by SFXparish | Jul 22, 2016 | NEWS
Our parishioner Steven Booth will soon be finishing his summer assignment at St. Pius X Parish in Falmouth and starting Major Seminary in September. Steven recently graduated from Providence College with a degree in Philosophy minoring in Classics. During his time at PC Steven attended Our Lady of Providence Minor Seminary. Steven is studying for the Diocese of Fall River and is a proud member of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet. After his recent graduation from Providence College Steven took a trip to Rome where he toured the major Churches and religious sites and attended the Papal Audience with Pope Francis. We thank all our parishioners who attend Steven’s graduation party at our school and we thank all those who have provided Steven with material and spiritual support over the last four years in the Minor Seminary and we ask for your continued support as he begins this new part of his formation at St. John’s Seminary in Boston. Steven finishes his pastoral assignment at the end of July and will have a few weeks off before his studies start again at the end of August therefore he will be able to spend some time back in our parish before Seminary starts. Steven likes to read, to cook Italian food and is becoming an avid Crossfit athlete. Please continue to pray for him.
by SFXparish | Jul 19, 2016 | NEWS
During the months of August and September St. Francis Xavier will be holding a Bible Drive to ensure that our parishioners have a good version of Sacred Scripture in their homes. Not all Bibles are the same we recommend the Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition. During the coming year we will holding Bible Study Classes and Adult Education sessions which will feature heavily on the role of Sacred Scripture in the life of the Catholic. St. Jerome said that “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” We hope that we can encourage a renewal of Scripture reading within our community and it all starts with a good copy of the Holy Bible.
We will have the Ignatius Bible, the Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition (RSV-CE) in various different formats for your perusal during August and early September. There will be paperback, hardback, leather-bound, large-print and compact formats to view. You will be able to order your choice of Bible and we will have them for collection at the end of September at which time you can pay for it. Deacon David’s first Adult Education session on September 25, will be about the importance of Sacred Scripture in the life of the Catholic.
by SFXparish | Jul 19, 2016 | NEWS
In July 2016 St. Francis School was notified by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges of its continued accreditation. SFX was first accredited in 2006. Every ten years an accreditation teams visits the school and evaluates a series of criteria to determine accreditation. Accredited schools have proven their compliance with a certain set of expectations. During the period working up to the accreditation visit the school administration, faculty and staff go through a period of self- evaluation which is then presented to the visiting committee and used as a template for examination during the visit. Congratulations to Mrs. Russo and the faculty and staff of St. Francis Xavier School – the Accreditation Report highlights the quality of the teaching and administration of our parish school.
Some remarks made by the Director of the Commission in the Accreditation Notification:
“The Visiting Committee Report identified many areas for commendation. The Commission particularly commends the pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish for his commitment to St. Francis Xavier School and its community of families. His daily presence touches every aspect of the school’s Catholic identity and his influence within the parish is a dynamic component of the school’s ongoing vitality.”
“In addition the Commission commends the principal and assistant principal for their dynamic, visionary leadership; the faculty and staff for their dedication to the school’s mission and its clearly evident Catholic identity; and the property manager for his conscientious care of the campus and his dedication to his responsibilities.”
by SFXparish | Jul 19, 2016 | NEWS
This year’s Altar Boy Boot Camp (ABBC) took place 27-29 June. ABBC is a three day event for the altar servers of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet MA. It involves the training of new servers and the honing of skills for accomplished servers. There is also training for MCs who are our older young men who help organize the various liturgies of the parish. This year five new boys completed their training and have begun their year of probation. The first year if service is one of getting used to the various role which the servers can take and indeed just getting comfortable being at the altar. During the Camp the boys get to participate in many exercises aimed at increasing their serving skills. There are also many sporting activities which the boys participate in Combat Soccer being a highlight. As part of ABBC there is usually a field day on which we get to visit a church and do some fun activity. This year we visited Good Shepherd Parish (St. Patrick’s Church) and were given a tour by Fr. Andrew Johnson the Pastor. Afterwards the boys went to Lazer Gate in Fall River and played Laser Tag. Our server program at SFX is extremely strong we have a total of 35 Altar Servers. This year we will loose 5 MCs who will be going to college but we will keep our numbers by adding the five new boys. Our program allows us to promote vocations to these young men in a very unique way. This year Fr. Chris Peschel the Assistant Vocations Director for the Diocese of Fall River gave the boys a presentation about the Vocation of Service at the Altar. Thank you to Jonathan Hamel our Arch-server and Dominic Correia for their help in running this year’s ABBC.
by SFXparish | Jul 18, 2016 | NEWS
Thanks to all who donated blood this past Sunday, July 17th. We had 33 donors show up that day with 8 deferrals and 25 units donated. Monsignor O’Connor and the Events Committee extend their gratitude for your participation in this great Pro-life effort.
