Welcome to the St. Mary Parish website, which is continually under construction with new parish updates and exciting news. We welcome you to our parish!

If you are new in the area, we invite you to worship with us and participate in our parish activities.

We extend a special invitation to those who may have been away from the church for a while to rejoin us.

Through this website, we hope to provide opportunities to grow in faith through some of the links that are offered and to keep you up to date with parish activities. 

Good wishes to all.

Rev. Seán Bonner
Pastor

Queridos amigos,

Bienvenido al sitio web de La Parroquia de St. Mary, que se encuentra actualmente en construcción. ¡Le damos la bienvenida a nuestra parroquia!

Si es nuevo en el área, lo invitamos a orar con nosotros y participar en nuestras actividades parroquiales.

Extendemos una invitación especial a aquellos que pueden haber estado lejos de la iglesia por un tiempo para reunirse con nosotros.

A través de este sitio web, esperamos brindar oportunidades para crecer en la fe a través de algunos de los enlaces que se ofrecen y para mantenerlo al día con las actividades de la parroquia.

Los buenos deseos para todos,

Rev. Seán Bonner
Pastor

ministerio hispano - vea la pestaña de
vida parroquial arriba

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Parish Services:

• ONLINE GIVING - sign up today
• Historic Cemetery (section under construction)
• St. Mary Outreach Center

Thinking About Becoming A Catholic?

In parishes throughout the country, men and women who are seeking to journey in faith, gather together for what has come to be known as the R.C.I.A. (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults). If you or someone you know are interested in the R.C.I.A. program, Click here for more information.

Vocation Awareness

Many priests and religious will tell you that before entering religious life, they felt unworthy of such a calling. Yet, St. Paul tells us that he boasts of his weaknesses because he knows that God’s grace is enough (2 Cor 12:7-10). Saint or sinner, you may be called to the priesthood. Click here for more information.

Notes from 
Fr. Sean
July 5, 2020

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Interim MASS SCHEDULE
in Church
Please maintain social distancing in and around the church at all times.
Face covering/mask must  be worn in and around the church.​​​​​​ Thank you.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
9:00 AM (English)

Saturday:  4:00 PM (English)

Sunday:  8:30 AM (English)

11:30 AM (English)
also via livestream:
zoom.us/j/941197167

2:00 PM (Misa en español)
also via livestream:
zoom.us/j/721881196

5:00 PM (English)

Sacrament of Reconcilation
in Church

Monday & Wednesday
3:30 PM to 4:00 PM
Friday
following 9:00 AM Mass
Saturday
3:00 PM to 3:30 PM

or call for an appointment
(734) 721-8745
Mon - Fri  8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

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HOLY ROSARY

Pray the Rosary, daily. 

PRAY THE ROSARY WITH US!
How to pray the Rosary

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BECOME A PRIEST

Permanent Diaconate

Religious Life

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Catholic News

Faith-based groups ask Congress to fund international pandemic assistance 

Published: July 5, 2020

CNA Staff, Jul 5, 2020 / 04:23 am (CNA).- A coalition of faith-based organizations is asking Congress to take immediate action to help fund efforts to help fight the coronavirus pandemic overseas.

“If we don’t beat COVID-19 everywhere, we can’t beat it anywhere,” said Catholic Relief Services, one of the letter’s signatories, in a recent press release.

“CRS is urging an authorization of $10-15 billion, which equates to about 0.005% of the $3 trillion Congress has authorized so far for domestic pandemic relief.”

The letter was sent to leaders of both parties in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Other signatories included representatives of three dozen organizations, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, World Relief, the National Association of Evangelicals, World Vision US, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Sudan Relief Fund.

They cited data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which found that over 70% of countries do not have the public health structure to handle outbreaks of disease.

“A recent report estimated that up to 3 million deaths could occur in these countries without additional humanitarian assistance, and millions more stand on the brink of starvation given the economic upheaval in the world’s poorest countries,” the letter reads.

It says America’s humanitarian efforts can play a key role in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19, as well as obtaining personal protective equipment for health care workers on the front lines around the world.

The letter also argues that without the additional funds, many countries may see serious economic consequences and food insecurity, as well as hampered efforts to treat malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS, and to promote religious freedom.

“As leaders of faith-based organizations and communities, we implore you to take urgent action to support a robust international response to address the impacts of COVID-19 as part of any new emergency funding legislation,” the signatories said.

“We pray that as our nation’s duly elected representatives of a generous people, you will collectively find a way to meet our nation’s responsibility to serve those less fortunate.”

