March 26th, 2026

The Pastor's Column

Holy Week Eve

On this eve of Holy Week, I have been thinking about all those who are preparing for Sacraments at the Easter Vigil and throughout the Easter Season of Fifty Days. We have been blessed by so many adults seeking baptism and full communion with the church through the OCIA, and other adults who completing their initiation as Catholics through our adult confirmation classes in English and in Spanish. About fifty individuals will receive sacraments at the Easter Vigil, eight at the 12:30pm Spanish Mass on Easter Sunday, and 24 adults will join our teens at the Confirmation Mass on May 9th celebrated by Bishop Edmund Whalen. Of all these adults, a great majority of them are in their 20s and 30s.

While I’ve been grateful and intrigued by this great number of people coming to faith here and around the Archdiocese, I’ve been wondering if this were a trend in the Catholic Church or in religion in general. A recent Pew Research poll finds that measures for “religiousness” in America are holding steady. This continues a period of stability that began five years ago. Prior to that there was a prolonged period of religious decline. The report continues: “On average, young adults nationwide remain much less religious than older Americans. Today’s young adults also are less religious than young people were a decade ago. And there is no indication that young men are converting to Christianity in large numbers.” That said, the research revealed that young men are now about as religious as women in the same age group. This is a notable change from the past in which young women tended to be more religious. However, this narrowing gap is driven by the decline of religiosity among American women, not a surge in men’s spirituality.

Yet, talking with those adult Catholics I’m helping prepare for confirmation, and hearing from others, there are a few things going on. For some, the desire for a deeper connection with God is personal. Joyful experiences like getting married or painful ones like loss have prompted a fresh look at the Church. For others, the dissatisfaction with secular values of an older generation has brought about a rediscovery in faith. For instance, my niece Erica has no interest in the accumulation of wealth or stuff. She could live out of her car if she needed to. Other motivating factors include, the uncertainty and anxiety of our times, the corrosive nature of our public discourse, the emergence from Covid isolation, and the exhaustion from overuse of technology.

All this input from folks here jives with an article that appeared today in the New York Times titled “Roman Catholic Churches See a Surge in New Converts.” According to the article, at a recent gathering, U.S. Bishops were buzzing about the surge in converts to the faith, and were perplexed with what was behind it. “Of course, we think the Holy Spirit is,” Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington said. “But we are kind of stymied.”

As for me, I am hoping that we are at the beginning of a new trend that has yet to be fully understood and I am grateful to God for all this new life at St. Paul’s. Our parish is alive!

Thanks be to God! I am also grateful for the friendly and inviting nature of our community. All of us-- staff, lay leaders, and active parishioners—are committed to creating a welcoming space for all those seeking a church home. It should come as no surprise that this is a key component of the mission and charism of the Paulist Fathers. The more we invite the Holy Spirit into our worship, into all our parish activities, and most of all into our hearts, the more we will be able to make room for new parishioners to find a safe place in which they can grow their faith.

May our worship and praise this Holy Week and Easter continue to widen the circle of our parish community, especially embracing all who have found new life in Christ!

God bless,

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

Holy Week is, in many ways, the apex of the liturgical year. Starting on Palm Sunday and continuing through Easter, this eight-day period brings us through all of the mysteries of our faith, celebrating the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The focal point of the Church's prayer next week will be the Triduum, which begins on Holy Thursday and extends through our celebration of the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night on Saturday.

Though the celebration spans from Thursday to Saturday, the Triduum is regarded as a single liturgy that unfolds over the course of three days, closely mirroring the timeline of the salvific drama the first disciples bore witness to. You will notice that there are no dismissals blessings at the conclusion of mass, and our Friday and Saturday liturgies "pick up" where the previous day's service left off. Experiencing these sacred liturgies in succession helps us appreciate how we are called to carry our own crosses and truly immerses us in the faith. We strongly encourage you, if your schedule permits it, to attend each service and in doing so participate fully in the great mystery of salvation.

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

Our Holy Week journey begins with Christ's triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. We will celebrate this during our usual Sunday liturgies; join us for a Saturday vigil mass at 5 PM, or on Sunday at 8 AM, 10 AM, 12:30 PM, and 5 PM.

The Palm Sunday liturgy begins with the procession of the palms - please arrive at the church early so you can meet us up at the High Altar! When the procession begins, we ask that parishioners follow behind the priests and return to their seats through the center aisle.

At mass, we will hear the Passion according to St. Matthew proclaimed in song. The work was composed by J. Oconer Navarro and will be a soul-stirring presentation of sacred scripture. We will close out Palm Sunday after our 5PM mass with a blessing of the Easter Baskets!

As Catholics, we are encouraged to enter into the Triduum free from mortal and venial sin so we can fully participate in the liturgy. God's unending mercy is graciously expressed through the sacrament of reconciliation; if you haven't been to confession in a while, Holy Week is a great opportunity to do so.

