CHARLOTTE — Sister Mary Monica Perez, a Sister of Mercy for 70 years, died on Dec. 27, 2022. She was 87.
The Sisters of Mercy and her family will receive her body at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022, and the funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 30, 2022, at Sacred Heart Chapel on the Sisters of Mercy campus. Interment will follow at nearby Belmont Abbey Cemetery.
Sister Monica was born in Agana (now called Hagåtña), Guam, the first of six children of Ismael Cruz Perez and Ana Pangelinan. She attended elementary school at Our Lady of Guam Academy in Agana and later graduated from Sacred Heart College in Belmont with a degree in elementary education.
Sister Monica had no contact with any religious community of women until three Sisters of Mercy came to establish schools in Guam in 1946. The Sisters of Mercy were the first permanent community of Catholic religious women in Guam and the first to accept local vocations. She entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1952 and took as her motto “Thy Will Be Done.” This described her personal commitment and all that happened in her life.
After her final vows she was assigned to study and live in Belmont, where she spent her religious life.
Sister Monica taught in elementary schools as well as taught religious education programs at parishes in Asheville, Wilmington, Belmont and Concord. She served in the library of Sacred Heart College and also as director of computer services at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Charlotte.
In recognition of her 70th jubilee anniversary as a Sister of Mercy, the Guam legislature presented Sister Monica with a special commendation for her lifetime commitment to prayer, education and service.
Sister Monica was an avid basketball and football fan, a talented cook, baker and seamstress. She always greeted everyone with a welcoming smile.
She is survived by the Sisters of Mercy; her siblings, Jose Perez and Agnes Carr; and several nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be sent to the Sisters of Mercy, 101 Mercy Dr., Belmont, N.C. 28012.
McLean Funeral Directors of Belmont is in charge of the arrangements.
— Catholic News Herald
Father Wilbur Thomas
April 17, 1947 – Dec. 6, 2022
ASHEVILLE — The Very Rev. Wilbur N. Thomas, a trailblazing priest who served God and His people for 50 years as the Diocese of Charlotte’s first African American priest, passed away peacefully Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, at CarePartners Hospice Solace Center in Asheville, surrounded by family and friends. He was 75.
A Vigil and Rosary was held from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, at the Basilica of St. Lawrence, located at 97 Haywood St. in Asheville, N.C. The Funeral Mass was celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022 with Monsignor Michael Becker as principal celebrant, also at the Basilica of St. Lawrence. The rite of committal and inurnment was held Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, at St. Eugene Catholic Church, located at 72 Culvern St. in Asheville.
Wilbur Neely Thomas was born April 17, 1947, in Charlotte, N.C., and adopted as an infant by Wilbur O. and Ruth N. Thomas of Lexington, N.C. The Thomases were Methodist, but after a stroke left his dad bedridden when Wilbur was 10, the example of the local priest who came to visit inspired his parents to convert to Catholicism. When he was 12, Wilbur too decided to become Catholic.
In 1960, he was baptized and confirmed at his local parish, Our Lady of the Rosary in Lexington, by the Most Rev. Vincent S. Waters of the Diocese of Raleigh. His relationship with the Lord continued to deepen as he served at Mass and learned as much as he could about his newfound Catholic faith. As a teenager, he felt the call to become a priest while praying before the Blessed Sacrament at his Catholic high school, Bishop McGuinness. At first his parents disapproved of their only son becoming a priest, but by the time he was a senior in high school they consented. Not long after he turned 18, he was accepted into the seminary program for the Raleigh diocese and entered the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio.
Father Thomas was ordained to the priesthood on March 26, 1973 – the Feast of the Annunciation – by Bishop Waters at Our Lady of the Annunciation Catholic Church in Havelock, N.C. At the time, he was among the first African American Catholic priests ordained in North Carolina, and shortly after his ordination, he transferred to the newly formed Diocese of Charlotte as its first black Catholic priest.
Throughout his life Father Thomas remained devoted to serving the Lord and His people, and his tireless work as a priest encompassed parish ministry, ministry to young people and college students, ecumenical outreach and dialogue, and leadership that inspired laypeople across the diocese to become more involved in the life of the Church.
Father Thomas was a trailblazer in many ways, and not only as the first African American priest incardinated for the new Charlotte diocese. He laid the foundations for many of the ministries and programs in which tens of thousands of Catholics throughout western North Carolina now participate.
Among his first achievements was in building up ministry for young people in western North Carolina. He was appointed the Charlotte diocese’s first Catholic Campus Minister, serving at Wake Forest University, and he helped develop the diocese’s Campus Ministry Program. He also developed the diocese’s Youth Ministry Program and its Diocesan Youth Council, as well as serving as the first Youth Ministry director from 1976 to 1979.
