St. Patrick Parish

Hello and welcome! Last weekend, I was in Washington attending the National Black Catholic Congress, which takes place every five years. The theme this year was “Write the Vision: A Prophetic Call to Thrive.” There were around 3,000 people, coming from all over the country. The opening Mass was Friday at the Basilica of the […]

Hello and welcome! I hoped you enjoyed the guest blogs by Fathers Schirripa and Martinez as much as I did!   I think it’s always edifying to hear about the experience of our newly ordained priests.  But I’m happy to be back with you and catch up on my activities over the past few weeks. Earlier […]

Welcome back! This week, I have asked another of our newly ordained priests, Father Rodrigo Martinez, to write about his vocation experience. I am sure you will enjoy it. —  Cardinal Seán The priesthood is truly a gift. I have no other words to describe it. Lately, I have been asked many times by people […]

Hello and welcome! As regular readers know, each year I like to take advantage of this time around the Fourth of July holiday, when not many events are scheduled, to give some of our newly ordained priests a chance to introduce themselves to you and share the story of their vocation and their life as […]

Hello and welcome, We were all very saddened this week to learn about the tragic deaths of three faithful parishioners of Our Lady Help of Christians Parish in Newton.  I’d like to share with you the statement I released when we heard the distressing news: As priests, we serve to minister to people in times […]

Hello and welcome! As I concluded last week, we were still in the midst of the USCCB’s annual Spring Plenary Assembly in Orlando. As I mentioned last week, our new format of having group discussions is something that I think all of us feel very positive about.  When our assembly was basically just the plenary […]

Hello and welcome! I was very happy to travel to Florida this past weekend to celebrate a family wedding at St. Sebastian’s Church in Fort Lauderdale.  The happy couple was Kathleen and Bradley Dinneen.  Kathleen is my cousin’s daughter. The wedding was a wonderful occasion to catch up with many of my relatives who live […]

Hello and welcome! This past Saturday, I was very happy to celebrate the ordination of Father Alex Diaz, a friar who belongs to the Denver Province of Capuchins. Father Alex’s family is from Mexico, though he has lived most of his life in the States, and the ordination Mass was celebrated bilingually because, of course, […]

Hello and welcome! This past week, I was in Rome for activities concerning the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. In addition to meetings of the executive committee of the commission, one of our major activities was a meeting on Friday between members of the commission and Cardinal Lazzaro You and representatives of the […]

Hello and welcome! Last Friday, I met at the cathedral with the Archbishop Joseph Vu Van Thien of Hanoi, who came accompanied by some of his priests and seminarians.  We have a very good relationship with the Archdiocese of Hanoi, and he came to see me because he has had seminarians studying at St. John’s […]