CHARLOTTE — Seven Sisters of Mercy from the South Central Community in Belmont were honored earlier this year for their longtime service to the Church: Sister Maureen Dees (75 years); Sister Mary Jerome Spradley, Sister Mary Robert Williams and Sister Maria Goretti Weldon (70 years); Sister Barbara Wheeley and Sister Mary Schmuck (60 years); and Sister Mary Rose Bumpus (50 years).
During a Mass Feb. 1 for the World Day for Consecrated Life, Bishop Peter Jugis thanked religious for their personal witness of consecrated holiness.
Consecrated religious are like “anchors of holiness” in our diocese, he said, just as vital to the spiritual strength of our diocese as those who are ordained clergy and those who choose the vocation of holy matrimony. “All of these anchors keeping us grounded in our life in Christ and in the Gospel are so essential, so integral, so necessary to the complete picture of the life of our diocese,” he said. Pictured at St. Patrick Cathedral with Bishop Jugis are Sister Mary Robert Williams, Sister Maria Goretti Weldon, and Sister Mary Schmuck.
Instituted by Pope John Paul II in 1997, World Day for Consecrated Life is marked in conjunction with the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas Day, commemorating the coming of Christ, the Light of the World, through the symbolic lighting of candles. Similarly, consecrated men and women are called to spread the light and love of Jesus Christ through their unique witness of selfless service, such as caring for the poor, the contemplative work of prayer, or through their professional careers.
— SueAnn Howell | Catholic News Herald