April 1st, 2026

The Pastor's Column

As of sundown Thursday, Lent 2026 will be in the books. Praise the Lord! While this may bring a sense of relief for some; for us, it has been a very powerful Lenten Season. As a parish we have walked the Way of the Cross on multiple occasions, culminating in the powerful Living Stations of the Cross last Friday. Who could forget the images of that night, particularly the scene of Jesus in the arms of his mother so beautifully portrayed? Our Lenten Retreat asked the critical question: “What is God calling me to do?” Over 150 people came to reflect on how they can make a difference. The Healing Mass, Eucharistic adoration, and Reconciliation Monday brought people together to experience God’s abiding presence in our lives, reminding us that Christ is in our midst, offering us mercy and peace.

All this prayer and reflection produced an astounding overflow of almsgiving. Almost 350 easter baskets were lovingly prepared for children and youth in need. So many volunteers stepped up for the Saturday food distribution that we distributed food to almost 400 families in record time. Each week, you helped restock our Loaves and Fishes Pantry with Tuna Fish, Cheerios, Chicken Soup and other essentials. St Paul’s continues to step up for those in need.

Finally, weren’t our hearts stirred this Palm Sunday as we accompanied Jesus from his joyful entrance into Jerusalem to his shocking death on the cross? Many of us heard the Gospel of Matthew set to music by our resident composer J. Oconer Navarro. The voices of our music ministers and guest vocalists roused the soul. Multiple parishioners remarked that the Gospel came alive to them in a whole new way in listening to the proclamation. Fr. Chris noted that the final scream of Jesus was something he would never forget.

Having engaged the Season of Lent so robustly, we are now well prepared to enter into the liturgies of the Sacred Triduum - Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and The Easter Vigil - so that the joy of Easter Sunday may be profound and life changing. Indeed, Easter will be life changing for the 23 adults who will be baptized and the 14 others from other Christian traditions who will be received into the Catholic Church. May we share their joy as we are transformed through our Lenten practices and through our active participation in the paschal mystery of Christ’s dying and rising. By our walking with Jesus from the Last Supper, to Calvary, to the glory of the Resurrection, may we know of God’s profound love for us. May our celebration of Easter renew our hope so we can be joyful witnesses to all those who have grown weary in this time of war, division, and uncertainty.

On behalf of the Paulist Fathers and the Parish Staff, Easter Blessings to you and your loved ones!

God Bless,

Fr. Eric Andrews, CSP
Pastor, St. Paul the Apostle

The Triduum liturgies bring us through all of the mysteries of our faith, celebrating the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Triduum is regarded as a single liturgy that unfolds over the course of three days. We ask that parishioners leave each service in silence so we can maintain a reverent atmosphere in the church.

Here is a breakdown of our Triduum schedule at St. Paul's:

Holy Thursday starts our Triduum liturgy, recounting the first celebration of the Eucharist. Our mass celebrating the Supper of the Lord will begin at 7:00 PM. Mass is followed by a period of Adoration of the Eucharist.

Because Holy Thursday marks the start of the Triduum liturgies, there will be no masses held earlier in the day. The church will be open for prayer.

Christ's ultimate sacrifice for the redemption of humanity is commemorated in the Good Friday liturgy and through additional devotions.

• Bi-lingual Stations of the Cross will be held at 12:00 PM.
• The Seven Last Words will be held at 1:00 PM in English, and at 5:30 PM in Spanish.
• Our main service, the Passion of the Lord, will be held at 3:00 PM. The service will include a setting of the Passion According to St. John from J. Oconer Navarro. The liturgy includes the Veneration of the Cross and communion.
• Our Tenebrae service will be held at 7:00 PM. Following the service, there will be another opportunity for Veneration of the Cross.

There is an important second collection this day for the Pontifical Good Friday Collection for the Holy Land. The Holy Father asks every Catholic parish around the world to keep a Christian presence in the Holy Land. The funds from the collection support the Franciscans tasked with preserving our sacred shrines and holy sites, formation, and education in the Holy Land.

Additionally, it's always good to have a reminder that Good Friday is an obligatory day of fasting and abstention from eating meat for all Catholics aged 18-59.

The Easter Vigil mass in the Holy Night is perhaps the most moving liturgy of the year. Our Easter Vigil service will be held at 7:30 PM. God willing, a two dozen catechumens will be baptized at mass, receive first communion, and be confirmed into the faith.

Finally, we have a favor to ask you to make our Easter Vigil celebration even more special!

This is the 22nd year of our beloved tradition - we pray together at mass... and then eat cupcakes! We need volunteers who can bring cupcakes or Easter cookies for our post-Vigil reception on Saturday, April 4th following our 7:00PM service. If you're able to help bake Easter cupcakes or cookies, please fill out this brief form to volunteer.

Holy Week concludes with the celebrations on Easter Sunday! Masses will be held on Sunday, April 20th at 8:00 AM, 10:00 AM, 12:30 PM (in Spanish), and 5:00 PM. The church will be packed as we celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord, so we recommend anyone planning to attend at Easter arrive at the church at least 15 minutes early to secure a seat in the pews.

