The first latino bishop to serve the 54 counties in Eastern North Carolina, Luis Rafael Zarama Pasqualetto, came to Elon Community Church Sunday, March 4 to lead the traditional 6 p.m. service.
Elon Community Church, directly adjacent from campus, opened their doors to welcome the Elon community as well as Elon's new president, Connie Book, a practicing Catholic.
Pasqualettospoke about being presentable for God and said to those in attendance "clean your soul like you clean your room."
Even though it was only his first visit to Elon, Pasqualetto said the community made a lasting impression. “It was a great participation," Pasqualetto said. "I was able to see joyful faces. There was no sad. There was life in the faces of them."
Pasqualetto was born in Pasto, Colombia and is the oldest of six children. He came to the United States in 1991 and became ordained in the Atlanta Archdiocese in 1993.
In 2017, Pope Francis appointed Pasqualetto bishop of the diocese of Raleigh.
Correction: The Catholic Bishop did not come to Elon's Community Church with a purpose of welcoming president Connie Book, as previously reported by ENN, but rather to lead service and see Elon's church for the first time. Elon News Network regrets the error.