Bishop Tobin has issued the following statement on Hurricane Harvey.
Bishop Tobin's full statement follows.
"The damage caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas, especially the flooding presently taking place in the Houston area, is unprecedented and heartbreaking. I urge the Catholic community in the Diocese of Providence to be spiritually united with all those affected by this catastrophe and to offer fervent prayers for their well-being, and to pray also for the safety of the first responders. May our nation be united in this time of crisis, and may God’s grace support us during this time of enormous suffering and pain. In the very near future, and as the long-term recovery begins, the Diocese of Providence will offer an opportunity for members of the Church to provide financial assistance as well."
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) president, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, has called for prayers and solidarity with those impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Cardinal DiNardo also called on all people of good will to closely monitor future calls for assistance for victims and survivors in the days ahead.
Cardinal DiNardo’s full statement follows.
“Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast in a catastrophic and devastating way this weekend, bringing with it severe flooding and high winds which have taken human life, caused countless injuries, and severely damaged homes and property throughout the region. The effects of this storm continue to put people in harm’s way, with horrific scenes playing out all around, such as those of people trapped on their rooftops as water continues to rise around them. Many dioceses of the Church in the United States have been affected; many others will be as the storm continues.
As the Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, this crisis hits very close to home. In solidarity with my brother bishops in this area of the country, I call on people of faith to pray for all of those who have been impacted by this Hurricane, and I ask people of good will to stand with the victims and their families. May God, the Lord of mercy and compassion, protect all who are still in danger, and bring to safety those who are missing. May He care in a special way for those who were already homeless, or without support and resources, before this disaster. We pray in thanksgiving for the first responders who are risking their lives to save others at this very moment. We include in our intentions the everyday heroes reaching out to help their neighbors in need, those who, like the Good Samaritan, cannot walk by a person in need without offering their hand in aid.
The USCCB is working closely with affected local dioceses, Catholic Charities USA and St. Vincent de Paul, along with other relief organizations, to assess the needs on the ground. In the next couple of days, we will share more about the best ways to assist those in the Gulf region with material needs based on the latest information we can gather. May God bless you and your families this day and always
All donations to OLM Outreach for the month of September will be dedicated to Hurricane Harvey Relief efforts. Also Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA), the official domestic relief agency of the U.S. Catholic Church, needs your support to ensure the delivery of compassionate care and support to individuals affected by Hurricane Harvey. Their agencies provide essential support before, during and after disasters hit. In fact, long-term recovery is an integral part of Catholic Charities’ holistic approach and we work tirelessly to ensure individuals can live their lives with the dignity we all deserve. This service is provided to the community regardless of religion, social or economic background.
You can donate directly to CCUSA Hurricane Relief or you can give to OLM Outreach online by clicking the link to Parish Giving.
Thank you for your support and prayer
Prayer for Hurricane Harvey Relief
Compassionate God,
We pray for all those affected by Hurricane Harvey, and offer the words of the psalmist: “May the Lord give might to his people; may the Lord bless his people with peace!” (Psalm 29:11)
As families seek shelter, we pray: “May the Lord give might to his people; may the Lord bless his people with peace!”
As people search for loved ones, we pray: “May the Lord give might to his people; may the Lord bless his people with peace!”
As survivors look to the future, we pray: “May the Lord give might to his people; may the Lord bless his people with peace!”
As rescue workers work tirelessly, we pray: “May the Lord give might to his people; may the Lord bless his people with peace!”
Lord, give might to those who need your strength to carry on. Fill their troubled hearts with your peace and move us with your compassion that we may respond generously to those in need.
Amen.
