Wake: Sunday, November 19, 4:00 PM, Lower Church
Wake Service: Sunday, November 19, 7:30 PM, Lower Church
Funeral Mass: Monday, November 20, 11:00 AM, Upper Church

Funeral services for Father Felix McGrath, O.F.M. will begin this Sunday evening, November 19, with a wake in the lower church starting at 4:00 PM. A Wake Service will be held at 7:30 PM. On Monday, November 20, a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in the upper church starting at 11:00 AM. Provincial Minister Fr. Kevin Mullen, O.F.M. will be the principal celebrant.

Fr. Felix died on Monday, November 13, at the Riverside Premier Rehabilitation Center here in New York City following complications from recent surgery. He was 87 years of age, and a priest for 56 years.

He was born on May 14, 1930 in the Bronx where he attended Sacred Heart School and Cardinal Hayes High School. After being received into the Franciscan Order in 1954, he made frst profession of vows a year later, then studied theology in Washington, DC where he was ordained to the priesthood on February 25, 1961. His classmates included Fathers Mychal Judge, Patrick Fitzgerald, and Cassian Miles, who also lived and ministered here at St. Francis of Assisi. Following ordination, Fr. Felix ministered at St. Anthony Shrine, Boston; Immaculate Conception Church, Atlanta; and Sacred Heart Church in Rochelle Park, NJ. Next he spent fve years preaching parish missions, and then moved to St. Patrick’s Church in Bufalo, NY where he served from 1970 to 1973.

After a year of ongoing studies in Washington, he embarked on his longest ministry here at St. Francis of Assisi where he served for 43 years and became a popular confessor and preacher, loved by many people who came to him for counseling and advice. In addition, he served for many years as a weekend assistant at a church in Somerville, NJ and as Spiritual Assistant to the Secular Franciscans of the St. Thomas More Fraternity here.

Although quiet and unassuming by nature, Fr. Felix touched many people in his years of ministry. He had great compassion for those who were suffering emotionally and spiritually, and would spend as much time with them as they needed, whether in the confessional or in the parlor. Hoping never to have to retire from ministry, Fr. Felix wanted to keep working right up to the moment the Lord would call him. His fnal illness got in the way, though, but he was ready to do what the Lord asked of him. As we hear in this week’s Gospel: “Well done, my good and faithful servant… Come, share your master’s joy,” we are grateful to God for Felix’s life among us and are confdent that he is, indeed, sharing the Master’s joy.

The St. Francis of Assisi LGBT Ministry will host another fun and honest conversation with Fr. Michael. We’ll talk scripture, personal experiences, and what it means to be Catholic and part or an ally of the LGBT community.

Join us!  All are welcome!

Please join us for the 2017 Hesburgh Lecture, sponsored by the Notre Dame Club of New York.

This year’s lecture is titled:

“Islam, the Catholic Faith and the Future of the World”

The lecture is presented by Gabriel Reynolds, Ph.D.,
Theology, University of Notre Dame.

Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017
Doors open at 6:30 PM; lecture begins at 7:15 PM.
San Damiano Hall

The Hesburgh Lecture is a free event open to club members, the parish, and the public.

Registration is requested.

Please click HERE to RSVP.

Presenter Biography:

Reynolds is the author of The Qur’an and Its Biblical Subtext (Routledge 2010) and The Emergence of Islam (Fortress, 2012). At Notre Dame, Reynolds teaches classes including “Foundations of Theology,” “Islam and Christian Theology,” “The Qur’an and Its Relation to the Bible,” “The Holy Land,” and “Islamic Origins.” Outside of Notre Dame he has conducted research and delivered lectures in cities throughout the Middle East, including Ankara, Cairo, Jerusalem, Beirut, Damascus, and Tehran. Gabriel and his wife Lourdes have four children: Luke, Emmanuel, Theresa, and René.

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The Ugnayan Filipino Ministry is hosting a Fundraising Pilgrimage trip to the National Shrine of our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro, MA.  The Ugnayan community welcomes everyone interested.

The trip is:

November 25 – 26, 2017

And the Cost is: $200

Payment Deadline Friday, November 3  in form of Cash or Check payable to ‘Cash’:

For more information, please contact: Zeny (718-672-0596) Imelda (646-623-3498) Carla (718-503-4637) filipinoministry@stfrancisnyc.org

This is a fundraising event to support the Church of St. Francis of Assisi.

Click this image for a printable PDF flyer of the event:

To receive a detailed color brochure, please contact Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M. at 212-736-8500, or email areitz@stfrancisnyc.org. Please note: If you are interested in this pilgrimage, please note that it may not be for you since there is more walking than usual. In Assisi there are hills to be climbed that are generally not part of a pilgrimage to Assisi. Also, the ability to keep up with the group is important. Walking in New York is one thing, walking in Assisi is more challenging. In Rome also, there are some sites that are generally not part of most pilgrimages, e.g., the Franciscan Church of Santa Maria Aracoeli with 124 steps. Consider this when making your plans.

10 Days: March 7-16, 2018

$2,479 from New York

Hosted by Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.

On Saturday October 28th after the 4:00 PM Mass and again on

Sunday, October 29th after the 5:00 PM Mass

we will host our “State of the Parish Address.”

During this year’s stewardship campaign we tried to make everyone aware of 3 important numbers that reflect our financial realities at St. Francis:

$3.3 Milllion – which is our annual budget at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi

$25.00 – which is the per person per week cost it takes to run our church and

2.5% which is the percent of our income that we are asking people to commit to the Church of St. Francis of Assisi to be faithful members of the Church.

At the State of the Parish you will have an opportunity to receive a more detailed presentation of our budget:  what makes up the $3.3 million dollar annual expenditure, how we are doing in raising that money and what we accomplish as a community with it.

This is part of our attempt at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi to practice good stewardship back to the community by providing as much financial transparency as we can.  Please join us for this presentation and help us continue to make St. Francis of Assisi a place where the Gospel resounds in our city.