After over 18 months of being closed for renovations, I am happy to announce that St. Mary Church will be reopening for public Masses beginning Sunday, September 6. From that day forward, St. Mary’s will be open for Sunday and daily Masses and confessions and our parish liturgy schedule will revert to what it was before the emergency closure of St. Mary’s in February 2019. So, as a reminder, that means our Liturgy schedule effective Sept. 6 will be:
SUNDAY MASSES
5:00 PM Saturday Vigil St. Joseph Church (Preceded by confessions at 4:15PM)
9:00 AM Sunday St. Joseph Church
10:00 AM Sunday St. Mary Church (note reversion back to the “old” time of 10:00 !!!)
12:00 PM Sunday St. Mary Church
5:00 PM Sunday St. Mary Church
WEEKDAY MASS & CONFESSIONS
11:15 AM Confessions Monday through Saturday St. Mary Church
12:00 PM Mass Monday through Saturday St. Mary Church
5:00 PM Mass Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays St. Joseph Church
5:00 PM Mass Tuesdays and Thursdays St. Mary Church
OTHER LITURGIES
8:00 PM Wednesday Holy Hour with Confessions St. Joseph Church
Eucharistic Adoration Thursdays after Noon Mass until 4:30 PM Benediction St. Mary Church
In expectation that there may be much larger than expected crowds during the first two weekends that St. Mary Church will be open, we will also be adding an 8:00 AM Mass at St. Mary Church on Sunday, Sept. 6 and Sunday, Sept. 13. This is not a permanent addition to the Mass schedule, just something for the first two weeks to help provide additional opportunities for those who may wish to attend Mass in the “new” church and to (hopefully) spread out among more Masses those planning on attending Mass at St. Mary’s. We anticipate the largest crowds at the 10:00 and perhaps the noon, so those not wedded to a particular Mass time might consider attending the 8:00 AM or 5:00 PM where we anticipate the crowds to be smaller.
In addition, on Saturday September 5 from 9:00 AM until noon, there will be a special “open house” for those who wish to see the church. The church will be open that morning and there will be mini “guided tours” happening every half hour, starting at 9:00 AM and with the last tour starting at 11:30 AM. The tours will focus on the new design and artistic elements found in the church and explain their origin and why they were incorporated into the restored church decoration scheme.
There is much more to be said, but for this moment I wanted to get this information into everyone’s hands. Please
keep watch on the bulletin, the parish website, the parish email, and on the various parish social media sources
(Facebook, Instagram, and the smartphone app) for continued updates over the days ahead. I look forward over the weeks ahead to welcoming back our “old” parishioners who have not seen their beloved St. Mary Church in so long, as well as all of our “new” parishioners who have joined in the last 18 months and who have never stepped foot in that church. And most of all, I continue to look forward to growing our parish, our family of faith, in both of the beautiful churches that our parish is proud and blessed to call our own.
Fr. John Paul Walker, OP
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