Happy Father’s Day!

My Dear Parishioners,

Happy Father’s Day! Today we honor and thank our dads. Too often, we take them for granted. Today we will close our intercessions with a special blessing for our fathers.  Your Father’s  Day envelopes with your intentions written on them will stay on the reredos (back altar) for the rest of the month of June. It is appropriate that they are there at the base of the statue of St. Joseph, the patron of all fathers. We thank our fathers for giving us what we need to become the people God calls us to be.

The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops is celebrating its annual religious freedom week (formerly known as the “Fortnight for Freedom”) from June 22 thru June 29, 2021. Its title is “Religious Freedom Week 2021: Solidarity in Freedom.” Beginning June 22nd, the feast of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, through June 29th, the USCCB invites Catholics to pray, reflect, and act to promote religious freedom. More information can be found at www.usccb.org/ReligiousFreedomWeek.

This week we are taking up a second collection for The Holy Father’s Peter’s Pence. Archbishop Perez asked that this letter be published in conjunction with the collection.

God Bless You!
Fr. Bordonaro

June 2021

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Soon our Archdiocese will take up the Peter’s Pence Collection. Our participation supports the charitable work of Pope Francis as he reaches out to those who are marginalized and suffering around the globe.

In March of 2019, a powerful tropical cyclone struck southeastern Africa, devastating homes and vital infrastructure, destroying entire villages, killing hundreds of people, and displacing hundreds of thousands. In an expression of spiritual solidarity, the Holy Father prayed for all the victims during his General Audience, and he followed by contributing $180,000 for the immediate relief of the people of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi.

This year the Peter’s Pence Collection will be taken at all Masses on the weekend of June 19 and 20, 2021. Please join with our brothers and sisters in faith from around the globe to help Pope Francis reach those who are marginalized. Please prayerfully consider how you can best support the collection this year.

Gratefully and with best wishes in Jesus Christ,
+Most Reverend Nelson J. Pérez, D.D. Archbishop of Philadelphia