In the Spirit of Truth
Catholic education and the priestly vocation of Father Edward Sheridan have been intertwined since the earliest days of his calling. Born in 1937, he first felt the nudge as a grade schooler at Good Shepherd School and Church in New York City.
“I was a choir boy – in the parish choir. I sang so beautifully,” he says with a mirthful laugh as he reminisced about his youth.
Continuing in complete earnestness, he explains, “I just had it in my mind when I was in Catholic school, and I think that the whole idea of serving people, helping people, just came to me, and that’s basically what it is, you know. It wasn’t a divine revelation per se. I just had it in mind that this would be a good thing to do for life, and it turned out that way.”
It certainly did. This year marks the 59th anniversary of Father Sheridan’s ordination to the priesthood. To prepare, he studied at St. Bonaventure University in upstate New York, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in sacred Scripture and Church history.
“I wanted to serve the Church in a missionary area, and North Carolina was, at that time, less than 1 percent Catholic,” he says. “So, I applied and was accepted into the seminary as part of the Diocese of Raleigh,” he says.
On May 23, 1963, Bishop Vincent Waters ordained him a priest of the Raleigh diocese at Infant of Prague Church in Jacksonville, N.C.
“Bishop Waters, at that time, moved the ordinations around,” he recalls. “Wherever there was a new church built – no matter what size it was – the ordination was celebrated at that particular church.”
His first assignment was to the missionary apostolate in Newton Grove, Mt. Olive and Wallace. One year after his ordination, he also became administrator of William Gaston High School in New Bern. Two years after his ordination, he was assigned as administrator of Bishop McGuinness High School in Winston-Salem.
In another two years, he was named pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Brevard as well as parishes in Sapphire and Highlands. During this time, Father Sheridan also was the diocesan youth director.
In 1972 he was serving as administrator of Asheville Catholic High School when big news came: a new diocese for North Carolina.
Building From the Ground Up
That year, the Charlotte diocese was formed with Bishop Michael J. Begley leading the way. He appointed Father Sheridan, who was set to complete his master’s in education administration in 1973, as the diocese’s first superintendent of schools. So he’d be closer to Charlotte, Bishop Begley transferred him first to Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Monroe and later to St. Ann Parish on Park Road.
“It was an exciting time. It was in the midst of all of the changes in the Church, and I think that we saw Bishop Begley as our bishop to bring about further development of changes from Vatican II, and he did a great job. He increased the understanding of the lay apostolate and parish councils. It was good to be a part of that process,” Father Sheridan recalls.
He continues, “We went into a period of time planning and tried to look at ourselves and see what we should do and involve the lay people in spiritual movements and other areas where they could help in many different ways.”
Father Sheridan was tasked with separating the Catholic schools in western North Carolina from the Raleigh diocese in the east, working with his counterpart in Raleigh, Father Donald Staib.
“It was good getting it started, and the people were very good as we worked with the leadership in the schools, the principals and the teachers. It was good to get it on its feet,” he says.
At the time of the opening of what was then called the diocesan Department of Education, there were 18 elementary schools, one private elementary and secondary school, and two high schools. The total enrollment was 5,688 with 176 full- and part-time personnel, including 94 sisters representing six religious communities.
The Diocesan Board of Education had nine members and was established under the direction and guidance of Father Sheridan. It was founded as the primary policy-making body for religious education within the diocese and derives its authority from the bishop.
Today, the diocese has 20 schools, including three high schools (in Charlotte, Huntersville and Kernersville) and an independent Catholic school in Asheville.
Over the years, the Catholic schools faced headwinds – finances became more challenging, religious communities departed, enrollment ebbed and flowed.
Two of the schools were forced to close while Father Sheridan was superintendent: one in Charlotte and another in Waynesville. “Those were sad times,” he says, adding that he is hopeful about the number of schools growing in the future.
“The atmosphere of Catholic schools is very important for many reasons. Our values are promulgated in so many wonderful ways. The support that we get from our teachers, curriculum and activities make a difference. It is a wonderful place to be assured a good effort is made to build a healthy and positive person in a world which has so many contrary – and sometimes negative and wrong – ways of life,” he explains.
“I wish every Catholic child would be able to experience a good Catholic education.”
Parish Life and Growth
Father Sheridan served as schools superintendent until 1976. The next year, he became pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Winston-Salem, where he remained until being transferred to St. Aloysius in Hickory in 1984. Two years later, he became the first director of the Catholic Conference Center, which was built under his direction. Then, in 1989, he became the pastor of St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte. In 1998 he returned to St. Aloysius for six years and then returned to St. Gabriel in 2004. He retired in 2007.
“I would go back to any parish that I’ve had an opportunity to be part of,” he says. “I miss them all.”
In what he calls his “new era,” he remains active serving the lay faithful, offering “Mass in the Grass” at his home for the past two years to help serve those who wish to continue to attend Mass outside due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before the pandemic, he had been on staff at Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory for five years and helped nearby parishes by offering Mass as needed on the weekends. This summer, he is taking a group of 40 on pilgrimage to Northern Ireland, one of 15 he’s led.
In a spirit of continual improvement, Father Sheridan shares his hopes for the future of the diocese, including a revitalization of lay ministry and a continued emphasis on youth programs – something he deems vitally important.
“We should be concerned about the Church’s benefit to the people rather than vice versa. I would like to see our parishes, priests and staff be more oriented to helping people to bring about an increase in our relationship with the good Lord,” he says. “I feel hopeful, and I look forward to the remaining years of my life to help in any way I can.”
— Annie Ferguson