Cultivating community
Now in their 15th year of serving the poor in Monroe, the Missionaries of the Poor have cultivated a community of joyful service. Pictured above are the brothers with Our Lady of Lourdes pastor Father Benjamin Roberts at the annual Mass for Consecrated Life at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in January. (Troy Hull | Catholic News Herald)MONROE — A chance meeting at a New York airport has delivered countless blessings for the faithful and the poor in Union County.
Father Richard Ho Lung of Jamaica had traveled to the big city in 2008 in hopes of establishing a mission in the U.S., but unsuccessful, he was headed back home when he ran into Bishop Peter Jugis as both prepared to board flights.
Father Ho Lung introduced himself as the founder and superior of the Missionaries of the Poor, based in Jamacia with missions established around the world.
The two men “spoke for a while,” says former Brother Augusto Silot, “and Bishop Jugis invited Father Ho Lung to visit Charlotte.”
The moment led the religious community to establish its only U.S. mission in Union County – where Bishop Jugis once served as pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish.
Today, the ministry is thriving as the Missionaries of the Poor prepares to celebrate 15 years of cultivating community among friends, volunteers and parishioners of the church – who week after week reach out to the most vulnerable among us.
“The Missionaries of the Poor are truly worthy of their name,” said Father Benjamin Roberts, current pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes. “They do extraordinary work for the poor and immigrant communities and are in communion with us. We have been blessed by the presence of the brothers and their community.”
Although only four brothers serve in the mission, their community of local missionaries offer worship, prayers, catechesis and activities for the poor and growing immigrant community. They regularly host community meals and deliver food packages, and they visit the sick and homebound.
Establishing a Mission
The Missionaries of the Poor were moved by the people they met and poverty they saw in Union County. After conversations and exploring the territory, Bishop Jugis invited the brothers to settle in Monroe and begin their work.
Our Lady of Lourdes parishioner Rosa Elba Gutierrez remembered the early days after the brothers’ arrival in 2009.
“They came to the parish and our pastor at the time, Father James Cassidy, let them stay in the parish rectory for as long as they needed,” Gutierrez recalled. “I drove them in my car through the streets of Monroe, looking for a piece of land or a house for their mission.”
Thanks to generous donors, just six months later, the brothers were able to find a house and land on Griffith Road in Monroe, where they still reside today.
The brothers repaired the house and transformed the rugged, wooded lot into a vast garden where they now grow vegetables and raise chickens as part of their ministry. They also built a chapel on the property to minister to the growing Hispanic community.
“We are blessed to have the Missionaries of the Poor in our diocese, giving joyful service to the poor out of love for Christ,” said Bishop Jugis. “Since their mission opened in Monroe, they have given effective witness as vowed religious to the mercy of the crucified and risen Christ, and have helped the poor whom they serve to grow in faith and Christian holiness. An enthusiastic love for Christ our Lord is evident in all the work they do.”
Spiritual Poverty
Brother Martin Bukenya, who now oversees the mission, quickly understood that poverty in the United States was very different from poverty in other parts of the world.
“In other countries, poverty is everywhere and we have houses where we can bring people, and take care of the poor. Here in the United States, because of the laws and permit issues, we can’t house them ourselves,” Brother Martin said. “But over the years I’ve learned that the ‘poverty’ in this country is most sharply expressed in the spiritual life. And that is the focus of our work.”
The brothers host weekly Bible studies and Eucharistic Adoration, and arrange for priests to celebrate Mass at their chapel on Mondays. They also join with the community to pray the Rosary, and distribute food for the poor, making home deliveries of essential goods for those who can’t get out.
They welcome visitors to their mission, inviting the community to help bake goods and harvest fresh food for those in need. The brothers eat what’s left from their giveaways. They also visit nursing homes and hospitals, and make weekly home visits to parishioners.
Brothers are family
Our Lady of Lourdes parishioner Adelaida García is joyful for finding a deep friendship with the brothers and the whole community.
“It gives us a lot of peace to be here,” she said. “They make us feel very happy and welcome to share as one community in prayer and service.”
Rosa Colín, who has been attending the mission for nine years, said she feels like part of a family.
“They’re always there for us. When my husband had severe health problems, they came to our house almost daily to check on him and minister to him,” Colín said. “It was very beautiful for us because, as immigrants, we don’t have any family close to us here. The brothers have become our family.”
— César Hurtado
Learn more
The work of the Missionaries of the Poor is possible because the help of volunteers and supporters from across the diocese. To volunteer or make a donation, visit their website at www.missionariesofthepoor.org or call Brother Martin Bukenya at 704-320-7414.
