Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

The church throughout the world is saddened by the unexpected passing of our beloved Holy Father, Francis. While his health had been deteriorating steadily since the middle of February, we are still shocked by the suddenness of his demise.

Francis has served the church well through the past twelve years, and will be remembered for his charity to the poor, concern for our stewardship of the natural world, and his commitment to a synodal church, one that listens to the concerns of the baptized faithful.While the media will quickly analyze his papacy and speculate broadly on who will emerge as the next successor to St. Peter in the upcoming conclave, our principal task is to offer our prayers for Francis as we do for all of the faithful who pass from this life to the next.

Much like his beloved predecessor Pope St. John Paul II who died twenty years ago, also in the Octave of Easter, we encountered and entered into the pope’s suffering as he grew weaker over the past few years. The Lord called him home as the Church was chanting anew the ALLELUIA that stands as the hallmark of our hope in the promise of the resurrection.

Francis called this year of Jubilee to be a pilgrimage of hope -- he has now completed his pilgrimage, and lives now, as do we all, in the hope of the resurrection to eternal life.

I am presently on pilgrimage with Bishop O’Connell and fifteen other priests in France. We have been celebrating our Masses there for the intentions of our parishes. I will write more about the pilgrimage in the next bulletin.

Thank you for generosity and support during the Triduum. Our choir, altar servers, and other ministers, along with the parish staff, the deacons, our acolyte, and our seminarian, presented an atmosphere where prayer, worship, and reflection could punctuate well the solemnity of the services attended. We are all deeply grateful for their support, their ministry, and their dedication to the work of the parish.

School and all of the activities begin in earnest again this week. The students and faculty can sense the coming end of the school year, and the nicer weather now certainly will mean that the sounds of children playing will again fill the air around the church and school.I hope everyone has a blessed week.

Let us continue our prayers for one another and especially for the Cardinals as they discern the next successor to the apostle Peter.

Blessings,
Fr. Garry