Father Michael Martin, OFM Conv., bishop-elect of Charlotte, has ties to Diocese of Buffalo

WASHINGTON — Father Michael Martin, OFM Conv., who held several positions at St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, has been named the next bishop of Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Peter J. Jugis, 67, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, for health reasons. Bishop-elect Martin is a member of the Conventual Franciscan Province of Our Lady of the Angels, a religious order, and currently serves as pastor at St. Philip Benizi Church in Jonesboro, Georgia. The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, D.C. on April 9, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop-elect Martin was born Dec. 2, 1961, in Baltimore, Maryland. He entered the novitiate of the Order of Conventual Franciscan Friars in Ellicott City, Maryland in 1979; he professed simple vows in 1980, and solemn vows in 1985. Bishop-elect Martin pursued studies at St. Hyacinth College-Seminary in Granby, Massachusetts where he received a bachelor of arts degree (1984). He also studied at the Pontifical Theological Faculty of St. Bonaventure in Rome, Italy, where he received a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology (1988), and a master’s degree in Catholic education administration from Boston College in Massachusetts (1993). He was ordained to the priesthood on June 10, 1989.

Bishop-elect Martin’s assignments after ordination include: director of admissions, religious studies teacher, moderator and coach at St. Francis High School in Athol Springs (1989-1996); principal (1996-2001) and president (2001-2010) at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore; and director of the Duke University Catholic Center in Durham, North Carolina (2010-2022). Since 2022, he has served as pastor of St. Philip Benizi Parish in Jonesboro, Georgia.

Bishop-elect Martin’s additional responsibilities have included: member of the adjunct faculty for the School of Education at Xavier University (Cincinnati); definitor (provincial councilor) of the Conventual Franciscan Friars of the St. Anthony Province; president of the pastoral council for the Archdiocese of Baltimore; regional associate for the National Catholic Educational Association; member of the Notre Dame Preparatory School Board; member of the St. Thomas Aquinas School Board; member of the Cardinal Gibbons High School Board; associate of the Advancement Counsel; elected member of the Priests’ Council of the Diocese of Raleigh; member of the Catholic Campus Ministry Association; member of the Finance Council for the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina; and chair of the financial commission for Our Lady of Angels Province of the Franciscan Conventual Friars.

The Diocese of Charlotte has a total population of 5,505,666, of which 546,370 are Catholic.