Dear Friends in Christ,

This week, we remember and give thanks for the life and legacy of Pope Francis. From the beginning of his papacy, Pope Francis captured the world’s attention with his humility, deep compassion for the suffering, and unwavering concern for the poor and marginalized. His leadership consistently reminded us to keep our eyes fixed on Christ and to care for one another with tenderness and mercy.

One of my favorite things Pope Francis ever wrote comes from his apostolic exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel, paragraph 164:

“Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen, and free you.” I have quoted this many times in my preaching because it’s a truth we all need to internalize in our hearts. It captures the core of the Gospel and reminds us of the closeness of Christ in every moment of our lives.

To pray for the repose of Pope Francis’ soul, we will offer a Mass of the Dead on Tuesday, April 29, at our regular 9:00am Mass. We will also begin Eucharistic Adoration at 8:00am, with Benediction just before Mass. The Rosary prayed during the hour of Adoration will be offered for Pope Francis. Please join us in praying that he may enter his eternal reward and rest in the peace of Christ.

I also want to offer a heartfelt thank you to everyone who made our Easter celebration so beautiful this year. What a joy to celebrate the Resurrection at our new altar in our renovated sanctuary! Special thanks to those who worked tirelessly on our environment committee! Thank you to Meghan and our amazing music ministry for the joyful and moving music, to Cheryl for coordinating our liturgical ministers, and to our entire staff for your hard work behind-the-scenes. What a gift to our parish. God is so good!

Now that our sanctuary project is complete, I want to offer an important reminder: if you made a pledge to the Restore All Things in Christ sanctuary campaign, please remember that it is a three-year commitment. Thanks to your generosity, we had nearly 80% of the necessary funds in cash as we moved through the project. The finance council and I chose not to borrow the remaining gap, using savings instead. This allows us to avoid debt, but it also means that fulfilling your pledges is essential to maintaining the financial strength of our parish. Thank you so much for your continued support!

Finally, if you haven’t yet contributed to this year’s Catholic Services Appeal (CSA), I invite you to prayerfully consider doing so. CSA supports essential ministries across the diocese: seminarian formation, prison ministry, marriage preparation, communications, and much more. It also directly benefits our parish. I would love for us to reach our goal before summer, and every gift, no matter the size, helps us get there.

Thank you for all the ways you love and serve our parish. May this Easter season continue to fill your hearts with joy and hope!

In Christ’s Love and Friendship,
Fr. Stephen Durkee