The Church of St. Francis of Assisi is many things to many people, but first and foremost, we are a parish church community.
Older catholics raised the US are very familiar with the need to “register” for a parish. It is something that they have always done and continue to do. Younger Catholics and Catholics who immigrate to the US, especially from countries that are predominantly Catholic, sometimes do not know that you need to register for your church. For immigrants this is sometimes because in traditionally Catholic countries, if you live in the geographic area covered by the parish, then you were automatically a parishioner. Your address makes you a member.
But that is not the case in the US. We all have to register to be members of our parish.
Why should you register?
The easiest answer to that is so that your parish church, and more specifically the pastor, priests and staff at the church, get to know who you are. But there is a little more to it. As an official parishioner, you have certain rights from your parish. Your parish must provide to you the sacraments. So if you are getting married, you go to your parish where you are registered to prepare for that. Or if you are asked to be a godparent, you go to your parish where you are registered if the church where the baptism or confirmation is going to be celebrated requires verification that you are a practicing Catholic. And here at St. Francis we welcome newly registered members and we create ways for new people to get to know the priests and staff here, to know other parishioners and we offer ways for people who want to get involved in the community.
As a registered member of the community, you also have responsibilities.
You are expected to participate in the Sunday Mass with the community, you are expected to participate in major parish events and celebrations, you expected to get involved and volunteer if you are able, and you are expected to financially support the community in an intentional way.
Registering for the parish helps us help you be a full, adult, participating member of the church.
All it takes to register is to give your contact information to the parish and to fulfill your obligations as a parishioner.
If you haven’t done that yet, you can simply download our form right now, fill it out, and email it back to us at info@stfrancisnyc.org.
CLICK HERE FOR OUR PARISH REGISTRATION FORM
the form out again and let us know that in the email. We can check and update your address if necessary.
If you have any questions about being a registered parishioner, you can email or call
Joe Nuzzi, our Director of Evangelization
at: 212-736-8500 x365
or: jnuzzi@stfrancisnyc.org