Dear Friends:

Some months ago, I announced that, come January, we will be reducing the number of weekend and weekday Masses celebrated in our parish. This reduction is being implemented at the direction of the Archbishop who asks that parishes schedule Masses in such a way that the church is no less than one-half full at every celebration of the Eucharist.

The current schedule of eight weekend Masses will be reduced to six effective the weekend of January 4-5, 2025 and the current schedule of weekday Masses will be reduced from two each day to one each day beginning January 2, 2025. This entails the elimination of the 5:00 PM Vigil Mass on Saturday at St. Agnes’ and the combining of the 10:00 AM and 11:30 AM Sunday morning Masses at St. Mary’s into one Mass at 10:45 AM. The new schedule will also shift the other Sunday morning Masses somewhat slightly. The current 7:30 AM Mass at St. Agnes’ will move back to 7:00 AM and the current 8:30 AM Mass at St. Mary’s will move back to 8:15 AM. The current 10:30 AM Sunday Mass at St. Agnes’ will move back to 9:30 AM. This adjustment is being made so that a single priest, when and if necessary, can cover the entire schedule of six weekend Masses. While it is my hope that weekend help can be obtained when necessary, it is also apparent that, in the case of illness or emergency, that will not always be possible.

The weekday schedule will combine the current two morning Masses (8:00 at St. Mary’s and 9:00 at St. Agnes’) into one Mass at 8:30 AM each day. The morning Mass will be celebrated at St. Agnes’ on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and at St. Mary’s on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The weekly Holy Hour currently held at St. Agnes’ on Friday will move to Wednesdays after the 8:30 AM Mass.

Additional modifications are in the works as well. The folk choir which currently leads the music at St. Mary’s at the 8:30 AM Mass on Sunday will be moving over to the 9:30 AM Mass at St. Agnes’ on January 5. This decision was made due to several factors. First, St. Mary’s Church, thanks to the hard work of Father James Cronin, my predecessor at St. Mary’s, and the generous gifts of so many parishioners, has a magnificent pipe organ that should be used whenever possible. Furthermore, it is a complex instrument and not just any organist can play it, and play it masterfully. We are fortunate to have Jean-Pierre Dumont as our organist and I would like to have him continue. Since we are eliminating one of the Masses that Jean-Pierre currently plays, it makes good sense to arrange to have him play the organ at the 8:15 AM Mass. Finally, with the move to St. Agnes’, the folk choir will benefit greatly from the acoustics there, which are much better than those at St. Mary’s Church. Those who are devotees of the folk choir will note a significant difference.

Change is difficult and challenging. We all have to face it in life from time to time. I know that not everyone will be happy with this arrangement, but the decision has been made and made by me with due consideration for the needs of the entire parish. I ask that everyone adjust and cooperate with this as best they can.

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