NEBO — Hundreds of Scouts and adults attended the 45th Catholic Camporee March 17-19, which this year celebrated the life of St. Patrick and all things Irish.
Catholic Scouts of all ages packed in a weekend full of activities, religious education, camping and fellowship at Camp Grimes, the Scout reservation in the South Mountains owned by the Boy Scouts of America’s Mecklenburg County Council.
Scouts had fun fishing, hiking, building campfires and performing skits, tossing potatoes using a slingshot, building splints and stretchers for first aid, and using their knowledge of knots and lashings to create a campfire tripod.
Cub Scouts learned about St. Patrick and then had to find examples of the Scout law – i.e., “A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent” – in the life of the Irish missionary and bishop.
Boy Scouts painted prayer boxes and prayed the rosary. They also received holy cards featuring the image of St. Patrick and the “St. Patrick’s Breastplate” prayer.
The Camporee ended with Mass and the presentation of religious emblems to Scouts and leaders who exemplify the Catholic ideals of Scouting.
The closing Mass was offered by Monsignor Patrick Winslow, vicar general and chancellor of the diocese, who was assisted by Deacon Martin Ricart, the diocese’s Scouting chaplain. St. Joseph College Seminary students who are former Scouts served the Mass.
In his homily, Monsignor Winslow touched on the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, from the Gospel of John (9:1-41), that recounts Jesus healing the blind man.
In his homily, Monsignor Winslow emphasized to the Scouts the importance of seeing with the eyes of faith, particularly as they navigate the essential questions of life: What is the meaning of life? Who created this world? What am I made for? How do I find my path in life?
Just as Scouts learn basic skills such as tying knots and orienteering, Scouting’s focus on character education gives Scouts a lifelong foundation “to be able to rise to the occasion of these larger things.”
And just as Scouts use the sun and stars to navigate geographically, “so too do we look to the heavens for our own position and direction (in life),” he said, keeping our eyes of faith fixed on Jesus, the Light of the World.
“The gift of faith enables us to see this heavenly Light to determine our position and our direction, our meaning, our purpose, how we should arrange our lives and the direction toward which we should move,” Monsignor Winslow said.
Without faith, he said, “we can be like people lost in the dark, unable to see – not because the light isn’t there, but because one lacks the ‘(spiritual) eyes’ to perceive it.”
After Mass, religious emblems exemplifying the Catholic ideals of Scouting were awarded to Scouts who earned the achievement over the past year. More than 30 youths from nine Scout units were recognized for having received the Light of Christ, Parvuli Dei, Ad Altare Dei or Pope Pius XII awards. (See list of recipients below.)
Mike Nielsen, chair of the Charlotte Diocese Catholic Committee on Scouting, which organizes the annual camporee, noted these religious awards are a sign of the importance of character education and spiritual development for diocesan youth involved in a Scouting program.
“Scouts and families didn’t let cold temperatures both Friday and Saturday nights deter them from attending and celebrating Catholic Scouting with each other,” Nielsen said afterwards. “We are very grateful for their attendance, and for the work of the volunteers who planned and staffed the activities including Camporee Cubmaster David Dorsch from St. Patrick Pack 9 in Charlotte and Camporee Scoutmasters Stanley Snodgrass and Tom Gauch from St. Gabriel Troop 174 in Charlotte.”
Three Scouting leaders were awarded the Bronze Pelican for their significant commitment to teaching and modeling the Catholic faith in their Scouting units:
- Amanda Balwah, religious emblem coordinator for Pack 721 at Our Lady of Mercy and St. Leo the Great parishes in Winston-Salem;
- Lee Danhauer, religious emblem coordinator for the Old Hickory Council, assistant scoutmaster for Troop 934 in Winston-Salem, and chaplain’s aide trainer and leader; and
- Michael Roberts, assistant scoutmaster for Troop 8 at St. Matthew Parish in Charlotte.
Jody McManus of Pack 443 in Salisbury was awarded the highest national adult recognition in Catholic Scouting, the St. George Emblem. This award recognizes people who have made exemplary contributions to Catholic Scouting in their units, and recipients must have previously received the Bronze Pelican emblem.
McManus has been cubmaster of a small pack in Salisbury for more than two decades – teaching and leading countless young people in the values of Catholic Scouting. A recipient of the Bronze Pelican in 1995, she has also organized the craft activity for Cub Scouts at the annual Catholic Camporee for years.
Nielsen noted in presenting the award to McManus, “There’s no way to know how many hundreds of Cub Scouts have had Jody touch their lives.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle. Submitted photos.
2023 CATHOLIC RELIGIOUS EMBLEM RECIPIENTS
Troop 8 – St. Mathew Parish, Charlotte
Ad Altare Dei: Thomas Abbott, Ethan Pereira, Peter Idzerda, Joel Sudeep, Luke Lyberg and Simon Wood
Pack 8 – St. Mathew Parish, Charlotte
Light of Christ: Gavin Idhaya, Mason Makin, Liam Knoefel, Nivaan Mallavarapu, Elijah Lee and Ethan Roan
Parvuli Dei: Mason Epping, Sean Schofield, Xavier Lee, Andrew Pacilli and Connor Santoro
Pack 97 – St. Mark Parish, Huntersville
Light of Christ: Nathan Helmbrecht
Pack 104 – Our Lady of Grace Parish, Greensboro / Christ United Methodist Church
Light of Christ: Sebastian Braden
Parvuli Dei: Julian Braden and Fabian Braden
Troop 149 – Our Lady of Grace Parish, Greensboro
Ad Altare Dei: Arthur Staudinger IV
Pack 171 – St. Therese Parish, Mooresville
Parvuli Day: Joseph Kendell
Pack 721 – Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Winston-Salem
Light Of Christ: Tallulah Barker, Nicholas Enrich, Finley Jarvis, Cooper Przybylowicz and Abraham Smith
Parvuli Dei: Winfred Albert, Austin Jenkins, Sofia Mendoza and Sebastian Moore Rincon
Unit 263 – St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Franklin
Ad Altare Dei: Connor Wilson
Troop 9 – St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte
Pope Pius XII: Jackson Griffin
