With the arrival of Fr. Gabriel, we are overjoyed to be able to resume our Friday 9:00am Masses at St. Paul Church!
Effective Friday, July 28 the weekday Mass schedule at the Collaborative will be:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday:
9:00am St. Paul Church
Tuesday and Thursday:
7:00am St. John Church
After more than a year of planning, preparation, and hard work, our pilgrims depart this Friday, July 28! We are so grateful for your generous financial and spiritual support!
Please continue to pray for us as we embark on this journey, and know that we will be praying for you!
Sponsors, check your mail in the coming weeks for a postcard from your pilgrim(s)!
We hope you will follow our journey online – we will be posting daily updates and photos on our WYD 2023 blog…
I am thrilled to let you know that we will be welcoming a new priest to our St. John-St. Paul Collaborative community this week! Fr. Gabriel Afumbom Tokoh, a priest from the Archdiocese of Bamenda, Cameroon, Africa, is currently in a Master’s Program in Leadership and Administration at Boston College. He has been living at a parish in Salem for the past year and commuting to B.C. for his studies, so his joining us in Wellesley will be a true blessing for our parishes and for Fr. Gabriel! He will be living at the St. Paul rectory and will be celebrating Masses, funerals, and sacraments with us for the next two years as he completes his studies.
Below is a brief introduction from Fr. Gabriel – I know you will join me in welcoming him and making him feel at home here at the Collaborative and in Wellesley!
“As priests, we serve to minister to people in times of great loss and tragedy. Often words are not enough to help families and friends come to terms with the loss of a loved one. We look to God for answers. We seek to understand. Often, we simply cannot make sense of what has happened. But our faith sustains us, and in this moment of enormous pain, we know that God is with us always.
This week and for the weeks, months, and years ahead, the brutal and senseless murders of Gilda D’Amore, her husband, Bruno D’Amore, and Gilda’s mother, Lucia Arpino, will stay with us as we come to terms with this unimaginable loss. They loved Christ and the Church. On the day of their murders, Gilda and Bruno were to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary at Our Lady Help of Christians. They lived their Catholic faith proudly and in service to the Church…”
Put your gently used clothing to good use to support men and women in need! St. Francis House serves approximately 50 clothing appointments per day (M-F), providing 250 full sets of clothing per week to their guests! Donations may be dropped off in the St. John Garage (behind the church) OR the St. Paul Garage (behind the rectory) between 9:00am – 5:00pm. Please box or bag everything – no hangers.
Please note that over 80% of St. Francis House’ guests are men, so it has been our tradition to have a men’s-focused clothing drive, but women’s clothing is also accepted. Children’s clothing is not accepted…
In keeping with tradition, a Saint John School family has sponsored the set up 1,000 American flags on the St. John the Evangelist Church lawn in honor of veterans from Wellesley and surrounding communities who have given their lives in service to our country.
We remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy every day.
We pray that God will hold our service men and women in His strong arms, and cover them with His sheltering grace and presence.
Unfortunately, with the recent departure of several of our outside celebrants from Boston College, Fr. Jim is now on his own during the week. As a result, effective immediately, the weekday Mass schedule for the summer at the Collaborative will be:
Monday and Wednesday: 9:00am St. Paul Church
Tuesday and Thursday: 7:00am St. John Church
For those looking for a daily Mass on Friday, the Weekday Mass schedules for neighboring parishes is available on the Liturgy page of our website…
This past weekend we bid a fond farewell to Fr. Borja Miró Madariaga S.J. Fr. Borja has completed his studies in Moral Theology at Boston College and is returning to Spain for his new assignment teaching at a Jesuit secondary school.
Over this past year, following his ordination to the priesthood last June in Spain, Fr. Borja has celebrated weekday and Sunday Masses, baptisms, and funerals with us, and we have been infinitely blessed by his ministry…
Would you like to be an altar server at Collaborative Masses?
Please join us on Wednesday, May 31 at 1:30pm (early release day) at St. John or Tuesday, June 6 at 3:30pm at St. Paul for altar server training. Training will run about 45 minutes; children may be dropped off at the church or caregivers may stay for the session. Children who have trained previously but would like a “refresher” are also welcome!
Last month, the Vatican announced that for the first time, lay people – including women – will serve as full members of the Synod of Bishops with voting rights, as part of a broader series of changes to the rules governing these papally convened summits. Under the previous norms, a synod was defined in canon law as a gathering of members, of which “the greater part are bishops” elected by their national bishops’ conference. Other members, usually bishops or male religious, were either appointed by the pope or by their religious institutes.