In 1979, he helped organize the diocese’s second Diocesan Assembly on Evangelization, where he was its keynote speaker, and he helped coordinate planning assemblies that led up to the pivotal Diocese of Charlotte Synod in 1986-1987.
Father Thomas was also a leader for the early Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, serving as its chaplain.
As an African American priest, Father Thomas inspired fellow black Catholics to get involved in the Church. He organized the diocese’s Committee of Black Catholic Ministry and Evangelization, now called the African American Affairs Ministry, and he helped arrange the diocese’s first Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. Even after his retirement in 2018 from active ministry, he continued to support and encourage the African American Affairs Ministry and its work.
Nationally, he was a longtime contributor to the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus (NBCCC) and its liaison to the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests (AUSCP).
He was also an ardent advocate for ecumenical outreach to other Christian denominations, particularly the Lutheran Church, where he was instrumental in establishing the Aquinas-Luther Conference, which began under the late Lutheran Bishop Michael McDaniel, then head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Father Thomas was a rock of fraternal support, encouragement and counsel for his fellow priests, particularly in his role as diocesan Vicar of Priests from 1998 to 2002.
His pastoral ministry included serving as assistant pastor of St. Leo the Great in Winston-Salem (1973-1975) and of St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte (1975-1977); and as pastor of Our Lady of the Annunciation in Albemarle (1977-1979); Our Lady of Consolation in Charlotte (1979-1986), where he was the historically black Catholic parish’s first African American pastor; St. Aloysius in Hickory (1987-1998); St. Francis of Assisi in Jefferson (1999); and as rector of the historic Basilica of
St. Lawrence in Asheville (2000-2018), his last pastoral assignment before retirement.
Later in life after the deaths of his adoptive parents, Father Thomas was able to locate his biological family and developed a close relationship with his half-sisters, Elaine Lash Sutton and Dr. Adrienne Lash Jones, and their families. He enjoyed spending holidays and reunions with his newfound family. He learned that their shared biological father, Wiley Immanuel Lash of Salisbury, had been a successful businessman, the leader of local desegregation efforts, and the first African American man to serve as mayor of Salisbury. His mother, Marion Gunn, had been a brilliant college graduate who worked at Livingstone College as secretary to the president.
His family, friends and fellow priests will remember his calming and melodic voice, his wise counsel, the charity and love he shared with everyone he knew, and most importantly, his personal relationship with Jesus Christ. His strong faith powered his lifelong efforts to help build up the Church in western North Carolina, and he encouraged everyone he encountered – whether it was young people, couples, families or his fellow priests – to always turn to God in prayer, keeping Him at the center of their lives and letting Him guide them.
He once told the Catholic News Herald, the diocese’s newspaper, that he cherished the time he spent praying before a crucifix and the Blessed Sacrament several times each day.
“That relationship has been the anchor for me,” he said. “Everything flows from that. I trust in His leading and guiding me through His Spirit. I trust myself to His will and His purpose for me every day.”
Father Thomas was preceded in death by his biological and adoptive parents, and his half-sister, Dr. Adrienne Lash Jones.
Survivors include his sister, Elaine Lash Sutton of Cary, N.C.; nieces Denise, Robin, Taborah, Shannon and Donnah; nephews Derek, Darryl and Brian; his fellow priests and numerous friends.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Father Wilbur Thomas Endowment Fund, c/o Foundation of the Diocese of Charlotte, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, N.C. 28203. Make checks payable to: Foundation of the Diocese of Charlotte, and note the endowment name in the memo line.
Groce Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Asheville is in charge of the arrangements.
Learn more about his legacy: Remembering Father Thomas, trailblazing African American priest of western North Carolina.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Father Christopher Michael Riehl, former pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Waynesville, passed away Nov. 10, 2022, from medical complications related to diabetes.
He had just celebrated his 45th birthday on Nov. 7, 2022, and he was a week shy of his 13th anniversary of priestly ordination.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, at Holy Ghost Catholic Church, 1041 N. Central St. in Knoxville, Tenn. Family will receive friends before the service from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Burial will follow at 3 p.m. at Mount Olivet Cemetery, 1 Mount Olivet Dr. in Chattanooga, Tenn.
He was born in Gowen, Mich., on Nov. 7, 1977. After having moved around during his childhood, he settled in Jefferson City, Tenn., where he graduated from high school. While studying for – and subsequently earning – an associate’s degree with an emphasis in law at Walter State Community College, he began discerning a call to the priesthood. He later earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Conception Seminary in Conception, Mo., and a Master of Divinity from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa.
In May 2007, he shared the distinction of being ordained a deacon alongside his father, John Riehl, by the Most Rev. Joseph E. Kurtz, archbishop of Louisville. They were ordained at Holy Trinity Church in Jefferson City, their home parish.
