'I believe that Christ continues to "step and act in this world" through His priests'
SHELBY — Shelby is a long way from New Brunswick, N.J., where Father Michael Kottar served in his first parish after his ordination for the Diocese of Metuchen 20 years ago. In 1994, he was ordained by Bishop Edward Thomas Hughes, and five years later he found himself in North Carolina, where he now serves as pastor of St. Mary Parish.
As he looks back over the past 20 years, Father Kottar shares with the Catholic News Herald some of his memories:
CNH: What was your first assignment?
Father Kottar: My first assignment was St. Peter the Apostle in New Brunswick, N.J. What do I remember? City life! St. Peter's was an old Irish parish with both a parish grammar and high school. It was a big stone church with no air conditioning. The Northeast Corridor high speed rail line runs right behind the church.
In the summer, when all the windows were left open during Mass, you could hear the blast of the trains and the station announcements for the next train to New York. That was where I developed my pulpit voice!
The rectory and offices were located in an old converted mansion with four large white pillars in the front. In reality it was run down, but from the street it looked impressive. One of the neighborhood boys, after asking where I lived, said, 'Man, you live in a judge's house.' I won't forget that.
CNH: What have been some of your favorite assignments?
Father Kottar: In 1999 I received permission to work in the Diocese of Charlotte for three years. Bishop William Curlin welcomed me to the diocese. (Bishop Peter J. Jugis has since incardinated me, and I say a special thanks to both bishops.)
I drove straight down from New Jersey to the south side of Charlotte – St. Matthew Church – the largest in the diocese and I guess the largest in the country. The Capuchins were leaving and Monsignor John McSweeney had just arrived the day before. I think we were both in shock. Thousands of families! Two priests! Monsignor McSweeney told me the last time he was there it was all farmland.
Another assignment was the smallest parish in the diocese, Holy Redeemer Church in Andrews and Prince of Peace Mission in Robbinsville, in the beautiful Smoky Mountains. Less than 100 families. The first time I drove out there I was almost two hours from Asheville and wondering how long the state of North Carolina could be. It's long! Route 74 became two lanes and I entered the Nantahala Gorge.
I said to myself, "This is really the end of the world. What have I got myself into?" The little church and rectory in Andrews has the best view of any in the diocese. Half of Graham County is in the Smoky Mountains National Park. I used to joke that we had more black bear as parishioners than humans. And they all tithed!
CNH: What are some of the biggest lessons you have learned over the past 20 years?
Father Kottar: I have learned that people love priests because they bring them Christ – the Holy Eucharist and all the sacraments and blessings when the priest acts in persona Christi.
Pope Francis, as archbishop of Buenos Aires, said priests have been "anointed to anoint ... anointed to make every person who comes into this world, everyone who loves the Lord, feel the goodness and tenderness of God."
The priest has been anointed with the oil of gladness, so his oil will never dry up. It is also just the presence of the priest, like a home visitation or at a social function, which calls to mind the love of Christ. God is not somewhere off in the distance, but Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI once said that what's essential about Christianity is Christ Himself. "God stepped into the world and acted; so it is an action, a reality, not only an intellectual entity." I believe that Christ continues to "step and act in this world" through His priests."
CNH: What advice would you give to a man discerning a vocation to the priesthood?
Father Kottar: For a man discerning the priesthood, I recommend prayer, the Holy Eucharist and frequent confession. Start praying the rosary and develop a relationship with the Blessed Mother. She told us to do that at Fatima.
As Pope Francis recently said to seminarians, a strong relationship with Mary helps us have a strong relationship with the Church. Both are mothers. Speaking of Pope Francis and those great images in his homilies, I would encourage a young man to start reading the daily Mass homilies of Pope Francis. They are in summary form on the internet, and they are chock full of great lines and ideas that you can really sink your teeth into.
One that stands out is that the priest must really know his people. He has to "smell like the sheep." And a young man discerning should watch out for those "intellectual aristocrats." The intellect is necessary, but study always lead to a deeper relationship with a person – the Divine Person – Jesus Christ.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Pictured: Father Michael Kottar was ordained in the Diocese of Metuchen, N.J., in 1994 by Bishop Edward Thomas Hughes, where he served until moving to the Charlotte diocese in 1999. (Photo provided by Father Michael Kottar)
Other anniversaries
Also celebrating their ordination anniversaries are:
55 years – Father Gabriel Meehan, retired
30 years – Father Peter L. Fitzgibbons, pastor of Our Lady of the Annunciation Church in Albemarle, and Father Philip X. Kollithanath, pastor of St. Joseph Church in Asheboro
25 years – Father Conrad Hoover, retired
'It just gets better!'