Come to St. Paul's on Holy Saturday at 11:30 AM for the traditional Święconka blessing!

Święconka, or the Blessing of the Easter Meal, is an ancient Catholic tradition dating back to the paschal celebrations of 7th century Polish communities. Food symbolic of Easter - such as eggs, lamb, bread, and salt - is blessed as an expression of "gratitude to God for all His gifts of both nature and grace. As a token of this gratitude, the bounty at one's dinner table is sanctified with the hope that spring, the season of the Resurrection, will also be blessed by God's goodness and mercy."

Regardless of what you will cook for yourself or your family, you can bring any food you will serve at your Easter Sunday meal to the church for a blessing. Join us for this wonderful expression of gratitude and joy!

Palm Sunday was a beautiful and moving way to enter into Holy Week - and there were plenty of palms this year!

At Palm Sunday liturgies, we heard a beautiful proclamation of the Passion of Our Lord according to St. Matthew composed by J. Oconer Navarro and sung by the talented members of our music ministry.

After the Palm Sunday 5PM mass, Fr. Eric blessed almost 350 Easter Baskets which we collected to donate to Abbot House Charities and Catholic Guardian Services. We are thankful for the immense generosity of parishioners who donated baskets!

Thanks to all of our volunteers who helped to facilitate this year's drive and ensure the baskets were delivered to our charities! A special thanks to Tania Chebli for organizing our Easter Basket drive every year.

St. Paul's had a great presence at yesterday's Chrism Mass for the Archdiocese of New York celebrated at St. Patrick's Cathedral. At the mass, oils used to anoint the sick, the newly confirmed, and those being ordained were blessed and distributed to the parishes of the Archdiocese. Dr. Dave de la Fuente, head of our OCIA program, was in attendance with many of our catechists. Fr. Eric, Fr. Chris, and Fr. Ron Franco, Paulist postulator for the cause of canonization for Fr. Isaac Hecker, were also in attendance where they renewed their priestly vows.

Thanks to Dr. Dave for the great pictures!

Grant eternal rest to Betty Hughes, Ben Allen, Jack McKenna, Ronald Miller, Solange Bricourt, Elsa DeCarli, Jose Humberto Rodriguez, Tatiana Schlossberg, Margaretha Mueliani,Freddy Sutjiawan, and Tommy Mazzone.

Grant health and healing to Barbara Abady, Denise Abady, Larry Danziger, Diane Sheedy, Ronald DeCarli, Patrick Hagan, Joyce Joseph , Doris, Finkelstein, Jim Zepeda, Kelly Small Casler, Anne Guerbe, Susan A. Seigle, Shelly Greene, Luz Maria Baquera, Chelsea, and Michael.

Grant peace and well-being to John J. Kenny, Anne Guerbe, Jennifer and Lola DeCarli, Christopher Henderson, and Matthew Martorana.

Have someone you would like our parish to pray for? You can submit prayer requests through our online form below. The names in your intentions will be shared with the parish here and will remain in our virtual newsletter one month after submission.

Click the button below to fill out our prayer request form:

Church Hours

Monday-Tuesday, Thursday - Friday

7:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Wednesday

7:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Saturday

8:30 AM - 6:30 PM

Sunday

7:00 AM - 6:30 PM

Mass Schedule

Daily Mass 


Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

7:30 AM and 12:10 PM

Wednesday

7:30 AM, 12:10 PM, and 6:30 PM

Saturday

8:30AM 


Sunday Mass


Saturday

5:00 PM (Vigil)

Sunday

8:00 AM - Mass Without Music

10:00 AM - Mass With St. Paul's Choir

12:30 PM - Misa con Coro en Español

5:00 PM - Mass With Inspirit Ensemble



Help Us Make 2026 Our Biggest Year of Outreach

Your generous donations enable us to serve the people of St. Paul's through our ministries, events, outreach programs, and so much more - not to mention the cost of keeping the church warm during these brisk winter months!

We've put some information below about how you can give back if you are able to. Please note that you can direct your donations to the ministry of your choice, whether that be to our food pantry, your favorite community-building ministry, or more!

To donate online go to www.stpaultheapostle.org and click on "Make a Donation" in the top right corner. Please remember that you can have your donations go directly to the ministry of your choice!

Or with the Faith Direct Text-TO-GIVE platform, you can text a donation to make a quick gift to help support The Church of St. Paul the Apostle.

Just text NY539 to the number (646) 859-1860 to enroll.

You can also find us on Venmo. Just scan the QR code above, or search for @stpaulsnyc to donate now!

Our services, along with the readings and hymns for weekends, can be found on our SPA app - you can download it by scanning the relevant QR code above! Our app also has an online "copy" you can access through your phone's browser in case you have difficult accessing it. Find it at https://stpaulny.web4uapps.com.