Dear Parishioners:
While public schools have scheduled their reopening for September 14, OLM School has plans to open this week. We believe it to be the best path forward in light of the ever-changing situation. This coming week is a time of small-group orientations for our students and their families. Governor Raimondo is expected to announce on Monday, August 31, further guidance regarding the reopening of schools in RI. Interestingly just last week in a news interview, the Governor said she intends to send her own two children back to their private schools. Like most private schools, they too are offering in-person class instruction.
At OLM School, we are committed to bringing our students back into our school building as safely as possible. Therefore, this week's schedule allows the students to get familiar with their teachers and classrooms. It also allows students, faculty, and parents to grow more comfortable with our school's new setting and safety policies and procedures.
OLM School opens for full all-day and in-person class instruction on Tuesday, September 8. It is the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Mother Mary! A fitting day to resume classes in a school under her patronage! We ask for prayers for all students and teachers as they prepare for school this fall. In particular, pray for our Catholic schools, especially the administration, faculty, staff, students, and families of OLM School.
Fr. Connors has now returned to St. John Seminary in Boston for the fall semester. Classes begin this week there and Fr. Connors in addition to teaching his many classes is also serving as the Director of Liturgy for the seminary. In order to avoid an outbreak of COVID-19 at the seminary, the entire faculty and student body were tested. Also, the seminary is in lockdown until the October break. The student seminarians are not allowed to go out. The resident faculty priests are allowed to leave only to celebrate Mass at local parishes. So please pray for Fr. Connors and the seminarians, may they remain healthy, stay safe, and may their academic year be fruitful.
With schools starting up, summer is coming to an end, as usual, too soon! It is a strange summer amid the pandemic with few people traveling, fewer family gatherings, and fewer summer vacations. While Labor Day traditionally signals the end of the summer, the official first day of fall isn't actually until September 22, 2020.
In September, we usually resume our Sunday 5:00 PM Mass. However, due to the COVID-19 restrictions, we are postponing the resumption of this Mass until further notice. We presently have three Masses every weekend, and attendance is not increasing. There seems no need to add an additional fourth Mass at present. Many parishioners are not attending Mass each week. We hope and pray Mass attendance increases as the summer ends. The sanitizing of the Church building occurs before and after every public celebration of Mass. It involves a considerable amount of time and work by our maintenance team/ We do this to ensure the proper sanitization of the Church. This cleaning and sanitizing is a costly expense and also very time-consuming. Our maintenance crew is not readily available to work on Sunday nights in order to clean and sanitize the Church properly. Therefore, it is prudent to postpone the 5:00 PM Sunday Evening Mass from our weekly schedule until further notice.
Those who have reserved Mass intentions for the 5:00 PM Sunday Mass, please know those intentions are to be satisfied at one of the three weekend Masses celebrated every week. Although this is not the customary practice at OLM, multiple Mass intentions at Mass are allowed. Therefore, one Mass a weekend is to be offered for two intentions in order to satisfy all previously booked intentions. Please understand that all booked Mass intentions are going to be offered. If you have any questions or concerns about a Mass you've reserved for a particular intention, please contact the OLM Parish Office. Thank you for your patience and understanding in these difficult days.
Welcome back OLM School! Pray for the safe and happy start of school! Stay safe. Be Well. Do Good! God Bless.