It is our custom to celebrate a Novena (nine days) of Masses on behalf of our Fathers, Grandfathers, and those who have been a father-figure to us. It is proper to remember those who have died and to honor our fathers and grandfathers who are still living. To do so, please inscribe the names you wish to be remembered below, and you can also make an offering should you choose. The Novena will begin on Father’s Day.
Join us for our annual
United in Love Pre-Pride festive Mass
Saturday | June 29 | 4:00 p.m.
“Inspired by our faith in Jesus Christ,
and rooted in the charism of St. Francis of Assisi,
we actively welcome all people.”
This is the first declaration in our parish mission statement. It is how our community at St. Francis thinks and acts.
We are again celebrating this welcome to all people at our United in Love Pre-Pride Festive Mass.
This is a Weekend of Prayer for and with our LGBT Brothers and Sisters.
We take this opportunity each year for our whole parish community to remember that the Lord invited all people to follow him, regardless of race, ethnicity, economic background, gender or sexual orientation.
It is also an opportunity when we can invite to Mass any of our friends who many not feel welcome at the table of the Lord for whatever reason, but especially if they are gay or lesbian. Take the opportunity to bear witness to the unconditional love of God by reaching out and inviting back a brother or sister who hasn’t been home in a while.
AFTER MASS CELEBRATION OPEN TO ALL
It has been our long tradition to have a celebration on the roof of the Francis House after this Mass for our LGBT+ Ministry (or in the San Damiano Hall in case of inclement weather). This year, for the first time, we are opening this gathering to the entire parish community to make this truly a celebration of the inclusive love of our Church of St. Francis of Assisi community. All are welcome to this celebration. Please use the form below to sign up. The $20 fee covers the cost of the food and soft drinks we will provide. It is a BYOB event. Please bring wine or beer or some other beverage of your choice.
On Saturday, May 18th, 40 members of our Church of St. Francis of Assisi community participated in a 2-hour walking tour of three churches affected by the tragic events of 9-11.
We began at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. This church was completely destroyed after the attacks on 9-11 and was completely rebuilt. The beautiful new gem of orthodox faith is a reminder of the power of life and love that always triumphs over hatred and death. The group enjoyed the beautiful icons of Jesus, Mary and St. Nicholas. It is truly a church worth visiting.
From there we proceeded to the 9-11 memorial to visit Fr. Mychal Judge OFM’s name. Fr. Mychal, who served at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi until he died that fateful day, was the first death certificate of 9-11.
The next stop on our tour was the church that survived: St. Paul’s Episcopal Chapel. This historic church was where George Washington went to pray after he was inaugurated as the First President of the United States of America. The Church sits very close to where the twin towers stood but was spared destruction that day.
Our tour ended at the St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church. This is the first Catholic parish in New York City. Some of New Yorks most famous Catholics attended this church, including Bl. Pierre Toussaint and St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. This Church was damaged on 9-11 but survived. Fr. Mychal’s body was brought here and placed in front of the altar that day. After the 9-11 cross emerged from the rubble during the removal of the debris, it was housed at St. Peter’s until it was moved to the 9-11 museum. A new steal cross now stands on the spot where the original cross once stood.
This tour was hosted by our CONVERGE @St. Francis Parish Life ministry. It was a wonderful day! Converge organizes events for members of St. Francis which are always open to all members. Our goal is to help strengthen our bonds of community in our parish community and enjoy some of the amazing things our city has to offer.
Click HERE to see a calendar of all of CONVERGE @St. Francis’ upcoming events.
The next two events are the Botanical Gardens Tour and the Parish Picnic.
We invite everyone to join us for the Feast of St. Anthony, Thursday, June 13. This year, we are honored to be welcoming the relics of St. Anthony which will come to our church for the feast from the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy.
We will be celebrating our beloved saint throughout the day with bread being distributed at our 32nd street entrance, the relics in the National Shrine of St. Anthony (lower church), as well as a sacred space and our St. Anthony religious articles shop in the San Damiano Hall. The schedule is as follows:
8am – 6:30pm
National Shrine of St. Anthony (Lower Church)
8am – 6:30pm
32nd Street entrance to the church.
