On June 21 & 22, as we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, St. Patrick Parish will participate in a Diocesan-wide food collection for the poor. This collection, sponsored by Catholic Charities will help offer assistance to those most in need in our communities. Our parish has been asked to provide any cold cereal or shampoo. Thank you for your participation and help for those in need!
Thank you for all who stopped by the Parish Center to wish Fr. Bob well in his retirement! The Parish Center was packed with well-wishers and parishioners had a wonderful time socializing and enjoying the lunch provided. Thank you, Fr. Bob, for 15 wonderful years as our pastor of St. Patrick Parish!
Register now for St. Patrick Parish Youth Ministry (SPYM) for the 2025-2026 school year. Rising Freshmen must register for BOTH Youth Ministry AND an Action Retreat. Rising Sophomores must register for both Youth Ministry AND an Antioch Retreat. Register early to get into the retreat that works best for your family and teen. Once a retreat is full, it will be closed. Rising Juniors and Seniors wanting to remain active in SPYM need only register for Youth Ministry. Register now to receive the Early Bird Discount!
Join us TOMORROW, Sunday, June 8 in the Parish Center at 12:30pm as we celebrate the past 15 years that Fr. Bob served our parish and community as pastor! He accepted the position at a very difficult time in our parish history and has led our parish and school with grace, kindness and love. Please stop in and have a bite to eat as we thank him for his leadership and service to our parish community! No RSVP necessary! This event is free to all!
Each year a graduating senior in our Youth Ministry Program is awarded the SPYM/JTB Foundation Scholarship. This scholarship is a memorial scholarship honoring John Taylor Babbitt. John was a Youth Ministry leader who tragically and fatally succumbed to a myocardial infarction his junior year in high school. His parents began the JTB Foundation which has done phenomenal work towards putting defibrillator machines in schools, playgrounds, swim clubs, gyms, and so many other areas where such an incident could potentially occur. Many lives have been saved through their efforts.
Thanks to the generosity of the Babbitts and their foundation, each year we are able to award the SPYM/JTB scholarship to a high school senior who has been an active member of SPYM during their years in high school and who consistently lives out the characteristics of Christ in their everyday life. This year the scholarship has been awarded to Patrick Ryan. Patrick's words and actions are always governed by his strong faith, and he is a wonderful role model for his peers. Our SPYM Sweatshirt is emblazoned with the phrase "My life is my message" and Patrick's message never fails to resonate kindness, compassion and acceptance. We are so proud to have Patrick wear our sweatshirt and represent SPYM.
Our monthly Forget-Me-Not food collection for our three diocesan food pantries is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, June 7 & 8. Please drop your non-perishable food items off in the priests' garage. Thank you for your donations and helping those in need!
On Tuesday, May 13, St. Patrick Parish teens celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation and were bestowed with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Bishop Kevin Sweeney was officiant. Teens prepared for this Sacrament of Initiation over a two-year period, including participating in two weekend retreats, one in Freshman year and one during Sophomore year. Many will continue their faith journey with continued participation in Youth Ministry. Congratulations!
On Tuesday, May 13, St. Patrick Parish teens celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation and were bestowed with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Bishop Kevin Sweeney was officiant. Teens prepared for this Sacrament of Initiation over a two-year period, including participating in two weekend retreats, one in Freshman year and one during Sophomore year. Many will continue their faith journey with continued participation in Youth Ministry. Congratulations!
Our last two groups of children along with a teen, celebrated their First Eucharist, a Sacrament of Initiation in the Roman Catholic Church, last Saturday! Our program is a two-year preparation with two retreats that our children completed. Congratulations to all!
For more information or if you are older and want to explore being fully initiated into the church, please contact our Coordinator of Faith Formation, Karen Hoerrner.
The roof on our Pre-K building, in which repair was desperately needed, was replaced last week! Old, broken shingles and gutters that could not be reattached, were removed, repairs were made, new plywood, underlayment, flashing, roof tiles and new gutters were added.
Join us in the Parish Center on Friday, May 2 for Country Line Dancing! A professional caller along with light refreshments are included in the ticket price of $20 for ticket purchases made prior to the event or $25 at the door. Don't miss out on this evening of fun and socializing with fellow parishioners! Contact our youth minister, Maggie, at the parish office with any questions!
Thank you to the many youth ministry teens that led us in prayer and reflections as we prayed the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday. This annual tradition has been done for decades, and our youth provide very poignant and thoughtful personal reflections at each station.
Thanks to our very generous parishioners, the parish is able to complete work needed on the bell tower and the pre-k building roof. The work on the bell tower continues to prevent leaking in the church over the balcony as well as repairing brickwork. The roof on the pre-k building is being replaced due to age. Thank you to all who donated to our Capital Campaign. Funds from this campaign are being used on many projects throughout our parish campus!
Easter Vigil will begin at 7:30pm on Saturday, April 19. Masses on Easter Sunday will be held in the Church at 7:30am, 9:30am, and 11:30am. At 11:30am, a second Mass will also be offered in the Parish Center gym. The 9:30am Easter Sunday Mass and the Easter Vigil will both be livestreamed.
Holy Week is here! Join us in the Church at 8am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday for Morning Prayer, the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Thursday at 7pm immediately followed by Eucharistic Adoration in the Church until 10pm, Solemn Celebration of the Lord's Passion on Good Friday at 3pm and the Living Stations of the Cross at 7pm both in the Church and for the Blessing of the Food at 10am on Holy Saturday.
This weekend, April 12 & 13 is our annual Easter Food Collection to benefit the Father English Center. We will be collecting items including frozen chickens, canned beans, canned vegetables, canned fruit, rice, instant potatoes and holiday snacks and treats. Please drop off donations at the priests' garage. ShopRite gift cards, monetary donations through Online Giving as well as checks made payable to St. Patrick Church are also accepted. Thank you for your generosity and helping our brothers and sisters in need this Easter Season!
Last weekend, members of the St. Patrick Boys & Girls Choirs sang at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in NYC. They participated in the all-day Pueri Cantores Festival with other young Catholic choirs. Our choir was one selected to sing a special prelude piece in addition to participating with all of the choirs throughout the festival. Interested about learning more or how you can join one of our choirs? Contact our music minister, Maggie, at the parish office.