Confessions will be offered in all parishes throughout the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn on Monday, March 30th from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM, and from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. For what it's worth, we like to say that the Paulists are the kindest confessors in the city!

Holy Tuesday is the day the Archdiocese of New York holds its Chrism Mass. The sacred oils we will use throughout the year to anoint the sick, the confirmed, and the ordained will be consecrated at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Several members of our parish staff will be in attendance to receive the oils in anticipation of the Triduum!

You can watch a livestream of the Chrism Mass on Virtch Church through our social media channels, YouTube, and website! The mass will be broadcast on Tuesday, March 31st at 4PM.

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, where our choir will lead us in meditative hymns as we accompany Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Because Holy Thursday is the beginning of the Triduum liturgies, there will be no masses held earlier in the day, though the church will be open for prayer. As we mentioned, the three-day Triduum is also considered one long liturgy; because of this, we ask that you leave the church in silence at the conclusion of each liturgy on Thursday and Friday to maintain a prayerful atmosphere.

Christ's ultimate sacrifice for the redemption of humanity is commemorated in the Good Friday liturgy. Good Friday has a rich tradition of additional devotional services which we will offer this year. Here is our full schedule:

• Bi-lingual Stations of the Cross will be held at 12:00 PM. 
• Meditating on the fourteen stations, walking in the footsteps of Christ to Golgotha gives us a deeper understanding of the suffering we may encounter in the world.
• The Seven Last Words will be held at 1:00 PM in English, and at 5:30 PM in Spanish. 
• The "Seven Last Words" service is based around the sayings of Jesus upon the cross as recorded by the four Gospel writers. Each phrase will be offered alongside a reflection; traditionally, the seven sayings speak about the themes of forgiveness, salvation, relationship, abandonment, distress, triumph, and reunion.
• Our main service, the Passion of the Lord, will be held at 3:00 PM. 
• The service will include a sung setting of the Passion According to St. John from J. Oconer Navarro. The liturgy includes the Veneration of the Cross and communion.
• In the evening, a Tenebrae service will be held at 7:00 PM. 
• 'Tenebrae' is the Latin word for darkness. The service consists of readings paired with sacred music. After each one, a candle is extinguished. Following the service, there will be additional time for Veneration of the Cross.

If you can't make it to the church for any of these events, all of our Holy Week devotionals will be live-streamed to our website and social media channels.

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 abstinence for Catholics aged 18-59. Fasting is defined as taking one full meal during the day, and two smaller meals to maintain physical strength. Those small meals should not equal a full meal in quantity. Abstinence forbids the eating of meat and poultry.

The Easter Vigil mass in the Holy Night is perhaps the most moving liturgy in the Church calendar. Plunged into darkness after Christ's sacrifice on the cross, we are guided by the shining light of the word present throughout the evening's readings and psalms to His victory over death. Fallen and then redeemed, we celebrate the joy of the resurrection and the promise of new life.

Our Easter Vigil service will be held at 7:00 PM. God willing, more than a dozen catechumens will be invited to share in new life through their baptism; an additional group of candidates will be confirmed alongside them.

Earlier in the day, we invite you to St. Paul's 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 is blessed as an expression of "gratitude to God for all His gifts of both nature and grace."

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

LET THEM EAT CAKE: Bakers Needed For Easter Vigil

Have a good cupcake recipe? Want to help us welcome our newly baptized and confirmed Catholics? We are the friendliest parish on the West Side of Manhattan, so let's welcome our newly baptized and confirmed Catholics into the fold on the Easter Vigil. This is the 22nd year of our beloved tradition - we pray together at mass... and then eat cupcakes! 

St. Paul's needs your help! We need volunteers who can bring cupcakes or Easter cookies for our post-Vigil reception on Saturday, April 4th following our 7:00PM service.

It's been a long Lent, so we are going to need a feast. If you're able to help bake Easter cupcakes or cookies, please fill out this brief form to volunteer. We usually do an old-fashioned e-mail chain to share ideas, prayers, and fun. A little bit of Hecker flour goes a long way! 

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.

Find a compact version of the Holy Week schedule below!

We look forward to praying with you all during this sacred season.

Busted Halo, the Paulist media ministry that both Fr. Dave and Fr. Evan work with, is celebrating its 25th birthday this year. You’re all welcome to a special Mass marking the occasion at 10:00am on Sunday, April 19th. Other members of the Busted Halo team are coming in from around the country. Coffee and pastries after Mass! 

The night before, you’re also invited to a special live audience episode of the Busted Halo Radio show that Fr. Dave hosts each night on SiriusXM. Come see the show in person at a theater on the Upper West Side. Details and tickets here, or click the button below. Use coupon code BH20 at checkout for a 20% parish discount. 

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.