On Nov. 14, 2009, Father Riehl was ordained a priest by the Most Rev. Richard F. Stika, bishop of Knoxville.
Father Riehl loved sports, regularly played golf, watched football with his family and friends, and frequently explored the outdoors. While he was also an excellent cook who found immense joy preparing exceptional meals for those he loved, his true love was for Our Lord Jesus Christ and His mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through his deep devotion to Mary, Mother of God, Father Riehl had recently published a book entitled “Listen to Our Lady” and was working on a second book.
Father Riehl spent several years in ministry in the Diocese of Charlotte, including as administrator and later pastor of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Waynesville and Immaculate Conception Mission in Canton from 2014 to 2017. Prior to that, he served at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Charlotte from 2013 to 2014.
Father Riehl is survived by his parents, Deacon John and Shirley Riehl; siblings Suzie, Jeff, Jennifer, Tony, Cindy and Tim; and 11 nieces and nephews. He will be remembered by those who were fortunate enough to know a beloved son and brother.
Click Funeral Home & Cremations – Middlebrook Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
— Catholic News Herald
GREENSBORO — Deacon Timothy F. Rohan, 87, of Greensboro, passed away peacefully at his home Nov. 22, 2022, surrounded by his family.
A vespers prayer service will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro. Immediately after, the family will receive friends in the parish banquet hall until 8:30 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 2, 2022, at Our Lady of Grace Church, with burial and a reception to follow. Our Lady of Grace Church is located at 2203 W. Market St. in Greensboro.
Timothy Rohan was born on May 12, 1935, in Brooklyn, N.Y., into a large Irish family. He met his wife of 64 years, Eileen, in elementary school and they were lifelong best friends. He began working for Western Electric as a teenager, later graduating from St. John’s University and becoming a systems engineering manager, responsible for the connectivity of the nation’s telephone networks. The family moved to North Carolina in 1975 when his job was relocated.
He was ordained a permanent deacon for the Diocese of Charlotte on June 18, 1988. Several years later he retired from Western Electric to focus on his many ministerial duties at his home parish, Our Lady of Grace. He also served as business manager of the parish for many years.
Over his 30 years of service, “Deacon Tim” touched the lives of many before his retirement in 2018. He always shared his smile, wisdom and faith in everything he did, whether it was bringing food for Urban Ministries, officiating at weddings and performing baptisms, or delivering homilies that gave parishioners the lift they needed. Deacon Tim was also instrumental in starting Perpetual Adoration at Maryfield retirement community in High Point, and over the years his favorite ministry was visiting and bringing Holy Communion to the homebound. He was truly the embodiment of the hands of God at work on earth.
He cherished his family life, had a tremendous sense of humor, had a fondness for Irish music and was an avid Tarheels fan. He was preceded in death by his parents Thomas Rohan and Honoria Moriarity; and his siblings Thomas, Eileen, Patrick and John.
Those left to treasure his memory include his wife Eileen; and children Eileen, Tim, Sue, Simril (Mitch), Roberta and Tom. He is also survived by his sister, Mary Rohan. He adored his six grandchildren: Patty Snider (Aaron), Elizabeth, Timothy, Catherine, Sam and Kayla. In his later years, his three great-grandchildren, Paisley, Oliver and Nora Snider, also brought him great joy.
He is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the “Grace Fund” at Our Lady of Grace Church, 2203 W Market St., Greensboro, N.C. 27403. Please write “In Memory of Deacon Tim Rohan” on the check memo line. To donate online, go to the parish website at www.olgchurch.org and click on the donation button on the right of the page.
Forbis & Dick Funeral Service – North Elm Chapel of Greensboro is in charge of the arrangements.
— Catholic News Herald
GREENSBORO — Father James F. Scherer passed away Sept. 15, 2022, at AuthoraCare Collective/Beacon Place in Greensboro.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 21, 2022, at St. Pius X Church, located at 2210 N. Elm St. in Greensboro. A reception will follow.
He was born on March 13, 1937, in Philadelphia. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 16, 1964, and incardinated in the Archdiocese of Atlanta.
During his ministry, he served in the Greensboro area as a marriage and family therapist and certified social worker, and since the 1970s he regularly assisted with offering Masses at St. Pius X Church and other Greensboro area parishes. In 1997, he was featured as the graduation speaker at Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville.
Besides his parents, Father Scherer was preceded in death by two siblings, brother Charles and sister Trudy.
He is survived by his sister, Betty Ann McNamara; 15 nieces and nephews; and a multitude of great-nieces and great-nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to one’s favorite charity.
Advantage Funeral & Cremation Services of Greensboro was in charge of the arrangements.
— Catholic News Herald