CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter Jugis invites all youth of the diocese in middle school and high school to join him for the Bishop’s Youth Pilgrimage Saturday, April 9, at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont.
This event, designed just for young people, will be held in person after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Bishop’s Youth Pilgrimage allows youth an opportunity to experience a fun day of music, reflection, prayer, formation, vocation awareness and fellowship.
A component of the annual Eucharistic Congress, the Bishop’s Youth Pilgrimage shares the annual Eucharistic Congress theme for 2022, based on the theme for the Diocese of Charlotte’s 50th anniversary: “Faith More Precious Than Gold,” from 1 Peter 1:7.
The day’s events will include live music from singer/songwriter Dana Catherine, keynote speaker Emily Wilson, a vocations fair, motivational speakers for middle-school and high school tracks, Eucharistic Adoration, Mass and lunch. The sacrament of reconciliation will also be available.
All events will take place in front of the abbey basilica, weather permitting.
To learn more or to register, go online to www.goeucharist.com/bishops-youth-pilgrimage. Cost is $15 per student and includes a 50th anniversary rally flag and lunch.
Deadline to register is Monday, March 28. Questions? Contact Kay Jordan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
CHARLOTTE — Catholic students in the greater Charlotte metro area have two scholarship opportunities thanks to Dr. Clark Ross, a college educator and longtime parishioner of St. Thérèse Church in Mooresville.
The economics professor and past vice president of academic affairs at Davidson College has two endowments with the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation: the Clark G. Ross Scholarship Endowment Fund and the Clark G. Ross St. Thérèse Scholarship Endowment Fund. Proceeds from the recent sale of a condominium Ross owned and gave to the foundation provided additional funds to both endowments.
The Clark G. Ross St. Thérèse Scholarship Endowment Fund will benefit Catholic high school students who are parishioners of St. Thérèse Parish going on to college. Scholarships in the amount of $2,500 will be awarded annually and are renewable for all four years of undergraduate study.
“Clark Ross is a long-time parishioner who has dedicated his career to education,” said Father Mark Lawlor, St. Thérèse’s pastor. “This latest initiative will greatly help some parishioners with their college expenses. As pastor, I am very pleased when I see parishioners who exemplify the Christian virtues of generosity and charity.”
“Clark’s incredible generosity will make a difference to the lives of St. Thérèse parishioners for many years to come,” noted Aisling Zaccarelli, the parish’s pastoral council vice chair. “Clark’s commitment to making college more affordable is a testament to his remarkable character and faithful stewardship of his treasure.”
Ross also established the Clark G. Ross Scholarship Endowment Fund to provide scholarship opportunities for Catholic students who want to attend Christ theKing High School or Charlotte Catholic High School. This $2.3 million planned endowment gift is expected to grow in value to benefit Catholic students both now and long after his death.
“Dr. Ross has become part of the fabric of our school. He teaches AP Economics, has introduced students to the wonderful academic programs at Davidson College and has been a generous donor towards scholarships to Christ the King Catholic High School,” explained Dr. Carl Semmler, principal. “I can honestly say that Dr. Ross has kept numerous students here at CTK and has sent them onto bright futures in college.”
His philanthropic giving also includes assisting Catholic students in need, domestic or international, to attend Davidson College.
“Clark has been giving for over 40 years and he keeps finding ways to give even more and in various ways,” said Jim Kelley, the diocese’s director of development.
“He has established two endowments, will leave gifts to both endowments in his estate plan, and now has gifted a condo that has helped grow the endowments.”
Ross is involved with the Catholic Student Organization at Davidson College, volunteers his time to teach at Christ the King High School, chairs the Mooresville parish’s pastoral council and sits on its planned giving committee, Kelley said.
“I hope more Catholics in the diocese will become involved in supporting education for our Catholic students,” said Ross. “Modest amounts of support can pay large dividends for families trying to educate their children in a world where education is both more costly and more necessary. I will feel greatly reassured if my example encourages others to donate at any and all levels of support.”
“More of our parishioners across the diocese are giving real estate,” Kelley noted. “A Hendersonville couple gave a condo that the diocese later sold to set up an endowment, and a parishioner at St. John Baptist de la Salle Church left her house to the parish in her will.”
Founded in 1994, the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation now totals 322 endowments totaling more than $74 million in assets.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
Fund an endowment
Interested in setting up an endowment or adding to an existing endowment at your parish or Catholic school? Establish an endowment in the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation by leaving a bequest in a will; a beneficiary designation from a retirement plan; a gift of real estate; a gift of life insurance, cash or securities sufficient to set up an endowment; or a life income arrangement, such as a trust or annuity.
