CV NEWS FEED // Bishop Michael Martin of the Diocese of Charlotte, NC, visited areas affected by Tropical Storm Helene, witnessing devastation, offering emotional and spiritual support, and helping with aid delivery efforts, according to a report from the Catholic News Herald.
The bishop, a Conventual Franciscan, made this visit on the day of his patronal feast, October 4. Arriving at Immaculata Catholic School in Hendersonville, Bishop Martin met with local leaders and volunteers working to distribute vital supplies to those in need, according to the report.
Bishop Martin hugged principal of Immaculata Margaret Beale and nearby Asheville Catholic School principal Melissa Stuart, both visibly emotional, according to the report.
Immaculata is serving as a key distribution hub in the aftermath of the disaster through partnership with Catholic Charities, as CatholicVote reported. They are now also providing free hot meals daily through the support of a disaster relief team from St. Margaret Mary parish in Louisiana.
“The only thing I can do here is to be with people, pray with them, and remind them that Jesus never leaves them,” Bishop Martin stated, according to the Catholic News Herald.
“They’re tired, they’re worried, and they’re just overwhelmed,” he continued. “Jesus steps into that (situation) all the time. My goal was just to get here and be with people.”
The Catholic News Herald reported that Bishop Martin immediately began participating in the effort, unloading supplies and offering encouragement to those volunteering and those arriving in need of aid, “praying over them and asking how they were holding up.”
Members of St. Joseph College Seminary in Holly, NC are also volunteering their time to the relief efforts by loading, driving, and delivering essentials to the communities that were hit hardest by the storm. One seminarian, Chad McCormick, shared a photo of the town of Spruce Pine, NC, depicting the flood waters reaching rooftops on some buildings of his hometown.
Bishop Martin also visited the mountain town of Swannanoa, which sustained some of the worst damage in the area, according to another report from the Catholic News Herald. Approximately 200 faithful gathered to greet him.
In Swannanoa, the report shared that “[t]he bishop comforted people and prayed with them, [and] listened to dramatic and frightening stories of living through the storms, and blessed babies and children.”
One parishioner, Cecilia Meredith, expressed her joy at seeing the bishop, stating that her faith has supported her throughout the past week as she has been involved with one of the medical response and search-and-rescue teams in the region.
“I woke up crying this morning because I know people who have died and I’ve had to see people suffering,” she said, according to the report.
Bishop Martin emphasized the diocese’s ongoing commitment to relief efforts, stating that aid distributions would “continue as needed.”
He shared that the overwhelming response from the community is “inspiring but not surprising.”
“[God has] created us to be that loving, that caring, and that responsive because that’s who He is – and we reflect that in the way in which we see a need and try and respond to it,” Bishop Martin explained, according to the report.
He added, “We see someone hurting and we try to care for them. I’m glad to see that being made so real here in western North Carolina.”
Those willing to donate in support of residents of North Carolina facing the devastation of Helene can do so here.