The St. Joseph College Seminary community celebrated the graduation of seven seminarians in 2024 – six from the Echo class and one from the Golf class. (Provided file photo)CHARLOTTE — The number of men studying for the priesthood for the Diocese of Charlotte has tripled in the past decade, creating a greater need for funding to support our 45 seminarians.
The Seminarian Education Collection taken up in all parishes at Easter, April 19-20, is one of the primary ways people can support seminarians and foster vocations to help meet the growing need for priests to serve the growing Catholic population.
There has been remarkable growth in the diocese: a 26% increase, from 58,500 registered households in 2010 to 73,700 in 2020. Diocesan officials projected that the number of registered households will soon reach 86,800.
“For the past 27 years, the Seminarian Education Campaign has given faithful Catholics the opportunity to invest in the lives and ministry of our future priests,” said Bishop Michael Martin in his letter to the faithful.
In the past decade, 29 priests have retired. Fifteen priests are already serving beyond the retirement age of 70. In the next 10 years, another 28 priests are expected to reach retirement age.
“Your financial gift will help prepare each of our young men to serve as priests in our diocese for an average of 40 years,” Bishop Martin wrote. “By contributing to the formation of our future priests, you are helping to ensure that the sacraments, spiritual guidance, and the light of Christ continue to reach every corner of our growing diocese.”
The Seminarian Education Program, in which 18 men are currently enrolled at St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly and 24 men are either enrolled in major seminary at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary or in Rome and three are in a pastoral year, is primarily funded through the annual Diocesan Support Appeal, the Seminarian Education Campaign and this collection.
— Catholic News Herald
Support seminarian education
There are several ways to make a gift to fund the education of the diocese’s seminarians through the Seminarian Education Collection:
- Use the envelope provided in your parish offertory packet
- Make a gift online at your parish’s website, if available
- Make a secure gift online at www.charlottediocese.org/donate (click on Seminarian Education)
From: Rutherfordton
Age: 22
Home parish: Immaculate Conception, Forest City
Status: Started Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Cincinnati, in August 2022
Favorite verse or teaching: “O God, you are my God – it is you I seek! For you my body yearns; for you my soul thirsts, in a land parched, lifeless, and without water.” (Ps 63:2)
Favorite saint: St. Agnes of Rome, a martyr known for her purity and refusal to denounce her faith
Interests (outside of faith): Piano, theater, skiing, euchre
CHARLOTTE — Michael Lugo is a young man of many talents. He grew up, the second of six children, on his family’s farm in Rutherfordton, where he would rise early every morning to milk cows and feed the pigs and chickens.
As a child, he discovered a love of acting in the local community theater. That grew into a passion for backstage and technical work as a teen – yet something was missing.
Lugo, 22, had been home-schooled in a family with a sincere love of their Catholic faith. And while he was drawn to the excitement of theater, he realized it would not fulfill his deepest desires. “I could easily see myself getting lost in the world of production, but I realized that wasn’t how God wanted me to pursue truth and beauty.”
So, in 2018, Lugo entered the St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly, where he spent three years discerning a call to the priesthood. He graduated last August and moved on with nine of his fellow seminarians to attend Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Cincinnati – among 49 men currently in some stage of formation to serve as priests in the Diocese of Charlotte.
He reflects on his journey in a conversation with the Catholic News Herald:
CNH: When did you first hear the call to a vocation to the priesthood?
Lugo: As I was growing up, there were several times I remember thinking God might be calling me to the priesthood. I began to seriously consider seminary after attending Quo Vadis Days (the diocese’s annual discernment retreat for young men) in the summer of 2018. Throughout the course of that week, spending time in prayer and learning about the priesthood, it seemed to me that the priesthood was the summation of everything I wanted out of life, particularly the way in which the life of a priest is completely dedicated to one thing: the service of God.
CNH: Looking back, what has most helped you evaluate God’s will for your vocation?
Lugo: Other than prayer and spiritual direction, I think being in seminary and receiving the seminary formation. I did not have any certainty about my vocation upon entering seminary, but I wanted an environment where I could discern more seriously and clearly. Being in such an immersive experience, where everything is designed to help foster an interior life and aid your discernment, is what has helped me the most in coming to greater clarity about my vocation.
CNH: Can you tell us something special about your time in seminary?
Lugo: One thing I have grown to greatly enjoy studying in seminary is languages. Over the course of my time at St. Joseph College Seminary, we had several Latin language immersions which were always a great time and very beneficial. I also had the opportunity to study Greek one summer, which was a great experience, and I am continuing to take Greek at major seminary with the end goal of being able to read the New Testament in its original language.
CNH: What do you love about being a seminarian for the Diocese of Charlotte?
Lugo: I love the fraternity among the seminarians. Having such a strong community made the transition to (major) seminary this year much easier, because we already had nearly 20 brother seminarians at Mount St. Mary’s, some of whom had previously studied at St. Joseph College Seminary.
CNH: When you envision your life as a priest of the Diocese of Charlotte, what do you see?
Lugo: I very much look forward to celebrating the sacraments. I pray that I can be a faithful priest acting in the person of Christ and as an instrument of His grace.
— SueAnn Howell
Your DSA contributions at work
Your DSA contributions at workSeminarian education is funded in part by the annual Diocesan Support Appeal. Learn more about the DSA and how to donate online at www.charlottediocese.org/dsa.