Photos of Parish Life

May 8, 2021Our annual Parish Day of Service was held at the North Church on Saturday, May 8. The day began at 8 a.m. with a prayer in church. There were more than 50 parishioners – school families, Christian Formation families, older parishioners, young parishioners, teens and even a one-year-old – working together to clean up the parish grounds. Of special note were the clean-up of the old foundation and fire pit area, and the garden beds in front of the rectory and around the grounds. It was a beautiful day filled with laughter, conversation and relationship building. Following the morning’s work, there was a pizza lunch on the plaza for fun and fellowship.

October 2-3, 2019
As part of our 175th anniversary celebration, St. Francis Borgia hosted a well-attended parish mission called “Life to the Full: The Transformation of Suffering into Glory.” It was held the evenings of Wednesday, Oct. 2 and Thursday, Oct.3 at the North Church. The focus of this two-night mission was to explore what it means to be human, God’s incredible plan for our humanity, and how Jesus comes into our lives to heal us and free us from all that keeps us hiding in sin, shame, and sorrow. The speakers were Father John Burns and Sister Miriam James Heidland, SOLT.

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 2017
This year, 80 boys and girls from St. Francis Borgia received their First Holy Communion (First Eucharist). As in past years, the First Communions were celebrated at multiple Masses, with some children at Masses on April 22-23, and some on the weekend of April 29-30. Because First Eucharist is a sacrament of initiation, it is celebrated during the Easter season.