After Dr. Joseph De Pietro passed in 2016, his wife, Anita Joan Di Pietro honored his memory with an endowment that benefits seminarians.CHARLOTTE — Wherever life took Dr. Joseph and Anita Joan Di Pietro, the Catholic community was always at its center. “No matter where we were, we always supported our Church, priests and seminarians,” said Anita Di Pietro.
After Joseph passed away on Feb. 14, 2016, Anita chose to honor him in a way that she knew would speak to his heart. She established the Di Pietro Family Foundation, from which she established an endowment in the diocesan foundation to support St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly. That substantial gift has helped fund seminarian formation, sacred music and liturgy, art and architecture, cultural events and other similar programs at the seminary.
The couple came to Charlotte after traveling the world. Joseph Di Pietro was born in Messina, Italy, and came to the United States with his parents when he was 16. Anita Di Pietro was born in Baltimore and attended Catholic school from elementary grades through college. After they were married, Joseph’s career as a chemist kept them on the move, including an eight-year stint in Italy.
After his retirement, the couple was looking for a strong Catholic community. They were drawn to St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Charlotte and became vibrant members of the congregation.
“Joseph loved to cook for our priests, and we frequently entertained them at our house,” Anita Di Pietro recalled.
“I became interested in the seminary after joining the Charlotte Catholic Women’s Group,” she said. “The group supported seminarians with prayers and gift cards for Christmas and Easter.
Our new priests were asked to introduce themselves at our monthly meetings.”
That experience sparked a connection to the seminary and seminarians that she wanted to nurture.
“Mrs. Di Pietro has long been a friend and supporter of the seminary,” said Father Matthew Kauth, rector of the seminary. “Anita doesn’t just donate money, she comes to the seminary frequently bringing gifts and a hearty laugh. We are blessed to have her as a member of our seminary community.”
“She has contributed to the buildings necessary for formation but now has also, in honor of her husband Joseph, given us an endowment for the purposes of cultural and artistic enrichment of the seminary and the seminarians themselves,” Father Kauth said.
“An endowment fund is the gift that keeps giving,” Anita Di Pietro said. “I would encourage anyone who is able to establish an endowment fund.”
An endowment is a permanent fund, the principal of which is invested – not spent – that generates income to help pay for projects and programs specified by the donor. Endowments are tax deductible and help sustain the strength and viability of the diocese and its entities, paying for capital improvements, charitable outreach, education and parish operations.
“I find this a good way to donate,” she explained, noting that donors can designate where funds will go and what areas they can be used for, They have the security of knowing that funds are invested by the diocesan financial team and donors receive ongoing information about the fund’s performance from the development team.
“While we have many parishioners who are establishing endowments in their estate plans, more individuals like Anita are deciding to establish the endowment during life and then add to that endowment in their estate plan,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan development director. “The advantage of this is that people can see good things happening with the distributions from their endowment now and by doing that, they are encouraging more people to follow their example. We are grateful for Anita and all those who are establishing or adding to endowments in our foundation.”
As Anita Di Pietro explained, “We do have a responsibility to do what we can. We can’t just go to Sunday Mass and say, ‘Well, that’s it.’”
— Courtney McLaughlin
Fund an endowment
Interested in setting up – or adding to – an endowment to benefit your parish or Catholic school? You can establish an endowment in the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation by leaving 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 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
CHARLOTTE — Homeless Relief Ministry, a grassroots ministry that provides furniture, housewares and decor items to families transitioning out of homelessness, completed its 440th move-in on April 17, furnishing an apartment for a single mom and her five children.
For the past 11 years, three Charlotte parishes – St. Matthew, St. Peter and St. Vincent de Paul – have collaborated to furnish one family’s dream at a time.
Furniture and housewares are primarily donated by parishioners or sometimes retailers like Costco and, when needed, purchased by the parishes. The ministry of more than 90 volunteers is committed to doing whatever it takes for their clients.
“I do this because they need it. We’ve got this crisis in this country as far as homelessness. This happened to them, as it could have happened to me,” St. Vincent de Paul parishioner and long-standing volunteer Nancy Kopfle said, as she plugged in a new coffee maker and showed off plastic children’s plates in a freshly stocked cabinet.
“This gives them dignity because now they will have their own belongings,” Kopfle said. “The point of all this is for them to have the tools to pick themselves back up. This makes their new place into a home. It is very moving.”
On move-in day, an HRM team typically meets early at St. Matthew’s warehouse in Wesley Chapel to load their moving truck with furniture and beds that match the client’s needs, while other members of the team load their cars with housewares and bedding that is stored in large closets at St. Vincent de Paul Church. The teams roll out and converge on their destination. There, they spend several hours moving in and arranging furniture, assembling beds and cribs, hanging pictures and shower curtains, plugging in lamps, and providing all the little details that create a cozy living environment.
Client Denise, whose last name is withheld to preserve her privacy, was introduced to the Homeless Relief Ministry by The Relatives, a local nonprofit that is one of many partner organizations that provide wrap-around services for clients.
For about seven months, Denise and her children were living in an unstable environment, moving from place to place, spending nights with relatives or at hotels.
She moved here from Georgia to get her life together, but the neighborhood she was barely able to afford was riddled with violence to the point where she fled in fear for her children’s safety.
“There were shootings and loud noises; people were outside all night,” she said. “It was just a bad situation.”
Her caseworker, Shanetta Black from The Relatives, works with 17 clients, helping to remove barriers so clients become financially stable enough to pay their rent and other bills. Yet, she notes this is not a homelessness problem but a housing problem.
“You have people who work two to three jobs but still stay outside because they don’t make three times their rent monthly (a common lease requirement), so they can’t afford to live,” she said.
With the average monthly rent in Charlotte at $1,600 or more, according to RentCafe.com, the scenario is not uncommon, so Homeless Relief Ministry works to ensure that once those in need find a safe place to live, they can move into a comfortable, fully furnished home.
“I like going to ground zero and helping from there,” said volunteer and St. Matthew parishioner Bill LeMay. He lives by Mother Teresa’s philosophy by finding his own Calcutta – a place where people need help – right in Mecklenburg County.
“Like Sister Teresa said, the people that need help are here, so that is where I love and help them.”
— Lisa M. Geraci