Pope Francis has asked that this month of May be dedicated to praying insistently for an end to the pandemic.

That’s why he’s kicking off what the Vatican is calling a “prayer marathon.” Each day will feature a different Marian shrine.

The rosary will be the main prayer for the marathon. It will be streamed live from a different shrine every day at 6 PM, Rome time.

Fr. Rocco Viviano, SX, currently stationed in Osaka, Japan will speak on Pope Benedict’s teachings on the Church’s dialogue with people of other religions on June 7, 8, and 9, 2021.

St. Paul Inside the Walls

2021 Pope Benedict XVI Summer Institute

Madison, NJ

Fr. Viviano serves as the Interreligious Dialogue Coordinator for the Xaverian Missionaries, and is considered an expert in Pope Benedict’s theology of interreligious dialogue. Download the flyer here.

Please help our confrere, Fr. Thierry Kamga SX, provide for African refugees in Thailand. Go to the Support page on our website. Thank you for your generosity.

In response to the Holy Father's heartfelt wish, the month of May will be dedicated to a "marathon" of prayer, to ask for the end of the pandemic, which has afflicted the world for more than a year now, and to ask for the resumption of social and work activities. Pope Francis wishes to involve all the Shrines around the world in this initiative, so that they may become vehicles of the prayer of the entire Church. The initiative is being conducted in the light of the biblical expression: "Prayer by the Church was fervently being made to God" (Acts 12:5).

The Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, entrusted by the Holy Father with the task of organizing the event, has extended this invitation to all the Shrines around the world, in order to promote the diffusion of the initiative in the relevant Regions, so as to reach priests, families, and all the faithful, inviting them to join in this prayer of intercession and hope to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Together with the prayer of the Holy Rosary, each day of the month is characterized by a prayer intention for the various categories of people most affected by the plight of the pandemic: for those who have not been able to say goodbye to their loved ones, for all health care personnel, for the poor, the homeless and those in economic difficulty and for all the deceased. These are some of the intentions that will punctuate our prayer to Our Lady.

Click here to see the list of shrines and daily themes:

Click here to see the Liturgical Guide.

The May 13th Marian Devotions will resume here at Fatima Shrine on Thursday May 13th with Mass at 7:00 PM. The Rosary Procession will follow. You must register for this service. There will be no Fellowship after the Rosary.

Our Mass and Confession schedule is posted below. Register for Mass online. Registration is required weekly. Thanks so much.

Fr. Chudy completed a Master of Arts degree in 2018 at Hartford Seminary in "Transformative Spirituality and Leadership," with a focus on interfaith dialogue and religious secular dialogue. His doctoral thesis, which was just accepted, is titled: "Postsecular Catholicism: Toward a New Understanding and Pastoral Praxis in Catholic Families with Disaffiliated Children in the Archdiocese of Boston."

Follow Fr. Carl's Metrowest Interfaith Dialogue Project on Facebook.

Dear Mission Friend:

Well, who would have thought we would be where we are over a year into the covid-19 pandemic? Last fall all the residents of the knoll were infected with the virus, most recovered except for Fr. Aniello who succumbed to the virus and died on November 18, 2020. We pray for him as he looks down from heaven. With current restrictions and many unknowns, we have cancelled this year’s festival. Pamela and I, as chairs, along with Fr. Alex, were hopeful we could have the event this year but decided we could not. The festival is one of two major annual fundraisers for the Xaverian Missionaries. Those monies raised are used to fund the Xaverian missions around the world. They have no parish to support these efforts,only the very generous people that you are.

We will once again have a “PRO-MISSION” raffle,just like last year. Tickets will be $2 eachor 3 for $5.00. We are also planning the return of outdoor Sunday Masses in June (June 27, July 11 & 25, August 8 & 22)with the final raffle winner drawing after Mass on July 25th, 2021. Of course, any size donations to the Xaverian Missionarieswould be greatly appreciated.

We are still committed to the festival in 2022 and look forwardtoonce again chairing this event and,hopefully,seeingmany of you in beautiful and safe weather. Thank you so much for the past support of this incredible Xaverian Mission. We hope all of you stay well and get your vaccines. We look forward to seeing many of you at Mass.Good luck, and God Bless You!

With deep gratitude,

Download the raffle form here. 

What is interfaith dialogue? How does it work? How to become people of dialogue? Is dialogue part of the Christian faith? Is the dialogue in opposition to the proclamation of the Gospel? These and more questions are answered in this episode... Listen to podcast of Pietro Rossini SX.

Travel to Thailand to see the Xaverian Missionaries' commitment to serving the poor. Discover how a parish in the Philippines is coping with COVID-19. Learn about the Consecrated Dimension of Xaverian life and the Love that makes up a Xaverian Missionary vocation. Keep up with current World and US News of the US Province of the Xaverian Missionaries. Read it here.

St. Guido Maria Conforti, founder of the Xaverian Missionaries. Our "missionary to the world" became a saint on World Mission Sunday, October 23, 2011. Learn all about him here. 

Mother Celestina Bottego, founder of the Xaverian Missionary Sisters of Mary. Read about her here. Read the latest about her in The National Catholic Register.