On the road to sainthood?
CHARLOTTE — The Catholic Church has no African American saints, but that could soon change – and Our Lady of Consolation Parish is inviting the community to a special event to learn about six Black Catholics under consideration for canonization.
Set for Saturday, Nov. 19, the event will kick off in the afternoon with a musical collaboration between the parish’s men’s choir and the student choir from Charlotte Catholic High School, followed by the main event: screening of the critically acclaimed documentary “A Place at the Table – African Americans on the Path to Sainthood.”
The film, crowdfunded in 2021, highlights the exceptional lives of six deceased African American Catholics who are at various stages of review for possible canonization.
Our Lady of Consolation, a historically Black parish in Charlotte, is sponsoring the event as a tribute to the Diocese of Charlotte’s 50th anniversary this year and to raise awareness of African Americans’ contributions to the Church during Black Catholic History Month in November.
The event will begin at 2 p.m. at the MACS Fine Arts Center on the campus of Charlotte Catholic High School, the new venue for use by Catholic schools and organizations across the diocese.
“We’d like the event to be a ‘wow moment’ for people who may not be aware of the full, rich spectrum of Catholicism and the pivotal role that African Americans play in the Church – and what better time to do this than during the diocese’s 50th anniversary?” said Dr. Evelyn Anderson, a physician and parishioner of Our Lady of Consolation Church who co-chaired the event planning committee.
“It’s going to be a whole afternoon that will be fun and informative and will invite people out to learn and be a part of something new,” she said.
In the African tradition, African drummers will welcome participants into the space, and special seating is reserved for “honored elders.” A taped interview with Redemptorist Father Maurice Nutt, a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, will also be on tap. Nutt penned a book about Sister Thea Bowman, who is among those under consideration for sainthood.
Sister Thea once visited Winston-Salem as part of a local Catholic awareness program organized by the Winston-Salem Vicariate. At the April 30, 1989, program at the Benton Convention Center, she discussed the role of African Americans in the Church. Read more about the six Black Catholics up for sainthood
“Our hope is to use this afternoon as a way to educate not just our parishioners but the whole diocese and the community,” Anderson said. “We want to give people something to think about … for consideration and discussion in their own homes.”
— SueAnn Howell
Get your tickets
Tickets are $5 and may be purchased online at www.ourladyofconsolation.org. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door. The event runs from 2-5:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 19, at the MACS Fine Arts Center at Charlotte Catholic High School, 7702 Pineville-Matthews Road, Charlotte, N.C. 28226. Film starts at 3 p.m.
Be surrounded by saints
HUNTERSVILLE — More than 75 holy relics will be on exhibit at St. Mark Church this November as part of the All Saints Day pilgrimage coming through the Diocese of Charlotte.
Relics from a large array of venerated saints will be showcased at the All Saints Day Vigil Mass on Monday, Oct. 31, and then all day following Mass on Tuesday, Nov. 1, as part of the diocese’s 50th anniversary and the parish’s 25th anniversary.
“While our secular world celebrates Halloween, the reason behind All Hallow’s Eve (All Saints Eve), All Saints Day and All Souls’ Day has become a bit lost,” said Amy Burger, public relations coordinator at St. Mark Church. “Our hope is that people will learn a little more about this treasure of our Catholic faith and remember those who have passed on before us and are canonized saints in heaven.”
In addition to St. Mark Parish, St. Patrick Cathedral, St. Thomas Parish and St. Ann Parish will also display a large number of relics for veneration during the feast of All Saints. Relics from such holy women and men as St. Maria Goretti, St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Christopher and St. Patrick will all be available to view and venerate throughout the feast day. The event is open to all who wish to come and pray. For more information, visit www.stmarknc.org.
— Spencer K.M. Brown
A Year of Jubilation
Sisters of Mercy who are celebrating their jubilee anniversaries this year renew their vows during a special celebration June 18 at Queen of the Apostles Church. BELMONT — The familiar tones of a five-part “Regina Caeli” filled Queen of the Apostles Church over the summer as the congregation celebrated the jubilees of nine Sisters of Mercy. Affectionately called “The Big Regina,” the musical antiphon has been a part of every significant occasion and feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Belmont-based religious community.
Hearing the “Regina” again was bittersweet for some, including Sister Martha Hoyle.