According to a recent poll by U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and Morning Consult, 72% of American voters support international assistance to countries with vulnerable populations.

The letter emphasized the Christian responsibility to aid the vulnerable and pointed to the words of Christ in Luke chapter 12: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

“At this critical moment, we cannot turn our back on our brothers and sisters around the world,” the letter said. “As a nation, we have both the ability and obligation to provide resources which will prevent the worldwide spread of this disease and alleviate the suffering of those afflicted – and in so doing, we are certain it will also protect us here at home as well.”

 

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Texas' Bishop Flores criticizes Planned Parenthood for anti-Mexican ethnic slur

Published: July 4, 2020

CNA Staff, Jul 4, 2020 / 03:58 pm (CNA).-  

The Bishop of Brownsville, Texas has criticized Planned Parenthood and pro-choice political organizations in the state for use of anti-Mexican ethnic slur in its campaign against the reelection of pro-life state Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr.

“While not surprised that Planned Parenthood would attack State Senator Eddie Lucio’s pro-life record, I am deeply discouraged that Texas Freedom Network and others would join in this malicious kind of attack, using such derogatory language to disparage him and his family,” Bishop Daniel Flores said in a July 3 statement.

The statement came after the Planned Parenthood Texas Votes PAC and the Texas Freedom Network reportedly used the term “Sucio Lucio” to describe the state senator in a direct mailing campaign.

“‘Sucio’ is an unacceptable word when associated with a Mexican American family name. Maybe they know not what such words mean in South Texas. Now more than ever it is imperative that words be used with care, with an awareness of their impact,” Flores added.

Lucio’s campaign issued a press release July 2, in response “to a recent direct-mail piece issued by Planned Parenthood & Texas Freedom Network attacking Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. using the term 'Sucio Lucio,' to describe the Hispanic senator and his traditional Catholic values of support for life.”

The release included a statement from state Sen. Lucio’s son, Texas state Representative Eddie Lucio III.

“I’m truly disheartened, given all that’s happening in the world today, that Planned Parenthood, Texas Freedom Network, Texas Rising, and others continue to disparage our family name with derogatory and racial slurs. These big special-interests groups from outside our border community should comprehend the deeper connotations behind the word 'sucio' ('dirty Mexican') and the association with a person of Hispanic descent,” the younger Lucio said.

“Mexican-Americans are hard-working, family-oriented individuals, never should the word dirty or its Spanish-language equivalent be used to describe one of us. Given current events and the social awareness on being accepting of all races and cultures, the continued use of this term is insensitive and in poor taste. We can respectfully disagree on issues without being offensive to an entire culture,” Lucio III added.

In his statement, Bishop Flores said that “Representative Eddie Lucio III’s statement accurately reflects my sentiments.”

The senior Lucio, a pro-life Democrat, has been a member of the Texas Senate since 1991. The senator faces attorney Sara Stapleton Barrera in a July 14 runoff election. Stapleton Barrera has campaigned to the left of Lucio, calling herself a “true Democrat,” and has been endorsed by gay rights and pro-choice groups in the state.

“Dirty Mexican” has been an anti-Mexican slur in use in the United States since at least the 1950s, as have derivatives which target particular Hispanic names. By some accounts, the word “sucio” is sometimes, but not always, used as slang to refer to a person who is either sexually immoral or homosexual.

Planned Parenthood has used the slur in the past against Lucio. In January, it tweeted the hashtag #SucioLucio while advertising a candidate’s forum.

Some defenders of the the hashtag, said on Friday it was meant only to denote the senator’s apparently “dirty political tactics.”

But the younger Lucio, who identifies his politics as “progressive” and has disagreed with his father on issues related to sexuality and gender identity, has insisted in recent days that the term is “derogatory.” Several Latino state legislators have agreed with him, and denounced Planned Parenthood's use of the phrase.

On Friday, the Mexican American Legislative Council said that political campaigns should “steer clear of political name calling that plays on racial, sexist, homophobic, ableist, and every form of discrimination when our country is working for social justice.”

 

 

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Rebuilt from the ashes: The story of an American basilica

Published: July 4, 2020

Richmond, Va., Jul 4, 2020 / 03:41 am (CNA).- An immigrant parish, burnt down, with only the crucifix remaining. A parish rebuilt, transformed and a key part in giving back to the community. In a sense, one parish’s story of struggle, pressure and rebirth is metaphor for the American Catholic experience.