Joy in the mission
Father KennedyCHARLOTTE — For Father Yves Ilapi Kennedy, trust in God has always guided him, especially now in a new assignment nearly 7,000 miles from his home.
Father Kennedy has been commissioned by his bishop in the Diocese of Idiofa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to minister to French-speaking Catholic immigrants in the Charlotte area and to help develop the Francophone ministry based out of Our Lady of Consolation Parish in Charlotte.
The growing French-speaking Catholic population in Charlotte includes people from Togo, Senegal, Cameroon and particularly Father Kennedy’s home country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Many of them have found a new church home at Our Lady of Consolation Parish, where Father Basil Sede – himself from Cameroon – serves as pastor.
But the barriers to ministering to these Catholic immigrants had proven difficult, Father Kennedy and Father Sede note.
“Many of the immigrants found it difficult to understand the Mass in English, and as a result they were leaving the Catholic Church for other churches with African congregations, where they found each other both in language and atmosphere,” Father Kennedy said.
So, some Charlotte-area Catholics from Congo reached out to Bishop José Moko of the Idiofa diocese to describe their situation. Bishop Moko and Charlotte Bishop Peter Jugis discussed the possibility of a French-speaking priest coming to minister here, and Father Kennedy was chosen for the task.
The Francophone ministry is a first for the Diocese of Charlotte – the latest effort in its long-standing commitment to meet the spiritual needs of an increasingly diverse Catholic populace. That diocesan support already includes language-specific ministries to Hispanic, Nigerian, Vietnamese, Korean, Burmese and Hmong Catholics, as well as partnerships with other bishops to serve Ukrainian, Indian, Eritrean and Maronite Catholics who live here.
Father Kennedy was born in Idiofa in southwestern Congo, the youngest of five children in a Catholic family. He studied scientific humanities at the Minor Seminary of Sainte Therese de l’Enfant Jesus de Laba in the Idiofa diocese. He then started his philosophy training at the Major Seminary of Saint Augustin de Kalona and completed his studies at the Catholic University of Congo, where he graduated in 2014. He then studied four years of theology at the Major Seminary of Saint Cyprien de Kikwit. He was ordained a priest on July 15, 2018, in Idiofa.
After ordination, he worked as a formation director and teacher at the Saint Augustin de Kalona seminary for two years, then served as secretary to the bishop and chancellor of the Idiofa diocese until last year.
Since his arrival in the U.S. last November, Father Kennedy said he has quickly discovered the diversity of French speakers in Our Lady of Consolation’s congregation and in the wider Charlotte community.
“The Francophone community was originally intended to be mainly a Congolese community, but it became clear that the difficulties experienced by Congolese were also experienced by other French speakers,” he said. “The diocese decided to include all French speakers in the community, and it now includes people from Togo, the Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal, French-speaking Cameroonians and Haitians.”
Father Kennedy now offers Mass in French at 2 p.m. on the first and third Sundays of the month at Our Lady of Consolation Church and is planning to start additional spiritual activities in French for the growing community – including Eucharistic Adoration, regular confession times, retreats, prayer services, and pastoral care for the sick.
“My greatest joy is that I am truly fulfilling my mission as a priest and living it out among brothers and sisters from all walks of life,” he said. “Not only do I lead the people to God, but
I am helping the people understand the true value of the Mass and sacraments. They can easily ask for pastoral assistance without language limitations now. My greatest objective is to bring the Lord and His Church to a greater number of people, especially those who no longer come because of the language barrier.”
Father Kennedy said his devotion to the Eucharist and to the Blessed Virgin Mary helped him grow spiritually – first as a seminarian, and now in his work as a priest.
His work to develop worship opportunities for French-speaking Catholics, particularly the Congolese community, has had the normal ups and downs of a nascent mission. The number of people who attend Mass and Adoration in French varies and sometimes crowds are small, he said, but he views his efforts through the lens of Scripture.
“While I pray that the Lord will make it grow, I remain attentive to the words of Christ, who says that ‘If two or three are gathered in my name, I am in their midst,’” he said. “It has to be said that the Congolese community is in its infancy and that there is still a lot to do. What we must recognize is that compared with the first day of activities, there has been an evolution in the membership. That’s why I know that this is God’s work and it will continue to grow. I find joy in the mission entrusted to me.”
— Christina Lee Knauss
Want to get involved?
If you would like to participate, support or learn more about Father Kennedy’s new mission to French-speaking Catholics in the Charlotte area, please call Our Lady of Consolation Parish office at 704-375-4339 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..