East Greenwich, RI -- The Annual OLM School Walkathon, which was held on Thursday, October 5, raised a record of over $13,000, which will be used towards special projects throughout the school. Students in Grades Pre-K through 2 walked just under a mile around the immediate church/school property while the older students did a two mile walk down Post Road, to Cedar and Kenyon Roads and then back to OLM via First Avenue. Students collected pledges from family and friends, with prizes being awarded to the top pledge-earners in each grade. As they far surpassed the school-wide goal of $12,000, the entire school was treated to ice cream treats on Thursday, October 13. Students who brought in the highest amount in pledges received OLM tote bags filled with OLM paraphernalia and gift certificates to Hill Top Creamery in East Greenwich and Launch Trampoline Park in Warwick. Class individual winners included: PK3: Olivia Cioe ; PK4: Lily Slocum; K: Lola Berube; 1: Helen Mita; 2: Kathryn Colgan; 3: Veronica Coffey; 4: Mary Mita; 5: Michael Mita; 6: Austin Kairnes ; 7: Ryan Youngs; 8: Alise Knudson. “Joey” the Kangaroo from Launch was happy to give the students high fives before they set off on their walk and upon their return. At the conclusion of the walk, students were treated to an outdoor awards assembly with water and snacks. A grand prize raffle drawing was held with the lucky winner, eighth grader Malcolm Verdi, of North Kingstown, receiving a $150 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods, and $25 gift card to Piezoni’s Pizza in East Greenwich. He will also have the privilege of being Assistant PE Teacher for the Day with a Subway lunch with Mr. Stefanik. First Grader Collin Franchina won a $56 gift card to Launch and a Launch t-shirt, socks and other items. Funds raised each year by the OLM PTG, from events like the Walkathon and the annual Spring Fling Auction, are used for various enrichment opportunities like Field Trips, Google Chrome Books and technology enhancements, the Art Masters Program, robotics,Mock Trial, CAL sports and more.
The OLM Middle School Boys’ Cross Country Team captured its second consecutive State Title at the CAL State Meet at Slater Park in Pawtucket on Wednesday, October 16th. The OLM Girls finished an impressive second, also for the second straight year. Seventh grader Ryan Dobrzynski placed second, eighth grader Chad Doorley finished third and Nick Mueller placed sixth from OLM on the boys‘ side. Brittany Caskey, an OLM eighth-grader, placed fourth at the state meet. Other top OLM girls finishers at Slater Park included Emma Shaw, who placed 12th and Lauren Salvadore who was 15th. During an awards ceremony at the start of the meet, it was announced that both the OLM Boys and Girls teams had won their second consecutive South Division Titles of the Catholic Athletic League after winning all of their weekly meets at Goddard Park. Under the direction of coaches Mary Beth Campellone, Fiona Hanlon, Lisa Meehan and Kathy Moren, the 65 runners in grades 6, 7 and 8 have been practicing twice a week since August. The team had its annual year-end banquet on Sunday, October 27th at Quidnessett Country Club.
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. 
Bishop Tobin has announced the appointment of Father Joshua Barrow as the new Associate Pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Church. His appointment is effective July 1, 2016. We thank Bishop Tobin for sending us Fr. Barrow. As you know there is an ever increasing shortage of priests and to get a second priest is rare luxury for parishes. So please be sure to thank Bishop Tobin and also please commit to praying for more priestly vocations for our diocese. Fr. Barrow is sure to be a great blessing for our parish. He is just 27 years old and full of zeal, energy and very eager to begin his priestly ministry here at OLM. He is a native of Warwick where he was educated at the public schools and graduated from Pilgrim High School. He grew up in St. Timothy Church in Warwick. After high school, Fr. Barrow entered Our Lady of Providence Seminary and graduated from Providence College with a B.A. in Philosophy. Bishop Tobin then assigned him for priestly formation and theological studies to the North American College in Rome. Father was ordained a priest in June 2015 and then returned to Rome for graduate studies. After completing an S.T.L Degree in Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas this past spring, he was assigned to OLM. I am sure you will give him your usual warm welcome to OLM. Father Barrow begins his priestly service here on July 1st. Welcome Fr. Barrow!
Our Lady of Mercy School’s Science Olympiad Team, made up of nineteen 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, placed second in the middle school division at the RI State Science Olympiad Competition at Rhode Island College on Saturday, April 9, 2016. After a two year hiatus from the competition, OLM students proved they remain a force to be reckoned with, tallying 4 gold medals and 3 bronze. Out of 24 teams, OLM finished in the top 10 or higher in 19 of the 22 events. Points are awarded based on the teams’ finish in each of the 22 events.