7:30am
9:00am
10:30am (French)
12:00pm
2:00pm (Spanish)
4:00pm
5:30pm (Festive Mass, also available on Livestream below)
1:00 pm
Upper church
7:30am – 9:00am
11:00am – 1:00pm
4:00pm – 6:00pm
8:00 am – 5:30 pm
San Damiano Hall
Saturday, June 8, 2024
12 Noon
The New York Botanical Garden
2900 Southern Blvd.
Bronx, NY 10458
New York Botanical Garden (nybg.org)
FEE: $45 (does not include transportation costs)
DEADLINE: has been extended. Registrations are due by May 31, 2024
Itinerary:
Meet at the Garden: 11:30 AM
Walking Tour: 12:00 PM (1 hour)
After the Walking Tour, we can all walk the grounds and enjoy the Garden at our own pace.
Getting There: The easiest way to get there is to take the Metro-North Harlem local line to Botanical Garden Station, located directly across the street from the Garden’s Mosholu Entrance.
This event is limited to 30 people and will happen rain or shine. The $45.00 fee goes directly to the Botanical Gardens to cover the cost of the private walking tour. There are no refunds.
On the Feast of Pentecost 2024 Dario Corradini, who received Confirmation at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi at Easter, gave the following witness about his experience of preparing for this sacrament in our community:
If you need to complete your sacraments of Confirmation and / or First Eucharist, or if you are interested in exploring the Catholic faith, I we are happy to assist you. Please click here and find out more.
Visions and Revisions: A Poetry Workshop
This class will include strategies for writing and revising poetry. The first part of each meeting will consider tools of poetry and types of poetry which will include some set forms like the sonnet, particularly the terza rima sonnet, the cinquain, particularly the American cinquain, and the ghazal. as well as ekphrastic poetry and the monologue poem. Each class will include some time for writing and sharing poems.
Instructor: Sr. Fran McManus
Mondays July 8 – August 5
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
on Zoom.
Fee $60.00
Limited to 15 students
Who are we and what do we value? How are we shaped by family, faith, cultural traditions, history and current events? These are among the questions characters grapple with in our three novels. Our first meeting will include an introduction to our authors and the texts and a discussion of two short stories which are available online. Our first novel will let us follow Philippa Talbot into a cloistered Benedictine convent at a time when religious life is beginning to change because of Vatican II; we will next join Father Declan in Ireland where he struggles with his conscience after a parishioner reveals a long-held secret; finally, we will visit a Minneapolis bookstore where Tookie is haunted by the ghost of a recently deceased customer as well as the history of our country’s indigenous people the experience of COVID and the murder of George Floyd. Fittingly, the novel begins on All Souls Day in 2019 and ends on All Souls Day, 2020.
Course texts, in order of reading, include: short stories “Desired Things” by Alice McDermott and “The Empty Family” by Colm Toibin; In this House of Brede by Rumer Godden, The All of It by Jeanette Haien and The Sentence by Louise Erdrich.
Instructor: Sr. Fran McManus
Thursdays, June 27 – August 8 (No Class July 4)
12:30 – 1:30 PM
on Zoom.
Fee $60.00
Many of us remember this famous line from the 1967 film “The Graduate”. It did indeed foreshadow a booming industry but now we know that we’re shipping our plastic waste to Malaysia. Out of sight out of mind but not out of our environment and not making anything easier for anyone. The plastics industry would like you to believe that if only you would recycle properly, if you would help them, the problem would be solved. It’s a lie. Unlike glass, paper, and metal which are successfully recycled, plastic recycling does not work for many reasons and it’s not your fault. The only solution is to move beyond plastic.
When faced with the choice, choose the thing that is NOT in plastic. If you make only one adjustment in your daily life to care for our Earth, let it be this. To learn more go to https://www.beyondplastics.org/
“If it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, resold, recycled, or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned or removed from production.” Pete
Seeger
For more information about the Laudato Si Circle here at St. Francis or to share your own tip of the week, email: stfrancislaudatosi@gmail.com
Click here to go to our page on the website for St. Francis Church.
Converge @St.Francis is organizing our first ever St. Francis of Assisi Parish Picnic in Riverside Park.
This is a BYO event. Bring your own lunch and beverages and come either with a few friends or by yourself because we will all be spending the afternoon together. St. Francis will have signage and balloons to designate our area. Bring a beach chair, or just a blanket to be comfortable, and if you have room pack your favorite game or a deck of cards and come!
Click HERE for information about Riverside Park and what is permitted and not permitted. There are restrooms in the park.
RIVERSIDE PARK @ 150th STREET
13 JULY| 11 AM – whenever…
This is a free event open to all… but please let us know you are coming so we can communicate with you as we get closer to the day.
