CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte Foundation recently surpassed the milestone of $60 million in assets.
The foundation, established in 1994, provides a means for people and organizations to provide long-term financial stability for the diocese and its more than 180 parishes, schools, agencies and ministries.
Over the past 27 years, the foundation has grown to encompass 280 endowments that total $60.4 million in assets as of Aug. 31.
An endowment is a permanent fund, the principal of which is never touched, but the income from which can be used in accordance with the wishes of the donor organization or person.
Endowments provide a way to generate income and help sustain the long-term strength and viability of the diocese and its parishes, schools, agencies and ministries.
“The endowments in the foundation range from several thousand dollars to over $4 million. We are also finding that more and more people are establishing named endowments to honor or remember a loved one. Currently, 142 of the 280 endowments are named endowments,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan development director.
Those who make a planned gift to the diocese or any of its parishes, schools, ministries or agencies become members of the Catholic Heritage Society. The society is the diocese’s way of honoring the Christian generosity of Catholic friends who are providing for the future of the Church in western North Carolina.
The Catholic Heritage Society is comprised of more than 1,300 people in the diocese, many of whom are leaving gifts to the foundation in their wills.
The foundation sends reports out to all these endowment holders every quarter stating where their endowment stands and how much is available to distribute. As a rule, the foundation makes available 5 percent of a rolling three-year average value of its total assets. Since 1994, the foundation has distributed more than $11 million to the diocese and its parishes, schools, agencies and ministries.
One example of an endowment making a real impact in the diocese is the Eugene and Carmen Rossitch Endowment Fund for Seminarian Education, established in 2006 to ensure the continued support of seminarians’ education in the diocese. The diocese now has 41 men in various stages of formation – an indication of the diocese’s growth and successful emphasis on promoting religious vocations.
“We are finding more and more people in the diocese are remembering the Church in their estates. Many of them are establishing endowments in the foundation, where their gifts can have a lasting impact. Gifts made once in an endowment continue to give forever,” Kelley noted.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
Create an endowment
Interested in setting up an endowment? 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..
CHARLOTTE — Ministry to teenagers and young people is typically a hands-on, in-person outreach. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Diocese of Charlotte’s Youth Ministry has taken its work into the digital space – and the effort has had unexpected benefits.
Of particular note is the Diocesan Youth Advisory Council, a group of high school students and adult mentors. It has launched virtual meetings to continue its work promoting and developing plans for youth ministry in the diocese and the annual Diocesan Youth Conference. With its shift to virtual meetings, the DYAC had to cancel all of its events and was left unable to recruit members from in-person parish visits. But online meetings lend themselves to a greater ease in attendance because DYAC members are no longer limited by driving distances or meeting room sizes.
Inspired by the potential upsides, Paul Kotlowski, diocesan youth ministry director, reached out to pastors and youth ministers and encouraged them to invite their young people to consider joining the DYAC. The effort resulted in gaining new DYAC members.
Sixteen youth and their adult mentors met last month during a video conference session, covering topics such as exploring possible themes for the 44th annual Diocesan Youth Conference, the challenges that the pandemic has brought for young people, and ways the group could address those challenges.
Kotlowski said the video meetings will continue for the foreseeable future.
“Although we hope to be able to host an actual gathering in 2021,” he noted, “we’re not certain that we will be able to do so, as there are so many yet-to-be realized answers to questions such as: Will there be a viable vaccine? Will our event venue be open and able to accommodate us? Will people be comfortable at large gatherings?”
Libby Obermiller, a senior at Christ the King High School and member of St. Mark Church in Huntersville, is a member of the DYAC. She has been involved in youth ministry since the sixth grade and has served on the DYAC since her junior year.
“DYAC has had a very positive impact on my faith. It has allowed me to grow closer to God with other high school students who share the same desires and values as me and who challenge me to become the best version of myself,” Obermiller said. “I am hoping that, through my participation in DYAC, I will not only be able to share my love of the Catholic faith with my friends and peers but also help others to grow in their faith.”
John Sentilles, a junior in high school and parishioner of Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury, has served on the DYAC for two years.
“For me, it definitely deepens my faith and opens me up to how other people my age see the modern world through the Church,” Sentilles said. “Hopefully, I can in some way inspire at least one person to seek a relationship with God.”
Sentilles said he looks forward to a time when he and his fellow youth ministry participants can reconnect more in person.
“Once it is safe to go back to activities within your parish, there is no reason to not participate, even if you feel like you don’t need the Church in any way right now,” he emphasized. “We all need to get back out into a normal setting around friends, or people you might befriend after this quarantine, to be in the same headspace we were before, because nothing is normal right now.”
