Called to be a servant
Monsignor John McSweeney celebrates Mass at St. Matthew Church in 2014 commemorating his 40th anniversary of priestly ordination. (File photos)CHARLOTTE — John McSweeney was in college and engaged to a lovely young woman with dreams of one day having a family when he first sensed God calling him to a different vocation – one that would require him to forego his own family to shepherd a much larger one.
“I had to make a decision,” he says, now age 83. “I didn’t know if I wanted to continue on with the engagement. She and I are the best of friends to this day, but I just thought I needed to try to become a priest.”
Responding to that nudge from God turned into five decades as a priest filled with success while maintaining his mission to be a servant to God’s people. His vocation parallels the history of the Diocese of Charlotte, established in 1972. He was the first priest ordained for the brand-new diocese, back in 1974, and he began ministering at parishes the very next day.
A native of Upstate New York, known for his direct style and wry humor, he would go on to be honored with the title “Monsignor” by then-Pope John Paul II, and would play a key role in running the diocese: serving as its administrator between bishops, then as vicar general and chancellor under two Charlotte bishops.
Monsignor McSweeney also led the diocese’s vocations program, guiding more than two dozen young men in their discernment and formation as priests – including one who would later become a bishop. And he had a heart for the hungry and the homeless, starting food banks in at least five parishes where he served.
His final assignment, spanning 18 years, was to pastor the fledgling St. Matthew Parish in booming south Charlotte. Under his leadership, St. Matthew grew from having Mass in a gym to becoming one of the largest parishes in the United States, with more than 11,500 registered families today.
“Monsignor McSweeney has played a key role in making our diocese what it is today,” says Monsignor Patrick Winslow, who now serves in the same role Monsignor McSweeney did, as the diocese’s chancellor. “He has had a keen sense of how to marshal people to use their God-given talents to benefit the local Church. And no matter how busy he was, he was always available for people, making them feel welcomed and challenging them to grow spiritually.”
The way Judy Schindler sees it: “He builds bridges and not walls.”
She was Rabbi of Temple Beth El and recounts how Monsignor McSweeney consistently reached out to the larger community, building Habitat Homes and providing space for the Jewish community to worship for many years until their temple renovation was complete in 2008.
“We did not have a facility that could hold our congregation during the High Holy Days, so Monsignor McSweeney graciously opened St. Matthew to us,” she says. “With sensitivity and love, he made sure we were at home to celebrate our most holy of times.”
For Monsignor McSweeney – who this year celebrates 50 years as a priest – serving his Church family has been wonderful, challenging and rewarding, just the way every family is, he notes, all thanks to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
A PRIESTLY CALLING
Monsignor John McSweeneyOriginally from Oneida, New York, the future Monsignor McSweeney was studying at Catholic University of America in the late 1960s when he made the decision to end his engagement and enter seminary.
Missionary life interested him, but he wasn’t so sure about living in a foreign country. He found direction when Bishop Michael Begley visited the university. Begley was the first bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte, which had only recently been carved out from the statewide Diocese of Raleigh.
“He had been a bishop for two months and was telling me about the missionary efforts of North Carolina, and I said, ‘That sounds good to me,’ so I signed up,” Monsignor McSweeney says.
He continued his studies for the priesthood at Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut, then went south to Charlotte, where he became the first priest ordained specifically for the new Charlotte diocese in 1974. Bishop Begley officiated.
His discernment experience would prove valuable in assignments throughout his priesthood, including as vocations director.
“If a young man or anyone is even thinking of the priesthood or religious life, they should try it,” he says. “Maybe they’re not called to it, but they should at least give it an attempt to satisfy their curiosity.”
Monsignor McSweeney reminisces about his own trepidation when entering seminary and says he went in with the notion of being open to whatever God was calling him to.
“I had made an internal note to myself: ‘You’re going to try it, and if you can’t do it, say so and get out of it,’” he remembers. “But I stayed.”
MOMENTOUS OCCASION
Monsignor McSweeney receives a blessing from Bishop Michael Begley at his ordination to the priesthood on Sept. 29, 1974. The ordination was held at St. Gabriel Chruch, where Monsignor McSweeney would then serve his first assignment as parochial vicar of the parish.Father McSweeney’s priesthood officially began Sept. 29, 1974, auspiciously on the feast of Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Rafael, the archangels. On that day, the parish’s patronal feast day, every priest of the two-year-old diocese attended his ordination at St. Gabriel Church, the first church where he would serve as a priest.
Faithful from across the diocese filled the pews of the Charlotte church to celebrate the momentous occasion, including the Sisters of Mercy, Catholic school children, and many priests who’d been reassigned from the Raleigh diocese to Charlotte.
Monsignor McSweeney admits he was nervous.
“It was funny because the bishop didn’t really know what he was doing,” he recalls with a laugh. “He had never ordained anyone, and I had never been ordained.”
He remembers then-Father Joseph Showfety and seminarian Frank O’Rourke, both of whom would rise in the diocese.
Afterward, Monsignor McSweeney recalls a big spaghetti-and-meatball dinner organized by women of St. Gabriel Parish.
“It was just a fun and very happy day,” he says. “Everything was so special, and then all of a sudden it hit me – I had become a priest!”
50 YEARS OF SERVICE
Monsignor McSweeney and Bishop Michael Begley meet with Pope John Paul II in Rome.
The newly ordained Father McSweeney began his priestly ministry the next day as parochial vicar of St. Gabriel Parish. He went on to pastor 12 different churches, earned a master’s degree in administration from Notre Dame, and served as the diocese’s director of planning and development. He also was vicar general and chancellor for eight years under Bishop John F. Donoghue.
