Dear Parishioners:
Amid so much bad news lately, it is helpful to speak about some good news! Early last Sunday morning, as I looked at the newspapers, I was thrilled to see our own Fr. Connors on the front page of the New York Sunday Times. It was an excellent article on Catholic priests in Boson who serve as COVID 19 Chaplains to the sick and dying. It is an exceptional examination of the Sacrament of the Sick and the importance of the Priesthood. Both so needed at such crucial times in our lives and our world.
Fr. Connors anointing a Covid patient in Boston.
If you have not yet read the article, I encourage you to read it online at the N.Y. Times website. It is entitled, “We Are Not Alone: The Last Anointing,” and written by N.Y. Times reporter, Jennifer Dias. It features some great pictures of Father Connors and other priests and is well worth the time and effort to read.
Fr. Hiep and Bishop Tobin after Mass of Ordination on June 6, 2020
Last weekend we also rejoiced as Fr. Hiep Van Nguyen was ordained a priest by Bishop Tobin. It was a beautiful Ordination Mass full of faith, joy, and hope. You may remember Father Hiep as he spent a summer at OLM as a seminarian. I and Fr. Barrow also had the great joy to attend Father Hiep’s Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Philip Church last Sunday afternoon.
He did an excellent job celebrating his First Holy Mass. The Mass live-streamed allowed his family in Vietnam, including his older brother, who is also a priest, to watch and pray along. Father Hiep’s older sister is a Religious Sister, and she was able to be here last weekend for this great day for his family, friends, and the Church of Providence.
Father Hiep has been assigned by Bishop Tobin to serve as the Associate Pastor at St. Francis Xavier Church. It is a vast and active parish in East Providence with an excellent pastor, Fr. Rocha. Pray for Father Hiep as he begins his first priestly assignment, may it be fruitful, and may God continue to guide and bless him in his priestly ministry. It was nice to see so many OLM parishioners were able to attend the Masses and wish Father Hiep well. We hope to have Father Hiep celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving here at OLM sometime in the fall when his schedule might allow it. It will be another opportunity to celebrate with him! Father Hiep’s Ordination reminds me of my Priestly Ordination.
Next weekend I celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for my Silver Jubilee of Priestly Ordination. It’s hard for me to believe that its been twenty-five years since Bishop Gelineau ordained me a priest on June 24, 1995. As I mark this milestone in my priestly ministry, I humbly ask for your prayers. It has been a joyful and happy life as a priest, and I am genuinely grateful to God for the gift of his Priesthood.
I am deeply thankful to my parents and family, friends, parishioners, brother priests, and bishops who have supported me over the years. It has been twenty-five wonderful and happy years as a priest. I encourage any young man to consider answering the call to serve God and His Church as a priest! Pray for vocations!
Due to the restrictions on the number of those permitted to attend public Masses, I know that not all of my family and friends can participate in the Mass next Sunday at 10:30 am. Those who cannot attend may join us in Spiritual Communion as the Mass is to be live-streamed.
There is still more good news to report. Thanks to your generous support of the Our Faith, Our Future Capital Campaign, we can begin some much-needed projects. New roofs on the Franciscan and Mercy Convents, as well as the west side of the OLM School building, are finished. D’Angelo Custom Homes won the project bid. They also put the new roof on OLM Church a couple of years ago.
The cost for the two Convent roofs was $17, 000 for both and the school roof, $16,500. Thanks to your generous support of the Our Faith, Our Future Campaign, the project has the necessary funds to cover the costs.
We also hope to install a new security camera system for the Church and Rectory in the next week. It will provide us the ability to keep the Church open safely and monitor activity around the parish property. Sadly this is an essential reality in the world we live in at present. Some of our parish churches in the state fall victim to robberies and vandalism. We hope this new system will not only help prevent this type of activity but help us identify any culprits should it happen.
Also, the architects have begun to work on the design of new Church doors. The doors are over fifty years old and do not work well. New doors certainly enhance the beauty of the Chruch but also provide doors that can lock adequately and ensure safety.
We offer prayers, best wishes and congratulations to the OLM School 8th Grade, who graduated this past week! These 31 young men and women now depart for the rigors of high school. We are genuinely grateful to their parents for choosing OLM School for their children and for their sacrifice in ensuring them an excellent Catholic Education. The many academic achievements of our graduates are noted in the bulletin this week.
OLM School ended Friday, and summer has officially begun! It has been a long few months for our OLM School principal, faculty, and students, but they did very well with "distance learning" and keep the same high standards of instruction and academic excellence. We wish the students and faculty all the best for the summer!
Stay safe. Be Well. Do Good! God Bless! Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us!