Kotlowski said he sees one of the silver linings in all of this “is that the pandemic is forcing us to consider ways and means to better use available technology, which will allow us to better reach our youth and expand our reach by creating events that are potentially in-person and virtual simultaneously.”
—SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
‘Trips to Latin America, Hispanic pastoral ministry have greatly enriched my life and priestly ministry’
CHARLOTTE — Sometimes I am asked how I came to speak Spanish. In truth, I am still learning, but I smile as I reflect on this journey that dates back more than 30 years.
In high school, I was told I needed to study a foreign language to be accepted into college. I didn’t know what to take. Some of my classmates had taken Latin and had received poor grades, so I decided against that one. I settled on Spanish, which I took for two years. In those days, the emphasis was not on conversational Spanish, but it was a basic start. I certainly never imagined then in the 1970s that Spanish would become my second language.
A few specific experiences helped shape my outlook on Spanish during my formation to the priesthood. On a mission trip to the Deep South, I was part of a small group assisting a priest to offer Mass in a barn for some migrant workers. Thirty Hispanic men lived in this barn in Arkansas, surviving in very humble conditions while working on the farms in the area. That was my first experience ministering to migrants.
Another time, I went to a hospital in Charlotte to bring Holy Communion to a parishioner following her surgery. In the hallway, a woman approached and asked me, “Are you a priest?” I replied that I was a seminarian. She asked me if I would visit her father, who was a patient there, and bring him Holy Communion. When we entered the room, she told me, “We are from Bolivia and he only speaks Spanish.” We had a Communion service and she translated what I said into Spanish for him. I thought to myself, “I should learn how to communicate in Spanish for my future priestly ministry.”
Another time while I was in the North Carolina mountains, heading to the church in Spruce Pine. I stopped for gas and noticed six Hispanic men standing alongside the road, apparently waiting for a ride. I knew that many Hispanics work for Christmas tree growers in that area. I thought to myself, “This is a rural area. I would like to go over and speak to those men, but I don’t speak Spanish.”
So while I was still in the seminary, I made the decision to learn Spanish. I took two classes in general Spanish and then two in “Pastoral Spanish.” After my ordination in 1995, I thought I would have a year or two to work my way into Hispanic Ministry. My first pastor, Father Thomas Walsh, told me upon my arrival at Holy Family Parish in Clemmons, “Well, Mark, you have responsibility for the ministry here and you are also the chaplain to our youth group and to the Hispanic Community of Cristo Rey in Yadkinville.” So rather than having a year or two, I had the opportunity to jump right in.
The families at Cristo Rey were very kind and patient with me as I tried ministering to them in Spanish. After a few months, I recognized my limitations, particularly with confessions, homilies and pastoral counsel, so Bishop William Curlin gave me permission to participate in a month-long language school in Mexico. That immersion was a great experience for me. I lived with a family in Cuernavaca, Mexico, attended classes and helped in a local parish. I also visited cathedrals, convents, shrines and historical sites. That immersion opened my ears to the language and helped me to understand and communicate better.
Over the past 25 years since then, I have been involved in Hispanic ministry at each of my parish assignments. After Clemmons, I served in Winston-Salem, Biscoe, Jefferson, Sparta, Charlotte, and now in Mooresville. I have celebrated more than 1,500 Masses in Spanish and have probably baptized approximately 2,000 people in Spanish. There have also many celebrations of the feast Our Lady of Guadalupe, house blessings, quinceañeras, weddings and family fiestas.
My various trips to Latin America and Hispanic pastoral ministry here in the Charlotte diocese have greatly enriched my life and priestly ministry. As a pastor and as a seminarian supervisor, I have always encouraged parochial vicars and seminarians to spend some time learning the Spanish language and the rich Hispanic culture in order to better serve our Hispanic Catholics.
Over the years, I have become convinced that Hispanic ministry is well worth the effort. Participation at events such as the annual Eucharistic Congress demonstrate the tremendous energy and faith of the many Hispanics in our midst.
For me, the journey has been a joyful one.
— Father Mark Lawlor, Special to the Catholic News Herald. Father Mark Lawlor is pastor of St. Therese Church in Mooresville.
Pictured: Just after his ordination in 1995, Father Mark Lawlor started to work for the Hispanic Ministry at Holy Family Parish in Clemmons and Christ the King in Yadkinville.Father Mark celebrates a baptism in a humble chapel in the jungle of Peru; appears with participants of a Salesian youth program in Huánuco, Peru; and blesses those attending the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration at St. Therese Church in Mooresville. (Photos provided by Father Mark Lawlor)