85th Annual Catholic Appeal begins May 1st: Let It Begin With Me

Since 1942, the Appeal has helped support and bring peace to people at all stages of life – from children to youth to parents to the elderly. Gifts to the Catholic Appeal  sustain the work of our Diocese, including numerous agencies, programs, and ministries that provide food and shelter, educate children and adults, and meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of thousands.

We encourage you to support the Appeal as generously as you can. You can make a one-time gift or a pledge with convenient payments throughout the year. You can give by mail, using a contribution card that will be mailed to you from the Fall River Diocese (we will have extras located in the church), or make your gift or pledge online at www.GiveFRDiocese.org

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Prayer for Priests – St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Join us every Thursday in praying for priests.

Jesus, I pray for your faithful and fervent priests;
for your unfaithful and tepid priests;
for your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields;
for your tempted priests;
for your lonely and desolate priests;
for your young priests;
for your dying priests;
for the souls of your priests in Purgatory.
But above all, I recommend to you the priests dearest to me:
the priest who baptized me;
the priests who’ve absolved me from my sins;
the priests at whose Masses I’ve assisted and who’ve given me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion;
the priests who’ve taught and instructed me;
all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way, especially our pastor Fr. Joseph, Fr. Edivar, & all priests who have served on Martha’s Vineyard.
O Jesus, keep them all close to your heart, and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity.
Amen.

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Financial Support for the O’Connell House & the Sisters of Good News
 

This is the first 13-room residence in MA which provides comprehensive services to women who have been sex trafficked. These women may be pregnant and/or have a small child. It is a place where dignity will be restored and healing can occur. The unique 24/7 “Sister Care Model” delivers trauma-informed care which supports their complex needs with compassion, while being the loving nurturing presence the women so desperately need.

The November Gala was a huge success! See the difference your support has made this year (January – October 2025):

Parishioner Deb O’Hara-Rusckowski, co-founder of The O’Connell House and delegate for the United Nations representing the Order of Malta said: “Many thanks to our friends and supporters on Martha’s Vineyard! We so appreciate all of you!!  Thank you for keeping our women, and their children, in your prayers as they heal from the horrors of being trafficked.” 🙏 

Visit their website: http://theoconnellhouse.org or follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheOConnellHouseMA

Checks can be made out to The O’Connell House, Inc. and mail to: The O’Connell House, P.O. Box 9568, Lowell, MA. 01853. 

Please keep them and all victims of human trafficking in your daily prayers!

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Pope Leo XIV, Robert Cardinal Prevost was elected as 267th Bishop of Rome on May 8, 2025. First Pope born in the USA.

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