'It just gets better!'
'It just gets better!'CHARLOTTE — You would think at 70 years of age, Father Richard Hanson would want to slow down a bit, especially after 40 years of priestly ministry traversing western North Carolina to serve in more than 15 parishes, campus ministry, a Catholic high school and now in nursing home and hospital ministry.
Quite the opposite is true, though, as Father Hanson, who also takes care of his 97-year-old mother Leone, would enthusiastically attest.
In addition to his nursing home and hospital ministry, he is a regular confessor at St. Matthew Church in south Charlotte. He also celebrates the overflow Masses for St. Matthew Church at Charlotte Catholic High School at Christmas and Easter. Several local pastors also reach out to him when they need help covering a Mass or confessions in their absence.
Father Hanson is a 1962 graduate of Charlotte Catholic High School, making him the first priest for the Diocese of Charlotte to graduate from its largest high school. How he came to be a priest for the diocese is a story in itself.
Born in Wisconsin, he relocated to Charlotte with his family in 1960 as a teenager. His family is one of the founding families at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte. After graduating from Charlotte Catholic, Father Hanson discerned God calling him to the priesthood. He entered Holy Cross Seminary in Wisconsin, at that time being considered a seminarian for the Diocese of Madison as that had been his family's home before moving to North Carolina.
North Carolina Bishop Vincent Waters then sent him to St. John's Seminary in Little Rock, Ark., which closed in 1967.
Father Hanson left the seminary and went on to earn a business degree at Kings College, formerly in Charlotte. Military service then called him, and he enlisted in the Army, serving from 1966 to 1969, including in Korea.
Upon returning to the U.S., he returned to his seminary studies. During his transitional diaconate year, he was given permission to become a seminarian for the newly-formed Charlotte diocese and was ordained at the age of 31 by Bishop Michael Begley on June 1, 1975, at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte.
"I was studying for the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, (originally) and Bishop Cletus O'Donnell signed a $25,000 extension check to Bishop Begley (for me) and said to me, 'I give you as a gift to the Diocese of Charlotte,'" Father Hanson recalls, smiling.
"I certainly had a beautiful ordination with Bishop Begley at the cathedral," he adds. "Monsignor Richard Allen (now deceased) was the rector of the cathedral at the time. I spent time before the ordination with him. I remember steel drums playing at the reception. It was very special."
His first assignment was as an assistant pastor, serving with Monsignor William Wellein at St. Leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem. He also worked in campus ministry at Wake Forest University and taught at Bishop McGuinness High School.
Over the past 40 years he has been assigned to Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro; St. Eugene Church in Asheville; St. Joan of Arc Church in Asheville; St. Elizabeth the Hill Country Church in Boone; St. Joseph Church in Newton; Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Lexington; Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Charlotte; St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte; and St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte, where he served for 10 years.
One of his favorite memories is of Father Frank O'Rourke, who was then rector of the cathedral, during a particularly crowded Mass there. They were running short of Hosts during Communion, but Father O'Rourke was unfazed: "If everyone just gets a little piece of Jesus, everything's going to be all right!"
Father Hanson has also provided regular assistance to St. Ann Church in Charlotte, St. Luke Church in Mint Hill, Holy Spirit Church in Denver, and All Saints Church in Lake Wylie, S.C.
Since 2004, Father Hanson has served in the nursing home and hospital ministry at St. Matthew Church, visiting the aged and infirm, bringing them the sacraments. According to records kept at the parish, he anointed 197 people just last month.
In addition to these duties, and caring for his mother, he also fills in at local parishes as needed and continues to celebrate Mass for professional sports teams when they reach out to him.
"I love the priesthood, there's no doubt about that," Father Hanson says. "I love meeting so many different people in so many different situations. I love relating with the people."
Father Hanson's longtime friend, Monsignor John McSweeney, pastor of St. Matthew Church, has known him since he was in seminary.
"He's been an inspiration to me over the many years of knowing him for his gentle care of the sick and the unknown opportunities that he has had as a confessor to many people. He has brought them the healing of the sacrament," Monsignor McSweeney explains.
Father Hanson has some advice for fellow priests and for men discerning the priesthood: "Be yourself. Don't be afraid to let people see you are human. Be a person of prayer and just be yourself."
"I think a good role model for all of us in the priesthood is the Holy Father (Pope Francis)," he adds. "I feel like he's himself and that is why he is comfortable in any situation."
And as for his vocation after 40 years?
Father Hanson smiles, "The Lord's been good to me. It just gets better!"
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Other May jubilarians
Other priests celebrating special anniversaries of ordination this month include: Father Mark Lawlor, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte, Father James Collins, pastor at St. Joseph Church in Newton, and Father Eric Houseknecht: 20 years
Does your parish help run a food pantry, operate a thrift store, or sponsor an emergency services program in your community? If so, consider applying for a CRS Rice Bowl Mini-Grant for up to $1,000.
Grant applications will be accepted through the postmark deadline of Oct. 15.
Information about this grant program (including application, guidelines and eligibility criteria) is available at www.ccdoc.org/cchdcrs.
Funded projects must be sponsored by Diocese of Charlotte entities. Grant applications must be reviewed, approved and signed by the parish pastor, office/department head, or school principal. Parishes and Catholic entities in the diocese which received a CRS Rice Bowl Mini-Grant in the most recent Spring 2016 round are not eligible to apply in this special round of grants, but are eligible to apply in next year’s round of grants.