When Bishop Donoghue was elevated to Archbishop of Atlanta, Monsignor McSweeney stepped in to guide the Charlotte diocese as administrator, then returned to the vicar general and chancellor role under the new bishop, William G. Curlin.
“I had the unique privilege of working with the bishops and seeing the different activities and ways to make the diocese available to the parishes,” he says.
He regards his years as the diocesan vocations director, 1979 to 1984, as one of the most rewarding and fruitful times of his priesthood.
“I’m very proud of seeing the many young priests that have come out of that period of time that I had something to do with,” he says. One of those priests was Father Peter Jugis, who was a seminarian during Father McSweeney’s tenure and 20 years later would become Charlotte’s fourth bishop.
In 1988, Father McSweeney received word that Pope John Paul II had bestowed upon him the title of monsignor. This rare honorary title is given for exceptional service to the Church and is granted by the pope typically based on the local bishop’s recommendation.
“That was a surprise because I was actually very young to be named a monsignor, but I always felt that was a huge honor,” he says.
In 1995, Monsignor McSweeney moved from his diocesan administrative posts to the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he spent a year serving as pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in
St. Thomas and of a parish on St. John. His experiences in the Diocese of Charlotte were especially helpful during this assignment.
“The bishop there asked me to be responsible for the formation of three seminarians who eventually became the first priests to serve in the Diocese of St. Thomas, so I was involved with their education and formation in addition to my pastoral roles.”
During this time, he also added a little seafaring to his repertoire.
“It was a unique experience. I would have to take a boat from St. Thomas to the island of St. John’s just to get where I needed to go.”
He returned to the Diocese of Charlotte in 1996 to shepherd the historic and beautiful St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville. Then, in July 1999, he was appointed pastor of St. Matthew Parish in Charlotte.
“As my first pastor, Monsignor McSweeney was and continues to be a mentor,” says Father Pat Cahill, who served as parochial vicar at St. Matthew from 2007 to 2009 and now is a pastor himself, at St. Eugene in Asheville.
“His ability to delegate and empower others while also being on top of things is second to none. I cherish the fact that I spent my first two years of priesthood learning from him.”
FEEDING THE HUNGRY
Over the years, Monsignor McSweeney became known for his ability to draw out the gifts of others and for the joy he has in doing so. At St. Matthew, he says, the greatest thing he saw happening was the involvement of lay people in the growth and ministry of the parish, noting the highly active parish council and a wide variety of ministries.
“I listen to many different people for consultation, and I try to always identify people of good skill and talent,” he says.
He hired Antoinette Usher as facilities director in 2003. A chemical engineer who had taken time away from work to raise children, she volunteered on St. Matthew’s building committee when they undertook a major building campaign to add 100,000 square feet for a new chapel, parish life center and school.
“He said, ‘Well you built it, now take care of it,’” Usher recalls fondly.
Now chief operating officer of St. Matthew, she says she appreciated Monsignor McSweeney’s directness and the “trust he put in staff members to do what is right.” She also notes his softer side.
“He felt no one was any more special than anyone else, but he did feel that every person carries a sacred title – whether that be mother, daughter, husband or whatever their vocation was in life,” she says. “He tried to portray himself as tough, but he really wasn’t. He had a heart of gold. He would help those in need, often from his own pocket.”
Monsignor McSweeney made special efforts to feed the hungry and started food banks, he recalls, at five parishes. Just two months before retiring, donors honored him by establishing an endowment in his name to enshrine St. Matthew’s annual food drive – a massive project that provides food for the hungry in Charlotte and in Haiti. The effort recently received national media attention for sending its 3 millionth meal to Haiti in 2023 and has been aptly named the Monsignor McSweeney World Hunger Drive.
“We set up a food pantry area underneath the chapel of St. Matthew. The idea was that the chapel is the ‘bread of life’ upstairs and underneath it is the ‘food for life,’” he says. “There was a spiritual idea behind why we built that particular building – it was to feed both the spiritual and material needs of the people.”
After retiring in 2017, Monsignor McSweeney has remained focused on charity, traveling on mission trips to Jamaica to assist the Missionaries of the Poor in alleviating poverty in the Kingston area. Today, he continues to serve God’s people by filling in for other priests to offer Masses at parishes. He also tends a vegetable garden, where he grows a variety of produce, giving it away to people in need.
“I’m still to this day – 50 years now – thankful for being a priest,” he says. “The greatest blessing has been being available to people in their need and letting myself be available. I like to think of myself as being a good listener, not having all the answers but at least being available for people to talk. A big part of my thinking is to be available to God’s people. As a priest, you are called to be a servant.”
— Annie Ferguson
Monsignor John McSweeney’s assignment history in the Diocese of Charlotte
1974-1976: St. Gabriel Church, Charlotte
1976-1979: Immaculate Conception Church, Hendersonville
1979-1980: St. John the Evangelist, Waynesville
1979-1984: Diocesan director of vocations
1980-1982: Queen of the Apostles Church, Belmont
1981: Director, Office of Planning & Development
1981: Vice chancellor
1982: Full-time director of Planning & Development, continuing as director of vocations and vice chancellor
1983-1986: St. Ann Church, Charlotte
1986-1990: Chancellor, Diocese of Charlotte and vicar general in curia, 1986
1990-1991: St. James Church, Hamlet and Sacred Heart Mission, Wadesboro
1992: National Advisory Committee board member, Catholic Relief Services
1992: Diocesan consultor
1993: Elected diocesan administrator
1994: Vicar general, Diocese of Charlotte, and pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church
1995: Sabbatical studies, North American Pontifical College, Vatican; diocese chancellor and vicar general
1995-1996: Missionary work in Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands
1996-1999: St. Lawrence Basilica, Asheville
1999-2017: St. Matthew Church, Charlotte