Published: 18 October 2024

Father Michael Carlson

Growing a pastor’s heart

Father Michael Carlson will continue his roles as promoter of justice for the diocese’s tribunal and as chaplain of the local chapter of Courage International while serving as pastor of St. Dorothy Parish in Lincolnton

Nov. 2: Father Michael Carlson becomes spiritual leader of St. Dorothy Parish

LINCOLNTON — It didn’t take long for Father Michael Carlson to follow the promptings of the Blessed Mother in his first assignment as pastor.
Soon after he arrived as pastor of St. Dorothy Parish in Lincolnton, he had the opportunity to bless and enroll 104 children wearing brown scapulars – a sacramental garment worn by those devoted to Mary, the Mother of God, and the spirituality of the Carmelite Order.

“It’s astonishing to have so many,” Father Carlson says, noting the children were part of a record number attending the parish’s annual Catholic Kidz Camp. “It’s a very young parish with a lot of young families. …

The parishioners are very well formed – and that’s something I’d like to continue.”

Father Carlson’s own personal devotion to the brown scapular and consecration to Our Lady is what led him to enter seminary, he said.

Ordained in 2019 by Bishop Peter Jugis, Father Carlson – a California native – received his theology degree from the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where he also obtained a canon law degree in 2021.

While serving at St. Dorothy, he will also continue his roles as promoter of justice for the diocese’s tribunal and as chaplain of the local chapter of Courage International, a support and spiritual guidance group for people experiencing same-sex attraction.

Father Carlson’s five years as a parochial vicar included assignments at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Greensboro and St. Mark Parish in Huntersville.

He reflects here on this important moment in his ministry.

Father CarlsonCNH: What does it mean to you to become a pastor?

Father Carlson: It’s a step up in responsibility. I see being a pastor as an elevation of the priest’s role as a father. You really become the father of your community and, with that, responsibility (for) all of their spiritual needs in so many ways falls on your shoulders as far as the sacraments and preaching. During the first time I drove into Lincolnton after knowing that I’d be the pastor, it was amazing the change that came over me. I felt this real responsibility … a bit of this fatherly watchfulness over all the people in Lincolnton. Then I also felt a real weight of responsibility of needing to do something for each soul within this territory.

CNH: How have your first weeks been going?

Father Carlson: The first weekend was kind of a celebration and people are so excited, but both on the part of the priest and on the part of the people, you’re mourning. You’re mourning your former assignment and just all the people, the relationships, the time and energy and all the prayers said, and they’re mourning their former pastor. It’s also a time of celebration because you know we’ll be at peace together in the most important moments in terms of Mass and the sacraments.

We’ll be spending a lot of time together. I’ve really been thinking a lot about that family dynamic because, especially with a smaller parish, it really does function in many ways like a family. That can be a challenge but also a beautiful and powerful thing.

CNH: How have your parishioners welcomed you?

Father Carlson: I’ve been overwhelmed with how many people have reached out from St. Dorothy’s to offer assistance, help or care or milk – really anything that’s needed. I’ve never had so many people offer to move boxes and just help move in. Also, I don’t think I’ve been hugged as many times as I have in these past few weeks!

CNH: What are you looking forward to most as pastor?

Father Carlson: Being a preacher and a teacher of the faith and really embracing and growing into those roles is really exciting.

CNH: How have your years as a parochial vicar helped prepare you to be a pastor?

Father Carlson: The most important thing I learned is to always pray. I’ve started something where even before I go to somebody’s home or certainly if I’m going to administer anointing of the sick to someone, I’ll pray the whole time or at least pray a little bit before I go. It’s something I picked up from almost every priest that I’ve spent time with whether for summer assignment or as parochial vicar.

That’ll be my lasting memory of our former Bishop Jugis. Whenever I met with him one-on-one for something, he would always in the meeting prayerfully discern something. I would experience that in a very powerful way, and it’s something that I don’t ever want to lose sight of – what the goal really is: the salvation of souls.

CNH: What are you reading?

Father Carlson: Right now, I’m reading “The Brothers Karamazov,” and for my spiritual reading “The Mystical Evolution” by a Spanish Dominican friar. It sounds kind of fancy but, really, it’s just about how do we really put on Christ to the degree that it’s really Him living through us? I want to slowly go through it this year and try to really absorb and implement what’s in those pages.

