them into my home and took care of them until they got back on their feet again. It was such a privilege to do that, to help them return to good health."

Inspired by others

Bishop Curlin explains that a priest's devoted life will inspire young people to consider vocations today. He himself found his priestly vocation in looking up to the priests and nuns from his life in post-World War II Washington, D.C.

"Following World War II, people were discouraged by all the horrors of the war, looking for peace and joy, and I observe now over the years that I look back to how these priests and sisters inspired me to think seriously about the priesthood.

"We were blessed with wonderful priests. They were so joyful! They were so dedicated! And we had wonderful sisters in our schools – they were an inspiration.

"There has never been a moment that I haven't thanked God for this great privilege, and I pray that God will inspire many young men to come forward (to become priests) and many young men and women to offer themselves in religious life."

To young men considering the priesthood, he urges them to speak to a priest to discern, but also to understand the demands that being a priest has on a man. The man should consider whether he has the qualities and virtues to meet those demands.

And most importantly, the young man, Bishop Curlin says, must have the heart of Christ.

"I have been privileged to ordain over 100 men to the priesthood in 24 years as a bishop. I know when I laid my hands on them, they're a priest. However, each man must bring with him the heart for it, the disposition for it, the kindness for it, the mercy and the love that the priesthood demands. Each man must bring that himself."

— Mary B. Worthington, correspondent

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Diocese of Charlotte was founded on Jan. 12, 1972. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the diocese and the history of the Church in western North Carolina, we are publishing a year-long series spotlighting the people who built up the Church, the major developments over the past 40 years, and what changes could be in store for the future.