“When people started going out into the community more, singing it became less frequent, and then there are those who have gone to the Lord,” she said. “It’s going to become a part of our history, not our present. For me it was such a gift to hear it, and we all remembered our parts. People were really getting down with it!”
The jubilee Mass and reception were held on June 18 to honor the sisters’ lengths of service, ranging from 25 to 70 years. Sister Martha, a 50-year jubilarian, says that 2022 has been an entire year of celebration, noting a beautiful reception at St. Francis of Assisi, her parish in Mocksville, and the many friends and family members who have honored her years of service to the Lord.
“You feel very humbled by it because what did you as a person do to earn something so special? It’s another gift from God to make you feel loved and worthy of this,” she said. “I’ve been so blessed as a Sister of Mercy. Everything I’ve done, whether I wanted to do it or not, turned out to be such a gift. The time has gone so fast. It seems that all of a sudden I’m finding out I’ve been here 50 years. I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. I’m too young to be this old. What happened?’ I hope that I have given back as much as I have been given.”
Noting that she and Sister Jill Weber professed their vows on the same day 50 years ago, she expressed her admiration for all her fellow jubilarians. “I feel very humbled,” Sister Martha said. “There is so much faith and talent in this group of celebrants.”
SHARING A JUBILEE WITH THE DIOCESE
The Sisters of Mercy have left an indelible mark on the Diocese of Charlotte, caring for the sick and those who have disabilities, educating future nurses, leading parochial schools and contributing countless other corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
Celebrating their 50th jubilees the same year as the diocese’s 50th anniversary is something truly special for Sister Martha, Sister Jill and Sister Soledad Aguilo. Sister Martha remembers fondly Bishop Michael Begley, the first bishop of the diocese.
“The early days were really exciting,” she said. “Bishop Begley was such a part of our community. He brought this wonderful personality, and he was a very human person.”
To illustrate the bishop’s affability, Sister Martha shared this anecdote:
“The funniest thing that ever happened to me was when I was running late one day. Bishop Begley was there for a celebration at the motherhouse, and as I was barreling down the steps and came out, he was coming up the hall and – bam! And I thought, ‘I’m done, I’m out, it’s over.’ And he said, ‘I’m sorry I was in your way.’
He laughed, and I was like, ‘Oh.’ And he instantaneously became my favorite person.”
Reflecting back, she added, “Everything was new. He was the right person for that particular time because he was a shepherd. He looked beyond the trappings of the office and reached out to people. He laid a good foundation.”
LIVING OUT HER VOCATION
Besides serving the people of her parish, Sister Martha volunteers as a nurse at A Storehouse for Jesus, a Christian ministry in Mocksville offering goods and services to the poor. In the past, she has cared for AIDS patients and continues to care for anyone in need.
Growing up in nearby Cooleemee, Sister Martha and her family were members of the Methodist Church. She felt called to convert to the Catholic faith in the late 1960s when she was a student at Mercy School of Nursing.
“Nursing was my gift. If you take that – whatever your gift is – and use it with your gift of vocation, then it only deepens and enriches the experience and helps you keep from becoming self-important,” she says. “You’re not doing this for you; you’re doing this for God in the tradition of someone like Catherine McAuley, our foundress, or the sisters who built Mercy Hospital.”
Sister Martha also shared her advice to young women discerning a religious vocation.
“You listen, and then your heart tells you which is right,” she advised. “After all the places I visited, coming home to Belmont was right. Good, bad or indifferent – it was right.”
She added, “It’s like any relationship. It’s going to have its ups and downs, but you have to work on a vocation just like you would on any relationship. Don’t throw it away at the first bad time. Keep the prayer lines open, find someone who can guide you and direct you that you trust spiritually, and just listen. Be open to new things and still be surprised when they happen. It’s part of the fun!”
— Annie Ferguson. Photos Photos Provided by Sister Pratricia Pepitone, Sister Martha Hoyle and Archives of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americans
Jubilarians
25 YEARS
Sister Jacqueline Laster
50 YEARS
Sister Soledad Aguilo
Sister Martha Elizabeth Hoyle
Sister Jill Katherine Weber
60 YEARS
Sister Mary Louise
70 YEARS
Sister Monica Perez
Sister Mary Andrew Ray
Sister Doris San Agustin
Sister Francis Jerome
Photos provided by Sister Patricia Pepitone, Sister Martha Hoyle and Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Mercy Archives, Belmont, North Carolina