I lived in Belgium for five years when I was a seminarian studying for the priesthood. I lived at the American College in Louvain, just outside the City of Brussels. I still have many friends and acquaintances there. They are safe as far as I know from those I have had contact with over these last days. The recent attacks in Brussels are the cause of great outrage and anger, profound grief and sorrow for the Belgian People and for the victims and their families, and all people of good will and peace. The senseless attack upon innocents is a great horror which has provoked great fear and it is the cause of great doubt for many. Darkness has overcome the Kingdom of Belgium and we live in its sinister shadow. There is, my friends, great need of light, the light we celebrate this night, the light of Christ that scatters all darkness and destroys death.
only after his father King Leopold III abdicated. He was a man of deep faith, very devout and faithful Catholic. Once on a visit to our seminary Baudouin revealed that he had really wanted to spend his life in prayer and devotion as a Trappist Monk put God called him in another role as King.
Prime Ministers from out the world. They were there to pay their respect and offer their prayers for the late King and were dressed in solemn black befitting the funeral of a King. The Queen of the Belgians, herself a devout Catholic, however, wore a dazzlingly bright white dress, so deeply did she believe in the hope of the Resurrection and so profoundly did she understand the power of Christ the light of the world.
Christ’s resurrection is a reality, the empty tomb a fact of our lives as believers! We have been buried with Christ in baptism, so that we may rise with him to a new life! That is our hope: eternal happiness and total union with the Sacred Godhead. This is what St. Paul tells us this Holy Night in his letter to the Romans: “We were indeed buried with [Christ] through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.” (Romans 6: 4)
both. The resurrection of Christ gives us faith and light, in the midst of doubt and in the heart of darkness that is the evil in our world. Basking in the light of the resurrection, we can begin to see this world we live in as a place where we make pilgrimage toward something higher, more permanent, and more splendid. Only the risen Christ can bring us to complete union with God, to the place where our own powers are unable to bring us. Truly Christ the Good Shepherd puts the lost sheep upon his shoulders and carries them home. Clinging to his body we have life, and in communion with his Body we reach the very heart of God.
This is exactly what happens in Baptism: he draws us towards himself; he draws us into true life. The Risen Christ leads us through the often murky sea of life, where we are frequently in danger of sinking amid all the confusion and perils. In Baptism he takes us, as it were, by the hand, the Lord leads us along the path that passes through the Red Sea of this life and introduces us to everlasting life, the true and upright life. My friends especially you eight to be baptized, received and confirmed tonight into the Holy Roman Catholic Church.
tight hold of his hand! Let us walk along the path holding tight to the hand of the Risen Christ, making our way to newness of life. Yes, we know that the Christian pilgrimage is at times up-hill, we know that sometimes we easily get sidetracked by selfishness and sin, or overcome with the burden of pain and suffering, and even at times we are lost amidst the darkness and fear. Yet we endure. We endure in hope. We endure in faith.
East Greenwich, RI -- On Monday, December 21, a group of OLM School, the OLM CAL Basketball Teams and Parish Families
joined Pastor Father Bernard Healey and Associate Pastor Father Ryan Connors on a trip to the Diocesan Immigration and Refugee Services Office. Their cars were filled with coats, hats, gloves, other clothing items and gift cards which were to
be delivered to fifteen refugee families resettled by the Diocesan Office to Rhode Island. The families resettlement was 
coordinated by Catholic Migration Services Office at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and come from 
Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea , Bhutan, Liberia, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba and Ghana. These refugee families are fleeing
political repression, religious persecution, or suffer as a result of a natural or economic disaster. They arrive to Rhode Island with few possessions and are helped by the Diocese of Providence. Several 
of the families including one who have recently come to RI from Afghanistan received the delegation of OLM school children and families. Earlier this month, Father Healey called upon the OLM Community after have been contacted by Stella Carrera, Diocesan Coordinator of Immigration and Refugee Services. She informed Fr.
Healey that the 15 families were in dire need of assistance as they transitioned to life in Rhode Island. In its usual generous fashion, several members of the community asked “what can we do to help?” As Father noted, “These refugee families come seeking a better life with nothing but the clothes on their backs. To see the families from OLM reach out to make them feel welcome truly embodies the true meaning of Christmas. It was truly wonderful to share the true gift of
Christmas, the gift of love, that is the Christ Child.” The project was the second time in as many weeks that the OLM community came together as Pope Francis has called us to do during this Jubilee Year of Mercy; to reach out to show Mercy to those in need.