St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Norfolk, Virginia, is the only black Catholic church in the United States that is also a basilica. Its dramatic history captures both the broader American Catholic history of persecution, growth and acceptance, but also a witness to the unique challenges faced by black Catholics over the centuries.

Founded originally as St. Patrick’s Parish in 1791, it is the oldest Catholic parish in the Diocese of Richmond, predating the foundation of the diocese by nearly 30 years.

“Catholicism was not legal to practice” in Virginia when the colony was founded, said Fr. Jim Curran, rector of the basilica. In much of Colonial America, before the Revolution and the signing of the Bill of Rights, churches that were not approved by the government were prohibited from operating, he told CNA.

The land originally bought in 1794 for the parish is the same ground on which the basilica today stands. From the beginning, according to the parish’s history, Catholics from all backgrounds worshiped together: Irish and German immigrants, free black persons and slaves.

However, by the 1850s, the parish’s immigrant background and mixed-race parish drew the ire of a prominent anti-Catholic movement: the Know-Nothings.

Largely concentrated in northeastern states where the immigrant influx was greatest, the movement rose and fell quickly. Concerned with maintaining the Protestant “purity of the nation,” it worked to prevent immigrants – many of whom were Catholic – from gaining the right to vote, becoming citizens, or taking elected office.

“I consider the Know-Nothings to be a sort of gatekeeper organization, by which I mean that they were both anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic at the same time,” said Fr. David Endres, an assistant professor of Church History and Historical Theology at the Athenaeum of Ohio.

He told CNA that the Know-Nothing Party was able to bring together both pro- and anti-slavery voters in the mid-1800s, united in the common “dislike of foreign-born and Catholics.”

While most anti-Catholic activities took the form of defamatory speeches and public discrimination, the prejudice sometimes turned to violence and mob action, Fr. Endres explained.

The anti-Catholic discrimination and threats found their way to St. Patrick’s doorstep, where the Know-Nothings were unhappy that the pastor was allowing racially integrated Masses, said Fr. Curran.

The pastor at that time, Fr. Matthew O’Keefe, received so many threats directed against the church and himself that police protection was required to stop the intimidation of the Catholics worshiping at the church, according to the locals.  

Despite the threats, however, Fr. O’Keefe did not segregate the Masses. In 1856, the original church building burned down, leaving only three walls standing. Only a wooden crucifix was left unscathed.

More than 150 years later, it is still unclear exactly who or what caused the fire, but since the days following the blaze, parishioners have had their suspicions.

“We don’t know for sure if they were the ones who burned it, but it’s widely believed, it’s a commonly held notion that it’s the Know-Nothings who burnt the Church,” Fr. Curran said.   

Fr. O’Keefe and the parishioners worked hard to rebuild the church, seeking donations from Catholics along the East Coast. A new church building was constructed less than three years after the fire and is still standing today.

After the church was rebuilt, the parish renamed itself in 1858 in honor of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, which was proclaimed by Pope Pius IX in 1854. It claims to be the first church in the world named for Mary of the Immaculate Conception following the declaration.

In 1889, the Josephites built Saint Joseph's Black Catholic parish to serve the needs of the black Catholic community, and the two parishes operated separately within several blocks of one another. However, in 1961, St. Joseph’s was demolished to make way for new construction, and the two parishes were joined, reintegrating – at least in theory – St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception.

But the merger was not popular with many of the white parishioners and conflicted with the segregation policies of local government institutions and public life, Fr. Curran said. “St Mary’s became a de facto black parish.”

During this demographic shift, many parishioners of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception had to draw deeply upon their faith. Black Catholics had to be stalwart, facing prejudice from both some white parishioners, who did not view them as fully Catholic, and some black Protestants, who did not support their religious beliefs.

“They were devoted, and still are,” the rector said. “You have to be very devoted to be a Black Catholic.”

This devotion and witness of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception was formally celebrated when, in 1991, Saint Pope John Paul II elevated the 200-year-old church to a minor basilica.

“Your black cultural heritage enriches the Church and makes her witness of universality more complete. In a real way the Church needs you, just as you need the Church, for you are a part of the Church and the Church is part of you,” Pope Saint John Paul II proclaimed at the elevation.

Today, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception plays a vital role not only as the only Catholic basilica in Virginia, but also as an important anchor of the neighborhood. The basilica operates a “robust” set of outreach ministries to local families, including rent assistance and food aid, serving thousands of people.

“The Church standing proudly and beautiful in the midst of the poor is where we need to be,” Fr. Curran said.


This article was originally published on CNA July 4, 2015.

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