‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon the whole Church’
CHARLOTTE — Over one hundred priests from across the Diocese of Charlotte gathered at the annual Chrism Mass on Tuesday morning at St. Patrick Cathedral to renew the promises of their ministry before Bishop Peter Jugis. During the Mass, holy oils were also blessed to be used in the sacraments that nourish the lives of the faithful in western North Carolina.
Bishop Jugis celebrated the Mass and consecrated the holy chrism, a mixture of olive oil and balsam that also lends its name to the liturgy held annually during Holy Week. The holy oils blessed during the Mass are used in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, anointing of the sick, ordination of priests and the consecration of churches and altars.
The Mass started with a dramatic and moving procession of priests who filled the pews on one side of the cathedral, while a diverse crowd of people from school children to senior citizens filled the other side, many of whom held up phones and cameras to record the ceremony.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon the whole Church and it is also upon us priests, as stewards of the mysteries of God, for the special work conferred upon us of the sanctification of God’s people,” Bishop Jugis said in his homily. “It is most appropriate that the renewal of our priestly promises take place during the celebration of Mass, since, as priests, the Eucharist is our life.”
Bishop Jugis said the story of St. Manuel Gonzalez Garcia, one of the patrons of the National Eucharistic Revival, is an important example of the need for priests to build up their parishioners’ relationship with Jesus because without it, the Church will not survive. The saint is known as the “bishop of the abandoned tabernacle” because as a priest, he was assigned to a parish where few people attended. When he arrived, he found a mostly abandoned church with burned and torn altar cloths and a tabernacle covered in dust and cobwebs.
“The Blessed Sacrament was there, Jesus was there, but no one else was because the people had not encountered Jesus as a living person in the tabernacle and as a living person in Holy Communion,” Bishop Jugis said. “St. Manuel set about teaching the people that Jesus is not a static presence but a living personal presence in the Eucharist…May we share with our people the love we have found for the Lord and inspire our people likewise to come to that personal relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist.”
After renewing their promises, the priests stood with right hands extended during the blessing of the sacred chrism, joining Bishop Jugis in the prayer of consecration.
“One of the things I love about the Chrism Mass is that it unites the diocese,” said Father Aaron Huber, chaplain of Christ the King High School in Huntersville. “You get to see Bishop Jugis being the spiritual father of the diocese and equipping the priests for their ministry. For the priests, it’s rejuvenating to renew our priestly promises and to be gathered together.”
During the Mass, Bishop Jugis honored those priests celebrating milestone anniversaries of their ordinations.
Following the Mass, deacons and seminarians worked in a downstairs room of the cathedral’s parish center, pouring the consecrated oils into bottles for each priest to take back to his parish.
“To me, the Chrism Mass is a great sign of our universal Church and the brotherhood of priests assisting the bishop,” said Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, pastor of St. Pius X Church in Greensboro. “It’s a great sign of our unity in the body of Christ, a Holy Week liturgy of unity. The oils blessed here make us one because they are dispersed throughout the diocese.”
— Christina L. Knauss. Photos by Troy Hull
Priests celebrating milestone anniversaries of ordination this year include:
Father Louis Canino, O.F.M. Cap., 55 years
Msgr. John McSweeney, 50 years
Father William Robinson, O.F.M. Conv., 50 years
Father Paul Wilderotter, 50 years
Father Peter Fitzgibbons, 40 years
Father Gary Paul, 40 years
Father Thomas Kessler, 40 years
Father Philip Kollithanath, 40 years
Father Carl Kaltreider, 45 years
Father John P. Timlin, 45 years
Father Joseph Mack, 35 years
Father Ricardo Sanchez, 25 years
Father Joseph T. Stephens, 25 years
Monsignor Patrick Winslow, 25 years
Father Robert Conway, 20 years
Father Jean Pierre Swamunu Lhoposo, 20 years
Father Timothy Reid, 20 years
Father Jose Garcia Rubio, 20 years
Father John Starczewski, 20 years
Father Nohé Torres, 20 years
Father Benjamin Roberts, 15 years
Father Richard Sutter, 15 years
Father Paul Buchanan, 10 years
Father Noah Carter, 10 years
Father Paul McNulty, 10 years
Father Michael Carlson, 5 years
Father Alfonso Gamez, 5 years
Behind the scenes
Deacons and seminarians work in a downstairs room of the cathedral’s parish center, pouring the consecrated oils into bottles for each priest to take back to his parish:
