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.
Sept. 8, 2018
On Saturday, Sept. 8, a memorial prayer service was held for aborted children at the Rachel statue outside the St. Francis Borgia-South Church. This was the sixth annual National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children. At the service, Fr. Patrick delivered a powerful reflection, participants prayed and sang “Amazing Grace,” and the Knights of Columbus stood guard by our precious Rachel statue witnessing to life. The prayer service was organized by the St. Francis Borgia Respect Life Ministry. Prayer services were held throughout the country on this day to commemorate the more than 55 million children who have lost their lives to legal abortion since 1973, and to remind our society of the humanity of the unborn child.
May 7, 2017
One of the defining aspects of being Catholic is our devotion to Mary, the mother of God. May Crowning is the Catholic tradition of recognizing and celebrating Mary, our Heavenly Mother as the queen of heaven and earth. On May 7, recent First Communicants, their families and other parishioners gathered on the plaza after the 10 a.m. Mass at the North Church. From there, they processed with Fr. Patrick Burns to our Marian shrine (the Shrine to Mary, Mother of the Divine Word). The children wore their First Communion attire. One of the children placed a wreath of flowers on the head of the statue of Mary, other flowers were placed at the shrine in Mary’s honor.