CHARLOTTE — St. Joseph College Seminary welcomed eight young men to its latest class during a Mass Aug. 6 at St. Ann Church. With this addition, total enrollment in the Diocese of Charlotte’s vocations program stands at a record number of 51 men in various stages of formation for the priesthood.
The 2023-’24 class includes: Patrick Gallagher, Andrew Scott, Charles McCormick, Matthew Sie, Michael Herman, Said Rangel Landeros, John Paul Felder and Peter Andress. The group – called the eighth or “Hotel class”– brings the total at the college seminary to 21 men who are discerning a call to the priesthood while pursuing undergraduate studies in philosophy at nearby Belmont Abbey College.
In his homily, the college seminary’s rector Father Matthew Kauth drew a connection between the day’s Feast of the Transfiguration and the young men possibly entering the path to the priesthood.
“Our Lord is constantly telling the apostles ‘Don’t be afraid’ … You should be, because I am God, but I’m giving you the confidence not to be,’” Father Kauth said.
He said the Gospels repeatedly describe important moments of revelation – such as during the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor, when Thomas sees the Risen Jesus in the Upper Room, or when the angel comes to St. Joseph — as being met with the same words: “Do not be afraid.”
“And so, are you afraid?” Father Kauth asked the eight young men sitting before him. “A little bit? You should be, but that’s OK. But be afraid for the right reasons. Don’t be afraid of the people who think you’re going to lose. Don’t be afraid for the persons you are leaving behind. Don’t be afraid that you’re not smart enough.”
Perhaps sensing the usual nerves and anxiousness that accompanies such a day, Father Kauth reminded the men, “You are sitting here today because you have mastered a different kind of fear, because you desire to see God. Your desire to see Him outweighs the fearful path.”
“And so as you begin this path, and when that fear comes again, as every year I will hear someone say, ‘I don’t belong,’ you must tamp down that fear,” Father Kauth told them.
“You only belong anywhere because He has placed you there. Remember to give it time. Be courageous in the face of fear. He will show you the way and each day you will see a little more. So, like the apostles, keep your eyes wide for all you will be shown.”
After Mass, the new seminarians moved into their rooms and met their fellow seminarians after orientation at the college seminary in Mount Holly.
Enrollment in the diocese's 2023-'24 vocations program also includes 29 men who are studying in major seminary in Ohio, and one who is taking a pastoral year of service – bringing the total number of seminarians who are in formation for the diocese to a record 51.
— Spencer K.M. Brown
(At top) St. Joseph College Seminary welcomed its latest class of students with a Mass Aug. 6 at St. Ann Church in Charlotte. The incoming class includes (from left): Patrick Gallagher, Andrew Scott, Chad McCormick, Matthew Sie, Michael Herman, Said Rangel Landeros, John Paul Felder and Peter Andress. They are pictured with the seminary’s clergy Father Brian Becker, Father John Putnam, Father Matthew Kauth (rector), and Father Matthew Buettner. (Photos provided by Fredrik Akerblom)