CNH: How has the example of other priests helped you become the pastor you are today?

Father Carlson: I’ve been involved with many great priests where they really do sacrifice for people, and they care about them. As a parent oftentimes, you’re thinking about your children. Well, priests think about their parishioners, the things going on in their lives, and that’s not something I’ve created but that is something I’ve received from the priests I’ve been around. In my experience, it’s been a great group of men who really do just want to bring Christ to their people.

— Annie Ferguson

Bishop Michael Martin will formally install these first-time pastors during special Masses in the coming weeks. Meet the others.

Published: 27 October 2022

From: Rutherfordton

Age: 22

Home parish: Immaculate Conception, Forest City

Status: Started Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Cincinnati, in August 2022
Favorite verse or teaching: “O God, you are my God – it is you I seek! For you my body yearns; for you my soul thirsts, in a land parched, lifeless, and without water.” (Ps 63:2)

Favorite saint: St. Agnes of Rome, a martyr known for her purity and refusal to denounce her faith

Interests (outside of faith): Piano, theater, skiing, euchre

CHARLOTTE — Michael Lugo is a young man of many talents. He grew up, the second of six children, on his family’s farm in Rutherfordton, where he would rise early every morning to milk cows and feed the pigs and chickens.

As a child, he discovered a love of acting in the local community theater. That grew into a passion for backstage and technical work as a teen – yet something was missing.

Lugo, 22, had been home-schooled in a family with a sincere love of their Catholic faith. And while he was drawn to the excitement of theater, he realized it would not fulfill his deepest desires. “I could easily see myself getting lost in the world of production, but I realized that wasn’t how God wanted me to pursue truth and beauty.”

So, in 2018, Lugo entered the St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly, where he spent three years discerning a call to the priesthood. He graduated last August and moved on with nine of his fellow seminarians to attend Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Cincinnati – among 49 men currently in some stage of formation to serve as priests in the Diocese of Charlotte.

He reflects on his journey in a conversation with the Catholic News Herald:

CNH: When did you first hear the call to a vocation to the priesthood?

Lugo: As I was growing up, there were several times I remember thinking God might be calling me to the priesthood. I began to seriously consider seminary after attending Quo Vadis Days (the diocese’s annual discernment retreat for young men) in the summer of 2018. Throughout the course of that week, spending time in prayer and learning about the priesthood, it seemed to me that the priesthood was the summation of everything I wanted out of life, particularly the way in which the life of a priest is completely dedicated to one thing: the service of God.

CNH: Looking back, what has most helped you evaluate God’s will for your vocation?

Lugo: Other than prayer and spiritual direction, I think being in seminary and receiving the seminary formation. I did not have any certainty about my vocation upon entering seminary, but I wanted an environment where I could discern more seriously and clearly. Being in such an immersive experience, where everything is designed to help foster an interior life and aid your discernment, is what has helped me the most in coming to greater clarity about my vocation.

CNH: Can you tell us something special about your time in seminary?

Lugo: One thing I have grown to greatly enjoy studying in seminary is languages. Over the course of my time at St. Joseph College Seminary, we had several Latin language immersions which were always a great time and very beneficial. I also had the opportunity to study Greek one summer, which was a great experience, and I am continuing to take Greek at major seminary with the end goal of being able to read the New Testament in its original language.

CNH: What do you love about being a seminarian for the Diocese of Charlotte?

Lugo: I love the fraternity among the seminarians. Having such a strong community made the transition to (major) seminary this year much easier, because we already had nearly 20 brother seminarians at Mount St. Mary’s, some of whom had previously studied at St. Joseph College Seminary.

CNH: When you envision your life as a priest of the Diocese of Charlotte, what do you see?

Lugo: I very much look forward to celebrating the sacraments. I pray that I can be a faithful priest acting in the person of Christ and as an instrument of His grace.

— SueAnn Howell

Your DSA contributions at work

Seminarian education is funded in part by the annual Diocesan Support Appeal. Learn more about the DSA and how to donate online at www.charlottediocese.org/dsa.