CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter Jugis is asking each household in the Diocese of Charlotte to prayerfully consider making a three-year pledge to the St. Joseph College Seminary capital campaign by year’s end to support the formation of priests to serve the growing Church in western North Carolina.
“In our diocese, the Lord has given us an extraordinary gift of a large number of young men who are discerning a vocation to the priesthood,” Bishop Peter Jugis wrote in a letter to parishioners this week.
“We have gone from 16 men in formation to 41 in only five years! Twenty-seven of these men are in the first four years of formation, the college seminary phase. In response, we are creating a place that will allow these young men to discern their vocations close to home, and close to you and the parishes that they will one day serve as priests,” he said.
The college seminary’s permanent home in Mount Holly opened earlier this fall, and so far $16.6 million of the $20 million to pay for its construction has been raised by 650 donors.
With Gothic architecture and brickwork inspired by nearby Belmont Abbey, where in 1876 Benedictine monks planted the roots of Catholicism in western North Carolina, the two-story, 30,000-square-foot building includes 40 dorm rooms, a chapel, classroom and library, faculty offices, a refectory and kitchen, and a picturesque cloister walk where students can meditate and pray.
The aim of the college seminary program is to nurture local vocations among the parishes and families in the diocese, close to home, before the men graduate and go on to major seminaries located elsewhere to complete their priestly formation and return for ordination to serve in the diocese’s growing parishes.
“Our diocese is growing dramatically as is our need for more priests,” Bishop Jugis said. “We need men of virtue, well formed in the diocese, for service in the diocese. Only a priest can bring us the Real Presence of our Eucharistic Lord through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Only a priest can restore our friendship with God in the sacrament of reconciliation. Every priest is a living witness of
Christ in a world that needs God’s love and truth more than ever.
“Your participation is essential for the success of this campaign. Our future priests need your help to continue their path toward the day of their ordination.”
Support the St. Joseph College Seminary campaign
Pledge financial support for the college seminary by returning the pledge card included with the Nov. 16 letter from Bishop Jugis or go online to www.stjcs.org.
Questions? 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., or Jim Kelley, diocesan development director, at 704-608-0359 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
Pictured: Nine new college seminarians received their house cassocks Nov. 1 at St. Ann Church in Charlotte. Bishop Peter Jugis blessed the cassocks and participated in vespers with the St. Joseph College Seminary community. There are now 27 men discerning a vocation to the priesthood at the college seminary, located in Mount Holly near Belmont Abbey College where the seminarians are pursuing their college degrees. (Photo provided by St. Joseph College Seminary)