St. William parishioner Joan Elizabeth Kennedy left a bequest in her will to help the parish fund needed imrovements and establish an endowment for future needs. (Photo provided)MURPHY — For St. William Church in Murphy, help with overdue repairs and facility needs came in the form of a generous bequest of more than $850,000 from Joan Elizabeth Kennedy.
“Joan Kennedy’s bequest to the parish of St. William is not only an extraordinary act of generosity,” said Father Augustine Ogar, M.S.P. “I consider it also as an invisible hand of God’s providence.”
When Father Ogar arrived at St. William in 2025, securing funds to address overdue maintenance needs and support the parish’s growth were top priorities. Many facility projects had been deferred since the COVID-19 pandemic and needed immediate attention.
Through the bequest, St. William has completed the refurbishment of the Seiglie Center – the parish’s education building – just in time for upcoming faith formation classes. Renovations included a new HVAC system and kitchen appliances. Other facility updates, including a kitchen upgrade in the Seiglie Center along with roof, flooring and sanctuary improvements, are also underway.
“Most important of all, this bequest has allowed the parish to set up a new named endowment fund in Joan’s honor, to help secure its financial future,” Father Ogar added.
Kennedy died on Nov. 1, 2024. She was known for her devout faith and generous spirit toward people and animals. Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, she lived in Oklahoma, Kansas and Florida before settling in Murphy – a place she considered the perfect spot to retire. She became active in her church and participated in the choir and ministries that reached out to the sick.
Kennedy first learned about leaving a bequest at a diocese-sponsored estate planning seminar in 2000, where she explored ways to support her parish through her estate.
An estate planning seminar is an opportunity for parishioners to learn about ways to take care of themselves and loved ones through a properly executed will and estate plan. The Office of Planned Giving has hosted more than 150 such seminars across the diocese.
“Joan then requested a follow up brochure from one of the ‘Your Legacy’ newsletter mailers in 2001,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan director of development.
For more than 25 years, Kennedy received informational materials about the benefits of estate planning from the Office of Planned Giving, and she decided to turn that information into action.
“Our diocese is blessed by the dedication of parishioners such as Joan Kennedy, who planned ahead by considering what they leave behind to the parishes and ministries that matter to them, said Jim Kelley, diocesan director of development. “It is through the realization of Joan’s thoughtful and generous gift to St. William, that her legacy of faith will be remembered forever.”
“St. William remains perpetually grateful for this bequest,” Father Ogar said.
— Courtney McLaughlin
Leave your legacy
Stewardship is not a single act. It is a way of life – a grateful response to the gifts God has entrusted to us. Your legacy may come through a bequest in a will, a beneficiary designation from a retirement plan, a trust or annuity, or a gift of real estate, life insurance, cash or securities.
For details, contact Gina Rhodes at 704-370-3364 or gmrhodes@rcdoc, or Heidi Kelley at 704-370-3348 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
A life transformed by Christ
Deacon Enedino Aquino is retiring after 28 years of serving in Hispanic Ministry in the diocese. Sister Joan Pearson recalled trips with the deacon to give Bibles to landscapers and construction workers.CHARLOTTE — Those who have had the opportunity to know Deacon “Nino” Enedino Aquino know of his commitment to the Church and his dedication to serving those most in need in the Hispanic community.
For 28 years, Deacon Aquino has worked in Hispanic Ministry of the Diocese of Charlotte, serving the vicariates of Winston-Salem and Greensboro. Throughout that time, those who have worked with him have come to know firsthand his heart for immigrants and his dedication to the faith.
Sister Joan Pearson, who worked with Deacon Aquino for more than two decades, said he had a gift for reaching out to those most in need.
In the early years, Sister Joan accompanied Deacon Aquino to places where immigrant workers gathered in Forsyth County. There, they shared Bibles and holy water with men who worked in landscaping and construction. For Deacon Aquino, those encounters were opportunities to evangelize.
“He was so good that we really brought the ministry to where the people lived. He explained that God was always walking alongside them,” said Sister Joan. “He showed me what a true missionary disciple looks like.”
But the man who is now recognized for decades of service did not always live this way. Aquino had to go through his own process of transformation.
Born in Tamaulipas, Mexico, on May 21, 1958, he was exposed to the faith from an early age. As a young man, he served as an altar boy and participated in his parish youth group, but over time he drifted from the Church.
After marrying his wife, María Luisa, and starting a family of four children, he immigrated to North Carolina in 1988 with a work visa under the Simpson-Rodino law. He initially worked harvesting tobacco and settled in Siler City, then later in Asheboro.
Immigration and Soccer
After two years, he got a job at a chicken-processing plant, where he was able to better support his family for the next nine years. It was then that he rekindled a passion: soccer.
With a semiprofessional refereeing license obtained in Mexico, he organized games and tournaments for a local league. He had dozens of teams and his own group of referees. His Sundays were completely devoted to soccer.
“My children loved it, because I brought them out and they ate at restaurants and had good food, and it didn’t cost me much as president,” he said.
However, his wife never stopped asking him every Sunday: “And what about the Church?”
That persistence became the beginning of his return to the faith.
“I went to church not because I wanted to, but out of conviction,” Deacon Aquino said. “My wife almost dragged me, because she would say, ‘Hey, what about the Mass?’
“I told her, look, I’m going to do one thing: one Sunday at church and three Sundays playing soccer,” he said. “Then three Sundays went by and I had to leave soccer and dedicate myself to the Church.”
Little by little, he returned to Mass and eventually began serving in his parish as a lector.
“My wife, with that holy elbow, would hit me hard in the ribs,” he explained, referring to how she insisted when volunteers were being sought. “Until one day I raised my hand, and I started reading.”
At St. Joseph in Asheboro, the future deacon took on new responsibilities: baptism preparation, men’s groups and marriage preparation.
Later, Father Finnerty, then director of Hispanic Ministry in the diocese, invited him in September 1998 to become the first coordinator of Hispanic Ministry.
In Winston-Salem, he began organizing training sessions, retreats and other events that significantly expanded the ministry.
“I was the first one he invited to work,” Deacon Aquino said. “He took it upon himself to train me, and I grew along with him.”
A call to be a deacon
At Father Finnerty’s invitation, he began discerning a call to be a deacon. He explains that the call was strong, but that it came with great challenges.
“He gave me a brochure in English, and it said that it was necessary for me to speak both languages, but Father Vicente told me, ‘Apply,’” he explained.
Because his English was very limited, Deacon Aquino faced many difficulties, and his initial application was rejected. But thanks to his daughter’s encouragement, he did not give up.
With the help of his family, and after many long hours of studying, he was ordained on Jan. 29, 2011, after four years of studying in English, a language he did not master.
“God whispers to the heart of man, and when you lend your ears to God, God tells you where He wants you,” Deacon Aquino said. “The Lord always knew where He wanted me.”
— Brian Segovia