Easter Flower Memorials
The flowers and plants that decorate our church at Easter are a sign of our joy in the Resurrection of Christ and our hope in the resurrection of those who have gone before us.
We invite you to remember deceased members of your family and friends with a donation for our Easter decorations. Â This helps offset the cost of our Easter decor.
You can make your donation online using the form below.
You can also mail a donation to:
Church of St. Francis of Assisi
Attn: Easter Flower Donation
135 W. 31st Street
New York, NY 10001
Or you can make a donation in person at the front desk.
The names of those received by Tuesday, March 30 will be posted on the Church website for Easter.
Stations of the Cross
The Stations of the Cross will be prayed every Friday during Lent following our 12 noon and 5 PM liturgies.
You can join this prayer in person in the church or on livestream at the end of the Mass.
Fr. Tom’s reflection on the recent Vatican statement
Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Francis of Assisi Church,
May the Lord give you peace.
St. Francis of Assisi Parish in New York City is greatly blessed by our LGBTQ members. Your gifts are a great blessing that helps to form and nurture the Body of Christ. I am deeply saddened by the recent statement by the Vatican. We are wounded by this statement and feel a new depth of rejection. In view of it all, I call to mind that we are the Church. We, all together, in all of the richness of our diversity are the Body of Christ. Everyone is needed, everyone is essential. The body is incomplete without each person’s gift.
As I reflect on my few months here and my many years of ministry, I know that the LGBTQ community brings the Church several remarkable gifts. What immediately comes to mind is resilience. Despite years of struggle and pain, we together continue to live the Gospel, to break the bread of the Eucharist, and to care for the poor. This resilience is a great strength and a prophetic proclamation.
There is strength in the continued affirmation of the power of the Spirit to be life-giving. The strength is seen in the companioning of those who were dying during the AIDS pandemic, the care for LGBTQ youth, and the ministries of healing, teaching, the arts, and service. Within our community we have ministers who are lectors, musicians, servers, teachers, and ministers of the Eucharist. There is a witness to prophetic life in “coming out”- being the person God has created us to be. With Paul, we can say, “by the grace of God-I am what I am … his grace is not in vain.”
It is this prophetic proclamation that understands Paul’s words, “nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” There is no statement, no prohibition, no theological construct that transcends the love of God. We are all radically loved by God.
It is of this same love that the Letter of John notes, “where there is love, there is God, for God is love.” I have seen the love of LGBTQ couples who heal one another, nurture children, and endure the failure of love from those unable to see the manifest ways of God’s presence in diversity.
We remember Jesus’ parting words to his disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled, have faith in God and faith in me…. I am the way, truth, and life.” We put our trust in him and pray that the all will one day realize the depth and wonder of the diversity of God’s gifts in the lives of all God’s daughters and sons.
Ultimately, we are all blessed by God, and we know loving unions reflect the presence of God. We cannot limit God. God is free and has called us to share in that freedom.
We, St. Francis of Assisi Church, again affirm the incredible gifts of the LGBTQ members of our community and the larger Church. We are blessed in the graces of resilience, prophetic proclamation, love, and God’s presence.
Blessings and Peace,
Thomas M. Gallagher, ofm
Pastor
Celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph
“In a new Apostolic Letter entitled Patris corde (“With a Father’s Heart”), Pope Francis describes Saint Joseph as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father; a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows.
The Letter marks the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s declaration of St Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. To celebrate the anniversary, Pope Francis has proclaimed a special “Year of St Joseph,” beginning on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception 2020 and extending to the same feast in 2021.” (From Vatican News, Dec. 8, 2020)
In this special year dedicated to St. Joseph, we will celebrate a festive Mass on:
Friday, March 19th, the Feast of St. Joseph
at 12:00 PM.
You can join us in person in the church or on livestream.
Pope Francis concluded his letter with a prayer to St. Joseph for this special year:
Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became human.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy, and courage,
and defend us from every evil. Amen.
Daily Lenten Reflection from the Friars
Each weekday, Monday through Friday, for the whole season of Lent, the friars from 31st Street will be offering a brief daily video reflection. We will post these here on this page and on our Facebook page each day. We hope that these reflections help you to enter this time of grace as we journey together from ashes to Easter and the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost.
Lenten Vespers
Join us for Lenten Vespers (evening prayer) each Monday of Lent as we take time to slow down and pray during this sacred season of hope and renewal. Add some extra time to tend to spiritually prepare for the celebration of Easter.
Vespers, 5:45 PM in the upper church and on livestream.
Monday, February 22nd
Monday, March 1st
Monday, March 8th
Monday, March 15th
Monday, March 22nd
Monday, March 29th
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Listen to Him: a book of reflections by our own Fr. Kevin Tortorelli, OFM
Listen to Him, by Fr. Kevin Tortorelli, OFM
This book is a collection of homilies by Fr. Kevin Tortorelli, OFM, who spent many years ministering at the parishes of St. Francis of Assisi and Holy Name of Jesus in Manhattan. Based on Fr. Kevin’s personal prayer, study, and the practice of Lectio Divina these reflections help open the Word of God with powerful images and insights.
It is available in the lobby bookstore
Secular Franciscans to celebrate a Rite of Profession
The St. Benedict the Moor Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order is pleased to announce there will be a
Rite of Profession
during the 11 AM Mass
on Saturday March 13th.
Father Joseph Cavoto, OFM Spiritual Assistant to the Fraternity, will be the celebrant.
Alex Angeles, Mary Havey, and Cherylann Vescio, having completed three years of formation, will profess their permanent commitment to live the Gospel following the example of St. Francis of Assisi. Following the Mass there will also be a Rite of Admission to the Fraternity for Joseph Lapponese, Paul Frediani, and Antonia Fusco, after which they will embark on their three-year journey towards profession.
This Mass may be attended in person in the church and it can also be seen live on our website at St. Francis Live or on our Facebook page.
Recent News & Events
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Oct. 3: Blessing of the Animals August 25,2026
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Sept. 27: FrancisFest 2026 August 25,2026
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