For details, contact Gina Rhodes at 704-370-3364 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
‘Her engagement with our kids is enduring’
St. Pius X School girl’s varsity basketball coach Katelyn Mitchell (above) used to say, “God gives His toughest battles to His strongest soldiers.” She passed away in 2020 after a courageous battle with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. Her family established the Katelyn Mitchell Student Athlete Scholarship Endowment Fund to honor her memory. (Greensboro News and Record File Photo)GREENSBORO — Students at St. Pius X School will be blessed for generations thanks to a new athletic scholarship established in memory of one of its beloved girls’ varsity basketball coaches, Katelyn Mitchell.
The Katelyn Mitchell Student Athlete Scholarship Endowment Fund honors Mitchell, who died in 2020 at the age of 33, after a long battle with cancer.
Her parents, Stephen and Judith Mitchell, set up the endowment to provide tuition assistance for a student athlete at St. Pius X School on an annual basis.
“St. Pius basketball teams meant so much to Katelyn,” Stephen Mitchell said. “We felt this was a great way to honor her.”
He shared that his daughter was a driven young lady who was working full time and studying to earn her MBA even as she battled stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. She lived long enough to accomplish that educational goal.
“Katelyn never lost her sense of humor. She was always smiling,” he fondly recalled. “She was never going to let cancer define her.”
Mitchell says their parish community at St. Pius X Church rallied around them during Katelyn’s illness and passing.
Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, pastor of St. Pius X, knew the family well, as he administered the sacraments to Katelyn and her family over many years and greatly valued her contributions to the parish community.
“Katelyn was a strong, smart, thoughtful, successful, professional person,” Monsignor Marcaccio said. He believes her experience as a student athlete at St. Pius X School and being mentored during her time there greatly affected her Christian outlook.
“Katelyn, in turn, did the same thing for so many of our young girls. Many of our students held her in esteem and as a role model,” he noted.
“Her engagement with our kids is enduring,” he added. “They still remember her with great affection, and we honor her legacy with this endowment. We hope to encourage that same level of engagement in our students.”
Last year the Mitchells personally funded a $2,000 scholarship for a St. Pius X student athlete. At the end of this academic year, the Katelyn Mitchell Student Athlete Scholarship will be funded out of the endowment and awarded when the other school awards are presented. Applicants should be in the sixth or seventh grade.
“The endowment fund will live on when we’re gone. It will be a lasting gift we can provide to the students,” Mitchell said.
“What amazes and touches me deeply is that this family has suffered such a great loss, and they are still thinking of others,” said Jim Kelley, director of development for the Diocese of Charlotte. “Katelyn will have a major impact on students for generations to come – offering them the gift of a Catholic education. That will change those students’ lives.”
Fund an endowment
Interested in setting up an endowment or adding to an existing endowment at your parish or Catholic school? Establish an endowment in the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation by leaving a bequest in a will; a beneficiary designation from a retirement plan; a gift of real estate; a gift of life insurance, cash or securities sufficient to set up an endowment; or a life income arrangement, such as a trust or annuity.
For details, contact Gina Rhodes at 704-370-3364 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
CHARLOTTE — A special White Mass, which takes its name from the white coat commonly worn by physicians, will honor and raise prayers for our community’s health care workers at St. Patrick Cathedral Saturday, April 2. The Mass will begin at 8 a.m.
Bishop Peter Jugis and Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari of Belmont Abbey will concelebrate.
Prayers will be offered for the protection of those serving in the field of health care and for whatever assistance they need.
The White Mass is an opportunity for the faithful to reflect on the role of Catholics in health care, as well as an opportunity for community-building and support.
The liturgy is being offered in conjunction with the Converging Roads healthcare ethics conference, “Sexuality in Ethics and in Medicine.”
The conference for healthcare professionals will begin after the Mass, with opening remarks at 9:15 a.m., and concludes with a reception at 6 p.m. It is sponsored by the diocese and the St. John Paul II Foundation.
All are welcome to attend the White Mass without staying for the conference.
St. Patrick Cathedral is located at 1621 Dilworth Road East in Charlotte. Free parking is available on the streets around the cathedral or behind St. Patrick School, located at 1125 Buchanan St.
For details and registration information about the Converging Roads conference, go to www.forlifeandfamily.org/events/cr22-cnc.
Questions? Contact Jessica Grabowski, the diocese’s Respect Life program director, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter