Martin was advised especially to slow down on a plan to relocate the diocesan cathedral, after less than one year leading the North Carolina diocese.
The Vatican’s intervention came at the same time that priests in the diocese were pushing back on the bishop’s plan for broad liturgical changes in the diocese, and after a consulting group flagged Martin’s “speed of change” as an area in need of improvement in the Charlotte diocese.
In April 2024, the Diocese of Charlotte announced plans to build a new cathedral, as the existing St. Patrick’s Cathedral, originally built as a parish church, had become too small for the needs of a fast-growing diocese.
The decision to build a new cathedral came at the recommendation of a task force formed by now-retired Bishop Peter Jugis to study the needs of the diocese.
Soon after Bishop Martin was installed as Charlotte’s bishop in late May 2024, the diocese announced that Martin was examining sites for the cathedral both in and outside the city.
But sources in the Charlotte diocese told The Pillar this week that Martin ultimately nixed the task force’s recommendation to build, and instead considered plans to establish an existing parish as the diocesean cathedral.
After considering three possible parishes as the new Charlotte cathedral, Martin ultimately landed on one earlier this year, sources say — St. Mark’s in Huntersville, North Carolina. The location, some 20 minutes outside the city, came as a surprise to some local Catholics.
The plan saw mixed reactions in the diocese. While some local clerics thought the selection of an existing church might allow for the best possibility architecturally, some raised questions about a diocesan cathedral outside of its see city, and others about the reasons behind the decision — and especially about what would happen to a $10 million bequest to the diocese that was slated to be used to begin the cathedral construction project.
As things proceeded, the Vatican also had questions.
According to sources close to the Dicastery for Bishops, the plan was the subject of a meeting between Bishop Martin and then-Cardinal Prevost in April.
Those sources say Martin had a one-hour meeting April 1 with Prevost — then prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops — largely to discuss the issues.
“There was awareness and concern about the proposal to move the cathedral in the dicastery, so the meeting took place in that context,” a senior Vatican source close to the Dicastery for Bishops told The Pillar.
“It was felt that [Bishop Martin] was moving very fast with big ideas for changes to the diocese, and he had only just arrived. He was asked to consider taking time to know the people and the diocese better before deciding on things which could be received as disruptive.”
“Specifically on the cathedral the desire was for [Martin] to move slowly, much more slowly,” the source told The Pillar.
The meeting was meant as a kind of pastoral encouragement to a recently consecrated bishop, a senior source emphasized, not a disciplinary session.
“Bishops’ meetings in the dicastery, especially with the prefect, are fraternal, sharing the wisdom and benefit of experience, especially for new bishops. Usually, there is receptivity.”
Formally, the pope erects diocesan cathedrals, rather than the diocesan bishop himself.
For its part, the Diocese of Charlotte told The Pillar Thursday that the diocese “is still evaluating a variety of options for a new cathedral, including possible new construction and renovation of an existing church, while also evaluating other construction and pastoral needs across the diocese, particularly in the wake of Hurricane Helene.”
“We are gathering input and studying growth patterns to determine where we need new churches to serve our growing population, and whether any of those locations would make sense to also serve as a cathedral,” communications director Liz Chandler told The Pillar.
Prevost — now Pope Leo XIV — encouraged Martin to make change more slowly in the diocese at the same time that both Charlotte’s presbyteral council and a diocesan task force pushed back on Martin’s plans for a broad swath of liturgical restrictions in the diocese.
These plans were to include a prohibition on Roman style vestments, altar crucifixes and candles (in favor of those used in the processional and placed next to the altar), the use of the Latin language, and the recitation of vesting prayers, customarily recited by priests as they don the vestments used for Mass.
A draft text detailing those plans was published Wednesday by the traditionalist blog Rorate Caeli; The Pillar reported that the draft had been shelved after pushback in the diocese, with Martin planning a more limited liturgical policy prohibiting the use of altar rails in the diocese.
For its part, the Charlotte diocese told the National Catholic Register Wednesday that the draft text was “an early draft that has gone through considerable changes over several months,” and was still under discussion.
“It represented a starting point to update our liturgical norms and methods of catechesis for receiving the Eucharist,” diocesan communications director Liz Chandler told the National Catholic Register.
But critics of Martin in the Charlotte diocese say the bishop’s approach to the liturgical changes was consistent with his leadership style in the diocese in the year since his installation — and especially a propensity to move quickly toward change, the issue reportedly flagged by Prevost at the Dicastery for Bishops.
Sources in the diocese told The Pillar that an anonymous open letter to Martin — circulated in the diocese in January 2025 — had support from much of the diocesan presbyterate when it was published, as it flagged several alleged issues with Martin’s leadership.
Among the issues noted in the letter were “arbitrary micromanagement,” “the speed of change and lack of pastoral sensitivity,” “failure to consider the effects of decisions”, and insufficient “synodality” in the diocese, which amounted to an “autocratic approach.”
The letter urged Martin to “please consider freezing any major changes for at least two years, allowing time to establish relationships across the diocese, listen, in fulfillment of your word, and provide yourself time to understand the unique needs of this diocese. This pause would demonstrate a true willingness to understand your flock prior to navigating the ship in a new course.”
While sources acknowledged that anonymous open letters in the Church’s life are usually dismissed easily, one source in the diocese explained that “this was unusually well-sourced and informed, respectful, but explained the issues in our diocese really well, which is why it resonated so much with priests across the theological spectrum.”
Some sources pointed to a Catholic Leadership Institute study conducted earlier this year in the Charlotte diocese, which flagged Martin’s “speed of change” and "building trust” as areas in need of improvement in the diocese.