BELMONT — During this past year of pandemic, Catherine’s House has continued meeting the needs of vulnerable women and children – remaining open as a place of hope, safety and healing despite increased demands and challenges.
Catherine’s House serves women and children facing homelessness due to domestic violence, unemployment or underemployment, the shortage of affordable housing, unexpected tragedies, and the lack of a support network.
Catherine’s House provides a range of individualized services including housing, financial literacy, parenting support, job-seeking assistance, supportive counseling from a licensed clinical social worker, stress management and more.
Throughout the pandemic, Catherine’s House has continued without pause this “mission of mercy” to assist women and children.
Exacerbation of substance use disorders, mental health diagnoses, and a surge in domestic violence has led to a “pandemic within a pandemic.”
The number of Americans experiencing depression and anxiety reached an all time high in the first six months of the pandemic. Recent research shows 51 percent of adults reported that stress was impacting their mental health. With the fallout from the pandemic, the reality is we all need more support than we have ever needed.
The most vulnerable do not debate the severity of the pandemic. In the Charlotte area, encampments for the homeless sprang up due to social distancing protocols in homeless shelters that reduced their capacities. Additional barriers included joblessness and limited access to resources as daily shelters closed or scaled back their services. People had to transition to virtual care for mental health care, and then often found themselves disengaged from services even as they experienced increased symptoms. Stimulus checks, although they were needed, have not helped more people get access to affordable housing. In fact, housing and socioeconomic barriers that already existed became nearly insurmountable for many.
The effects of quarantine also created physical and emotional isolation that led to many people having feelings of despair. Other people experienced a rise in intimate partner violence and abuse. Financial instability, unsafe housing, violence, lack of childcare and poor social supports make the shaky ground even worse for some. Many shelters saw an increase of more than 40 percent for domestic violence related calls.
The staff at Catherine’s House has maintained operations even as they have been personally impacted by the pandemic. They have been among the support professionals who have ensured that the under-served are not forgotten in the midst of this worldwide crisis.
Catherine’s House remains dedicated to meeting the pandemic stress and the impact of the pandemic on vulnerable and marginalized women and children. Learn more online at www.catherineshouseinc.org.
—Jane Cacchione, Special to the Catholic News Herald. Jane Cacchione is the development director for Catherine’s House, a transitional home for women and children who would otherwise be homeless. Based in Belmont, it is a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Mercy.
CHARLOTTE — Memorial Day is not just a day to remember the people who have died in service to their country, it is a day to acknowledge the freedom we enjoy because of their self-sacrifice.
That was the homily message from Monsignor Patrick Winslow, vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of Charlotte, who celebrated Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral for military personnel and their families May 31.
Approximately 100 people attended the annual Mass, which honors all military personnel whether active, retired or deceased.
“On this Memorial Day, all of us realize that we have been either directly or indirectly affected by loved ones we have lost in service to our nation,” Monsignor Winslow said.
The holiday often brings feelings of great pain mixed with great pride, but in addition, Memorial Day “aligns so beautifully with the practice and the depth of our own faith,” he said.
The word “memorial” itself does not mean “a mere recollection of the past,” he explained. In the Judeo-Christian sense, a memorial honors events in the past from which we continue to benefit.
For example, he said, the Israelites set aside a day to ritually give thanks to God after they were freed from slavery in Egypt – recognizing that “they were the beneficiaries of the fruit of that event.” They realized that God’s saving action “is still unfolding.”
“They recalled the past, recognizing that it made possible the present, and therefore their recollection of it was also an experience of something now,” Monsignor Winslow said. “In this sense – this deeper Judeo-Christian sense of memorial – I think we have a better sense of how to remember and memorialize this secular remembrance.”
“We don’t just recall the past and those who gave their lives… but rather, we recognize the freedom that we share is a direct result of it, and therefore we participate in that past. So our memorial is not just a look backward, but also an acknowledgment of the present.”
Memorial Day also reflects the mystery of the cross, Monsignor Winslow noted.
Those who have died in service to their country mirror Jesus’ offering of Himself on the cross for our salvation, he said.
Yet His self-sacrifice for our benefit is a model for all of us to follow – not just for people serving in the military.
“The truth is, all of us are meant to follow in the path of the cross of Christ. That is to say, our lives only find meaning when they are made a gift – a gift to God and to others.”
“All of us, if we are to embrace the cross, then we are to make a gift of self – in different ways, different respects – but life ultimately finds its fulfillment in this offering of love,” he said.
On Memorial Day, he said, think of what a memorial means and how our faith calls us to self-sacrifice.
“It is right that we remember the families who experience the pain of their loss, that we acknowledge we sit in freedom today because of that, and therefore our remembrance is a living remembrance and not a mere recollection of the past,” he said.
“It is right that we pray for the souls of those who have lost their lives in service to their country… that we pray for their families who have been profoundly affected, and that we express our gratitude,” he said.
“May they rest in peace.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor
At top: Monsignor Patrick Winslow offered the annual Mass for the Military May 31 at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte. (Photo by James Sarkis)
MOUNT HOLLY — St. Joseph College Seminary is the beneficiary of an unusual estate gift from someone who never visited the seminary or even set foot in the Diocese of Charlotte.
Mary Josephine “Jo” Pankowski, 94, of West Palm Beach, Fla., left the college seminary’s capital campaign $52,000 in her will when she passed away last May.
Pankowski learned of the college seminary from her niece and goddaughter, Julie Trueman. Trueman and her husband Tom are parishioners of St. Elizabeth Church in Boone. The Truemans are very active in their community and are themselves supporters of the college seminary.
Pankowski did not have any children, so she entrusted her niece with helping her manage her charitable donations in her will. She often sought Trueman’s assistance in changing and adding charities to her list of those organizations she wanted to support after her death.
She had a deep devotion to her namesake, St. Joseph, so when Trueman told her about St. Joseph College Seminary, she surprised Trueman by adding it to her list of charities that would receive a percentage of her estate in her will.
Trueman said her aunt, born in Chicago in 1926, grew up near Mundelein Seminary and it was important to their whole family. Pankowski also left an estate gift to Mundelein Seminary, which is the principal seminary for the formation of priests in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
“She always told me she wanted to give 20 percent of her estate to charities in her trust,” Trueman said. “I think the name St. Joseph College Seminary really made her want to include it in her trust. She had a special devotion to St. Joseph, St. Anthony and the Blessed Mother.”
Trueman also believes that when her aunt learned about the priest shortage in parts of the growing South, she was inspired to triple her original financial gift – appreciating the college seminary’s mission to form future priests to serve the rising number of faithful in western North Carolina.
“It is wonderful to see someone from outside the diocese make an estate gift to the seminary capital campaign,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan director of development. “The good work we do in this diocese in many ways is being recognized by people across the country. This is just one example of that. Even though St. Joseph College Seminary is only five years old, a donor has already established an endowment for the seminary and several people have called us to say they are remembering the seminary in their estate plans.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
Help support St. Joseph College Seminary’s capital campaign
The St. Joseph College Seminary capital campaign fundraising is under way, with $19 million of the $20 million raised so far. For information about the St. Joseph College Seminary capital campaign, go to www.stjosephcollegeseminary.orgor contact Fredrik Akerblom, St. Joseph College Seminary development director, at 704-302-6386 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..