Photos of Parish Life

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.

April 18, 2019

Holy Thursday is the day that Catholics commemorate the three pillars of their faith: the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the priesthood, and the Mass. Father Patrick Burns presided at the Holy Thursday Mass of the Last Supper, held at 7 p.m. This was the beginning of the Easter Triduum celebration. The washing of the feet, symbolic of Jesus washing the feet of the apostles, is an important element of Holy Thursday. At the conclusion of the liturgy, the congregation processed to the lower church for prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

August 3 – 13, 2017

In August 2017, a team of nine parish “pilgrims” departed for a visit to our sister parish, St. Paul the Apostle Parish, in Mukono, Uganda. Their plan included visiting many families, along with schools and other sites. Among the stops was St. Francis Borgia High School, built with the generous donations of our parishioners and named in our honor. Enrollment had reached 600 students, which was up 200 children from two years prior. Photos in this gallery illustrate various aspects of St. Paul Parish in Mukono that were experienced on this visit to Uganda.