Flocknote

Happy 4th of July!

Wishing you and your families a joyful and safe Independence Day! As we celebrate the gift of freedom, let us give thanks to God for the many blessings we enjoy in this country, and pray for our nation, its leaders, and for peace in our world.

In this weekend's bulletin, I’ve included an excerpt from Pope Benedict XVI’s address during his 2008 visit to the United States, where he reflected on the founding of our nation. If you’re looking for something meaningful to reflect on today, I encourage you to read it.

Pope Benedict's Words to USA

It’s also a fitting day to pray the Prayer for our Government written by Archbishop John Carroll, the first bishop of the United States in 1791. You can find the text here:

Prayer for our Government

Steubenville Youth Conference Recap

Image: Our group from the Diocese of Fall River.

We had a fantastic weekend in Steubenville, Ohio last weekend! Thank you for your prayers for safe travels and a fruitful trip.

The theme of the conference was “Consumed,” drawn from the Scripture that speaks of God as a consuming fire. Throughout the weekend, the teens were challenged to reflect on what consumes their attention - technology, social media, sports, the pursuit of money or fame, or the constant desire for validation from others. The speakers encouraged them to remember that they don’t need any of those things to be loved, because Jesus is already consumed with love for them.

There was a strong emphasis on rethinking their relationship with technology, especially how much time they spend on their phones. One of the most powerful moments of the weekend was Saturday night Adoration, when the Blessed Sacrament was processed through the crowd of hundreds of teens during praise and worship. Many of our young people said they experienced God in a new and personal way as the Eucharist passed by them.

Image: Three members of the SFX graduating class of 2025

To get a sense of the size and energy of the conference, check out this short video:

Video

Another highlight: our very own group leader Oscar went on stage with Sr. Transfiguration, who serves at St. Anthony’s in New Bedford. She has the rare talent of playing the harmonica and beatboxing at the same time, while Oscar freestyle rapped! The crowd went wild.

Oscar and Sister Video

We also got to meet the weekend’s host, Catholic radio personality Katie Prejean McGrady, who has a fantastic daily show on Sirius XM’s Catholic Channel that I listen to often. Fr. John, Fr. Jason, and I spoke with her briefly, and she asked us for a blessing. She shared that her sister is a nun and joked that whenever she meets a priest, she tells them they work for her brother in law - Christ! 😂

Altar Boy Boot Camp 2025

We had a great few days together for our annual tradition of "Altar Boy Boot Camp," a program started years ago by Monsignor O’Connor. All our altar servers came together for a few days of camaraderie, training, and prayer. The schedule included daily Mass, sports, Mass practicums, a water balloon fight, and a field trip.

I spoke to the boys about the story of St. Tarcisius, a young martyr of the early Church who gave his life in defense of the Eucharist and is now honored as a patron saint of altar servers.

Special thanks to Andrea Oliver and Maria DaCosta for preparing breakfasts and lunches for the boys throughout the camp.

I’m also especially grateful to our older guys who, though no longer active servers, came back to support the younger group. Thank you to Andrew Martin, Luke Shaughnessy, Eamon Martin, and Tommy Clavell. Thanks as well to our seminarians Lucas DaCosta, Evan Mello, and Noah Pollard.

We also welcomed two new young men as altar servers - congratulations to Jackson and Peter!

For our annual field trip, we visited the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Providence, followed by go-karts at Seekonk Grand Prix.

We ended the day with ice cream at The Ice Cream Cottage. A huge thank you to parishioners Phil and Colleen Martin, owners of the Cottage, who generously treated everyone to free ice cream!

Our Sacristan Appreciation Day for the girls is coming up soon on July 18th. We’ve had a couple of new sign-ups already, but if your daughter is interested in joining the sacristan program, let me know. I’d be happy to get her started.

Renovation Updates – Week Four

This week brought more visible progress and behind the scenes decision making as work continues on our church renovation.

The contractors and I have had several meetings to finalize the color scheme for the decorative painting. We’re still narrowing things down, but we hope to have everything finalized soon.

Structural repairs to areas with visible cracks around the church were completed, and additional scaffolding was set up in the sanctuary. As you can see, a primer coat has now been applied to the ceiling in preparation for its transformation into a night sky dotted with gold stars, as shown in the original design sketches.

Our parishioners assisting with lighting and electrical work continued making progress on several fronts this week. We're excited to give you a preview of some of the new lighting being installed to beautifully illuminate the painted ceiling when it’s complete and some of the church's architectural elements.

Finally, here’s a photo of the tile that will be used in flooring the sanctuary. The white marble tone complements the colors of the newly painted altars arriving from OLPH and will add to the beauty of the space.

Thank you for your continued support, and if you'd like to contribute to the renovation, you can donate here (Select 100th Anniversary):

Donate to the Renovation

Vocations Updates

Lucas DaCosta Returning to Seminary

Many of you have been asking and praying, and I’m happy to share some good news: Lucas DaCosta, one of our parish seminarians, has officially decided to return to seminary after taking a year long leave of absence. As you remember, Lucas made the difficult decision last spring to step back just before his scheduled diaconate ordination, seeking more time for prayer and clarity. As you know, Lucas has been part of our parish since high school and was in formation for seven years before stepping away last year.

Over the past year, he’s been serving as an administrator, theology teacher, and campus minister at a Catholic school, an experience he’s greatly enjoyed. I’ve been in regular contact with Lucas throughout this time and have often passed along your encouraging words and prayers. We’re proud of him for the maturity and care with which he’s discerned this decision, and we welcome him back to formation with great joy.

I first met Lucas back in the summer of 2015 at the diocesan Quo Vadis discernment retreat, where he attended with a few other young men from SFX. I remember getting to know him there, and it’s been a joy to now serve as pastor in his home parish. Lucas is a thoughtful, generous, and prayerful man, and our diocese is blessed to have him continuing his path toward the priesthood.