'It just gets better!'CHARLOTTE — You would think at 70 years of age, Father Richard Hanson would want to slow down a bit, especially after 40 years of priestly ministry traversing western North Carolina to serve in more than 15 parishes, campus ministry, a Catholic high school and now in nursing home and hospital ministry.
Quite the opposite is true, though, as Father Hanson, who also takes care of his 97-year-old mother Leone, would enthusiastically attest.
In addition to his nursing home and hospital ministry, he is a regular confessor at St. Matthew Church in south Charlotte. He also celebrates the overflow Masses for St. Matthew Church at Charlotte Catholic High School at Christmas and Easter. Several local pastors also reach out to him when they need help covering a Mass or confessions in their absence.
Father Hanson is a 1962 graduate of Charlotte Catholic High School, making him the first priest for the Diocese of Charlotte to graduate from its largest high school. How he came to be a priest for the diocese is a story in itself.
Born in Wisconsin, he relocated to Charlotte with his family in 1960 as a teenager. His family is one of the founding families at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte. After graduating from Charlotte Catholic, Father Hanson discerned God calling him to the priesthood. He entered Holy Cross Seminary in Wisconsin, at that time being considered a seminarian for the Diocese of Madison as that had been his family's home before moving to North Carolina.
North Carolina Bishop Vincent Waters then sent him to St. John's Seminary in Little Rock, Ark., which closed in 1967.
Father Hanson left the seminary and went on to earn a business degree at Kings College, formerly in Charlotte. Military service then called him, and he enlisted in the Army, serving from 1966 to 1969, including in Korea.
Upon returning to the U.S., he returned to his seminary studies. During his transitional diaconate year, he was given permission to become a seminarian for the newly-formed Charlotte diocese and was ordained at the age of 31 by Bishop Michael Begley on June 1, 1975, at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte.
"I was studying for the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, (originally) and Bishop Cletus O'Donnell signed a $25,000 extension check to Bishop Begley (for me) and said to me, 'I give you as a gift to the Diocese of Charlotte,'" Father Hanson recalls, smiling.
"I certainly had a beautiful ordination with Bishop Begley at the cathedral," he adds. "Monsignor Richard Allen (now deceased) was the rector of the cathedral at the time. I spent time before the ordination with him. I remember steel drums playing at the reception. It was very special."
His first assignment was as an assistant pastor, serving with Monsignor William Wellein at St. Leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem. He also worked in campus ministry at Wake Forest University and taught at Bishop McGuinness High School.
Over the past 40 years he has been assigned to Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro; St. Eugene Church in Asheville; St. Joan of Arc Church in Asheville; St. Elizabeth the Hill Country Church in Boone; St. Joseph Church in Newton; Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Lexington; Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Charlotte; St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte; and St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte, where he served for 10 years.
One of his favorite memories is of Father Frank O'Rourke, who was then rector of the cathedral, during a particularly crowded Mass there. They were running short of Hosts during Communion, but Father O'Rourke was unfazed: "If everyone just gets a little piece of Jesus, everything's going to be all right!"
Father Hanson has also provided regular assistance to St. Ann Church in Charlotte, St. Luke Church in Mint Hill, Holy Spirit Church in Denver, and All Saints Church in Lake Wylie, S.C.
Since 2004, Father Hanson has served in the nursing home and hospital ministry at St. Matthew Church, visiting the aged and infirm, bringing them the sacraments. According to records kept at the parish, he anointed 197 people just last month.
In addition to these duties, and caring for his mother, he also fills in at local parishes as needed and continues to celebrate Mass for professional sports teams when they reach out to him.
"I love the priesthood, there's no doubt about that," Father Hanson says. "I love meeting so many different people in so many different situations. I love relating with the people."
Father Hanson's longtime friend, Monsignor John McSweeney, pastor of St. Matthew Church, has known him since he was in seminary.
"He's been an inspiration to me over the many years of knowing him for his gentle care of the sick and the unknown opportunities that he has had as a confessor to many people. He has brought them the healing of the sacrament," Monsignor McSweeney explains.
Father Hanson has some advice for fellow priests and for men discerning the priesthood: "Be yourself. Don't be afraid to let people see you are human. Be a person of prayer and just be yourself."
"I think a good role model for all of us in the priesthood is the Holy Father (Pope Francis)," he adds. "I feel like he's himself and that is why he is comfortable in any situation."
And as for his vocation after 40 years?
Father Hanson smiles, "The Lord's been good to me. It just gets better!"
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Other May jubilarians
Other priests celebrating special anniversaries of ordination this month include: Father Mark Lawlor, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte, Father James Collins, pastor at St. Joseph Church in Newton, and Father Eric Houseknecht: 20 years