Offertory envelopes for 2008 are available at all parishes. Pictured above, sacristan Clement Danet sorted the boxes at St. Anne Chapel on St. Thomas.
St. Patrick Church on St. Croix will not celebrate its 6:00 p.m. Vigil Mass on Saturday, January 5, due to traffic and noise from the Carnival Festival Adult Parade. The regular Mass schedule will resume the following morning.
Children in Latin America look forward to receiving gifts from the Three Kings on the Feast of the Epiphany. The Three Kings will attend two Spanish Masses on Sunday, January 6. They will be at St. Joseph Church on St. Croix at 10:00 a.m. and at Ss. Peter and Paul Cathedral on St. Thomas at 12:30 p.m. After the Masses, children will have an opportunity to have their photograph taken with the Three Kings in the parishes' Hospitality Lounges.
Winners in St. Anne Chapel's annual fundraising raffle will be announced at a Three Kings pot-luck supper in the parish Club House on Sunday, January 6, at 4:00 p.m. Fifteen prizes include round trip airfare to Puerto Rico and St. Maarten, a pressure washer, watches and perfumes. The funds will be used towards the cost of stained glass windows and a new path to the Club House, among other improvements.
The Feast Day of Our Lady of Altagracia, Patroness of the Dominican Republic, will be celebrated with two Spanish Masses on Sunday, January 20. The Masses will be at St. Joseph Church on St. Croix at 10:00 a.m. and at Ss. Peter and Paul Cathedral on St. Thomas at 12:30 p.m. The St. Thomas celebration begins with a procession.
Native foods will be served in a pot-luck celebration in both parishes' Hospitality Lounges after the Masses.
The annual celebration honoring the "Santo Niño" (baby Jesus) at Holy Cross Church on St. Croix on Sunday, January 20, will highlight the faith, music and culture of the Philippines.
As in previous years, Msgr. George Tomachik of Philadelphia will be flown in by the local Filipino community to celebrate the Mass. Msgr. Tomachik ministers to Filipino communities around the world.
A choir comprised largely of Filipinos will sing hymns in English and Tagalog, the principal dialect of the Philippines.
The 11:00 a.m. Mass will be followed by a luncheon at the McAlpin Hall hosted by the Santo Niño committee.
Responding to the needs of deaf Catholics on St. Thomas, the Virgin Islands Department of Human Services will offer free parish-based sign language classes if a minimum of 10 parishioners commit to enrolling in the class. Those interested in learning the basics of American Sign Language should contact Fr. Charles Crespo at (340) 774-0201, ext. 225. The date, time and location of the classes will be determined by the consensus of the students.
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The Catholic Islander is published monthly by the Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.
The Catholic Islander is written, edited and printed entirely in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
P.O. Box 301825, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, 00803-1825 http://www.catholicislander.com
Telephone: (340) 774-0201, ext. 225 Fax: (340) 776-9586 E-mail: editor@catholicislander.com
Publisher Msgr. Michael Kosak
Editor-in-Chief Fr. Charles Crespo
Spanish Editor Ernesto Rodriguez
Proofreaders Bernetia Akin
Staff Photographer Faye Abdullah-Boschulte
Webmaster Br. James Petrait, OSFS
Circulation Deacon Emith Fludd
Please submit news, digital photography and advertising for the February 2008 issue of The Catholic Islander by January 14, 2008.
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THE CATHOLIC ISLANDER * January 2008* Page 3