This summer, he’ll be assigned to Holy Family Parish in East Taunton. We’re still awaiting word from the bishop about what the revised timeline will be for Lucas’ diaconate and priestly ordination, so please continue to keep him in your prayers as he resumes this final stage of preparation for the priesthood.

Our diocese currently has six seminarians, and St. Francis Xavier is blessed to have the most from any one parish with two! Along with Lucas DaCosta, as I announced last month, parishioner Noah Pollard will be entering seminary this August in Providence to begin his formation.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for vocations. Years ago, Monsignor O’Connor organized a generous fundraiser to support seminarians from our parish. We’re still drawing from that fund today, and it allows us to financially support Lucas and Noah and, please God, any future seminarians from SFX.

Quo Vadis Retreat 2025

A couple weekends ago, neither of our seminarians (Evan Mello or Noah) were at Mass because they were away helping at the Massachusetts "Quo Vadis" retreat for high school young men discerning God’s call in their lives. Years ago, our diocese hosted its own Quo Vadis, but after the pandemic, it became more practical to join forces with the other three dioceses in Massachusetts (Boston, Worcester, and Springfield) to pool resources. This year’s retreat was held at Anna Maria College near Worcester.

The Diocese of Fall River actually had the largest group in attendance, with about 10 young men participating. As part of the retreat, they drove all the way to the North Shore to take part in the Seaside Eucharistic Procession led by Archbishop Henning. If you haven’t heard about it, it was remarkable. The archbishop carried the Blessed Sacrament by boat from town to town along the shoreline, and in each place, crowds of the faithful gathered on land to meet Our Lord in procession.

Remembering Fr. Paul Price

This weekend, the 10:30am Mass is being offered for Fr. Paul Price, who served as pastor of St. Francis Xavier from 1977 to 1992. Earlier this year, I came across a parish that included the anniversaries of former pastors’ deaths in their Mass intentions - a tradition I’ve decided to adopt here at SFX as a way of honoring and praying for those who helped build and serve our parish community.

This Sunday marks the 19th anniversary of Fr. Paul’s passing. I wasn’t able to find dates of death for all our former pastors, but I was able to track down obituaries for a few in recent years. I plan to reach out to the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts to see if they can provide a necrology with more complete records of those who served here.

Let us remember Fr. Paul in prayer this weekend. I never had the chance to meet him, so if you have any stories or memories of Fr. Paul, I’d love to hear them.

Feedback on Church Sound System?

On Monday, I’ll be meeting with sound technicians to plan the addition of a speaker in the church entryway once the glass partition is installed. The tech also suggested that, since the church is currently closed, it might be a good time to look at any broader improvements to the sound system.

We've made a few adjustments in recent years (we turned up some of the microphones a couple years ago, which seemed to help) but I’d really value your input. Some parishioners have shared that they struggle to hear during Mass.

If you’ve noticed anything (good or bad) please feel free to share your feedback through this quick Google Form below.

Your insights will be a big help as we work to make the church more welcoming and prayerful for everyone.

Sound System Survey

On the Bulletin Cover this weekend...

Blessed Marija Petković (10 December 1892 - 9 July 1966)
Feast day: July 9th
Beatified in 1994

A Croatian nun whose deep compassion and unwavering prayer led her to found the global Daughters of Mercy, and, remarkably, inspired a miraculous rescue aboard a sinking submarine.

“Love infinitely the most sweet Lord Jesus Christ, do everything for Him alone and spend your life in works of mercy and of love.”

Learn More

The Sister and the Submarine

Mass Book Opening – January to June 2026

The Mass book will open on Wednesday, July 9th for intentions from January through June 2026. It is an ancient and beautiful practice of the Church to request that a Mass be offered for a specific intention (most often for the repose of the soul of a departed loved one). Masses may also be offered for the living.

It’s important to remember that the primary purpose of offering a Mass for the dead is not simply to honor their memory, but to pray for their souls, especially if they are in purgatory, so that they may receive the immense graces of the Holy Sacrifice. If they are already in heaven, those graces are not wasted but are applied by God to other souls most in need.

Offering Mass for the deceased is a powerful spiritual act of mercy and a deeply treasured tradition of our faith. To schedule a Mass, please call or visit the parish office.

If you’d like to learn more, I encourage you to watch this short video:

Hey Father! Explain Mass Intentions.

Masses Offered in Rome
Because our Mass book often fills up quickly, our parish (thanks to a tradition started by Monsignor O’Connor) has had the custom of arranging for additional Masses to be offered in Rome by a US priest serving at the Vatican. While some parishes send extra intentions to local retired priests, this beautiful practice of having them offered in the Eternal City is something I haven’t encountered anywhere else. To schedule a Mass in Rome and receive a card noting the intention, simply stop by or call the parish office.

Reminder: Join us for Coffee and Donuts on Sundays after Mass

2025 Catholic Appeal

Thank you!

Thank you to all who contributed to this year’s Catholic Appeal. As of this week, parishioners from St. Francis Xavier have pledged $19,360.00 to support the pastoral ministries of our diocese. I’m very grateful for your generosity and the strong support from our parish.

Although the Appeal has officially concluded, if you had hoped to give but didn’t get a chance, you can still make a late gift online using the link below:

2025 Catholic Appeal

Alert from Mass Citizens for Life:

On Thursday, July 10, the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Health will hold a critical hearing on several bills related to “reproductive health.” Five of these bills directly impact the pro-life cause, and your voice is urgently needed.

This is our opportunity to stand up for the truth and speak for life in Massachusetts. Whether you testify live or submit a written statement, your action matters.