CHARLOTTE — Our Lady of Consolation Church recently welcomed Bishop Emmanuel Bushu of the Diocese of Buea, Cameroon, just weeks after welcoming their new pastor, Father Basile Sede, who also hails from Cameroon and most recently served as the pastor of St. Benedict the Moor Church in Winston-Salem and Good Shepherd Mission in King.
Bishop Bushu was in Charlotte in part to raise support for the Catholic University Institute of Buea (CUIB), founded in 2009.
The Diocese of Charlotte has been among many American Catholic supporters of the Buea diocese’s work to develop the CUIB, whose mission is to educate tomorrow’s leaders in civil society for the central African country. The bishop also offered Mass July 29 for the repose of the soul of Father Alexander Sob, a parish priest and former education secretary for the Buea diocese, who was shot and killed July 20 – caught in the crossfire of an ongoing conflict between Cameroon’s French-speaking government forces and English-speaking separatists.
— Photos by Travis Burton | Catholic News Herald
CHARLOTTE — Parishioners at St. Matthew Church rallied in July for the annual Monsignor McSweeney World Hunger Drive, which provides support to communities in need with food, essential supplies, sustainability projects, healthcare and education.
This year volunteers shipped 11 containers of supplies – three more than last year – totaling 418,000 pounds. The parish meal packing event, along with the St. Matthew School and Y-Guides meal packing events, provided nearly 400,000 meals that are being shipped to Haiti and Jamaica. Funds raised are being sent to St. Mark School in Haiti to support nearly 50 students with a year’s education, healthcare, books and food.
The campaign is also funding sustainability items such as tilapia ponds, chickens and agriculture. In addition, the parish collected $6,000 and 6,000 pounds of food to contribute to local food pantries. New this year, funds are also being sent to the Diocese de La Guairá, Venezuela, to support orphans.
— Photo provided by Ed Craig