Photos of Parish Life

On Saturday December 6, more than 100 parishioners and seven seminarians celebrated the ancient liturgy of the Rorate Caeli Advent Mass, which commences before dawn and is lit only by candles. The Mass honors the Blessed Virgin Mary and symbolizes Christ—the Light of the World—entering into the world with Mary as the vessel.

Rorate Caeli is Latin for “drop down, ye heavens,” and drawn from the prophecy of Isaiah 45:8. These are the opening words of this liturgy’s “introit,” a psalm verse with an antiphon, sung at the beginning of the Mass.
After the Mass a hot breakfast sponsored by the Adoration team and the Knights of Columbus was served in the church hall.

April 11, 2021

On April 11, Divine Mercy Sunday, Fr. Shane Johnson presided at the 10 a.m. Mass at the North Church, with Deacon Michael Malucha assisting. Since the beginning of Lent 2021, the 10 a.m. Sunday Mass has been celebrated ad orientem. This means that for parts of the Mass, the priest and the people face the same direction, symbolizing that the words during that time are spoken directly to God. When the priest turns toward the people, he is in dialogue with the people. Fr. Shane is a priest-son of St. Francis Borgia; he attended Mass at the historic stone church and graduated from the parish grade school. He was ordained in 2009 and since 2012 has served parishes in New York City. Fr. Shane’s parents are parishioners Alan and Cheri Johnson.

September 14, 2019
On Saturday morning, September 14, the St. Francis Borgia cemetery was the setting for a solemn gathering to commemorate the more than 60 million children lost to legal abortion since Roe v Wade in 1973. In addition, the newly installed infants' memorial was dedicated. Recent research using ground-penetrating radar at the cemetery revealed 197 unmarked graves, including 46 graves of stillborn and very young infants, born to poor parents unable to afford proper burial. Those graves are marked by crosses. The infants’ memorial and crosses are thanks to the generosity of our parish members and the Knights of Columbus. The service and dedication were led by Fr. Patrick Burns. The event was sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and our Respect Life Committee.