CHARLOTTE — Amid an ongoing health concern, Bishop Peter Jugis announced Thursday he will not officiate at the Diocese of Charlotte’s two upcoming ordination liturgies, which instead will be celebrated by the archbishop of Atlanta.
Bishop Jugis said he has been dealing with an “evolving health issue” and that medical tests recently revealed he has only one functioning kidney. His condition, he said, “is not life threatening but at times affects my ability to travel or participate in long liturgies and other occasions.”
At the bishop’s request, Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer, OFM Conv., will preside at the June 3 diaconate ordination of seven seminarians and at the June 17 ordination of three men to the priesthood. Both Masses are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and will last about two hours each. The public is invited to attend the liturgies, which will be held at St. Mark Church in Huntersville.
Monsignor Patrick Winslow, the Charlotte diocese’s vicar general and chancellor, said the bishop is managing his condition and that he will be saying Mass, conducting business, and attending as many Church functions as possible. In April the bishop, who is 66, celebrated liturgies throughout Holy Week including a lengthy Easter Vigil Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral with more than 300 people in attendance.
“Bishop Jugis remains devoted to his ministry shepherding the people of our diocese, and we thank everyone for keeping him in their prayers,” Monsignor Winslow said. “On occasion, I and other senior clergy will represent the bishop when he cannot attend.”
It was a little over a year ago that Bishop Jugis began experiencing symptoms that prevented him from presiding at some occasions, including the ordination Masses last June. Archbishop Hartmayer assisted by presiding over one of those liturgies: the ordination to deacon of Christopher Brock, Chinonso Nnebe-Agumadu and Peter Rusciolelli. Archbishop Hartmayer now returns to ordain them as priests.
Archbishop Hartmayer has led the Archdiocese of Atlanta since May 2020. Prior to that, he served as Bishop of Savannah, Ga., for nine years. As archbishop, he also is the most senior cleric for the Atlanta Province, which includes the dioceses of Charlotte, Raleigh, Savannah and Charleston, S.C.
“I am looking forward to returning to North Carolina to represent Bishop Jugis in presiding over these ordinations for the Church of Charlotte,” Archbishop Hartmayer said. “Its thriving vocations program is a testament to his leadership and the faith of the people of the Charlotte diocese, and I can't wait to share in their joy at this happy occasion.”
— Catholic News Herald