Dear Parishioners:
We had a terrific day for the OLM Parish Picnic last Sunday. The weather was beautiful and a large gathering of parishioners enjoyed a good time and good food. Even the Pope stopped by for a few photographs and to watch the Pat’s Game. Fr. Connors rode his unicycle, the kids enjoyed the pony rides and games, and it was truly a great beginning to the Week of Mercy.
Fr. Connors and over 400 pilgrims from Providence including 20 OLM parishioners departed for Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families on Thursday. At 4pm this 
afternoon they are attending the huge outdoor Papal Mass which is expected to draw over a million people. It is a the last event of a weekend of festivities with the Pope and thousands of Catholic families. The World Meeting of Families is held every three years and is the world’s largest Catholic gathering of families.
This past week we celebrated as a Parish Family with a Week of Mercy. I am grateful to the many folks who helped to make this a special time for our parish a great success. Many parishioners willingly volunteered to help with the Parish Picnic. I am grateful to all those who helped with the set up and clean up, baked goodies for the desert table, and all those who warmly greeted all those attending picnic.
In particular we are grateful to Dave Belanger and Eric Anderson from our OLM Maintenance Crew, Mrs. Jaime Pedro, President of the OLM School PTG and the parent volunteers, the OLM Knight of Columbus who cooked all afternoon, members of the OLM Confirmation Class and Youth Group who helped organize the 
games for kids.
We wish to publicly thank a few people who were very generous with donations. We thank the Galleshaw and Forgue Families from Wright’s Chicken Farm for generously donating the use of their large tent for the picnic. We also thank OLM 
Parishioner Bob Nowak of RI Novelty who generously donated all the great prizes for the children’s games. And we thank OLM Parishioner Tony Maddalone for providing his excellent live music and terrific singing at the picnic. Also we thank OLM Parishioners Stefan and Milan Toljan of Big Foot Sound for their terrific DJ sounds last Sunday at the picnic.
On Tuesday night we had the wonderful Performance of Mercy. Our Choirs under the direction of Henri St. Louis and Deirdre Donovan, provided inspirational sound and beautiful
music in honor of Our Lady of Mercy. We are grateful for the sharing of their many talents in service to God, and OLM Parish.
On Wednesday our Work of Mercy was to make sandwiches for the homeless residents at Emmanuel House. We also provided new socks for those homeless. I thank 
all who helped us make so many sandwiches and all those who donated socks. It was a great witness of mercy in action.
Finally we thank Monsignor Jay Darcy for offering the homily at our Feast Day Mass on Thursday. The Feast Day Mass is the pinnacle of our celebration of the Week of Mercy and I thank all those who helped with it. Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us!
Next week our fine OLM Religious Education Program commences as we begin another year of faith formation for our parish children. Our volunteer RE teachers who give so much of their time and talent to serving the parish are to be commissioned at the 9am Mass next Sunday. Please keep them in your prayers and pray for all those in our RE Program.
We officially welcome our new Franciscan Apostolic Sisters to OLM Parish at the
10:30am Mass next Sunday. Sister Emma and Sister Lourdes arrive at OLM this week to begin their ministry among us. Keep them in your prayers and be sure to give them a warm welcome. They are truly excited to part of our parish family.
This week we once again take up our very important OLM Annual Collection. I am grateful for your tremendous support of this critical collection over the years. It allows up to maintain the parish plant and fund necessary projects. Thanks again for your support. Be well. Do Good. Go Pats. God Bless.