May 22, 2025

It was a joy to see members of both parishes at our joint celebration of Mass and annual St. Philip Neri Picnic! Special thanks to all of the volunteers who made it such a success.

📰 News

St. Philip Neri Novena

The feast day of St. Philip Neri is Monday, May 26. Novena booklets are available in both churches. To download a booklet, click here.

No weekday Masses on Monday, May 26, 2025—Memorial Day. The parish office will be closed on Friday, May 23 and Monday, May 26 for the holiday.

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord—Thursday, May 29, 2025—a Holy Day of Obligation

6:30pm (Vigil Mass on Wednesday, May 28) at Assumption with music
8:00am at Assumption
12:10pm at St. Boniface

Easter Season Update from Turkana

For many years, the St. Boniface community has sent a quarterly stipend to our Sister Parish, St Mark’s, in Turkana, Kenya. This is used for expenses related to managing the parish and its outstations. From time to time, we supplement the stipend with funds raised through Easter Season collections, Christmas card and craft sales, our recent Turkana coffee hour, and other fundraising efforts. We thank all who have generously contributed through these events. This week, we received a thank you message below from Father Edwin, pastor of our Sister Parish. Read his letter here.

Corpus Christi Mass: Volunteers Needed

St. Boniface, Assumption, and nearby parishes in our Deanery are hosting a Corpus Christi celebration on Sunday, June 22, 2025 at 11:30am in Carroll Park, Brooklyn. There will be Mass, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and benediction. Please plan to attend! Learn more here. There will be no morning Masses at either Assumption or St. Boniface that Sunday (6/22).

Volunteers are crucial to the success of our Corpus Christi Celebration. We need your help before, during, and after the Mass.

Ushers are needed before Mass to help set up chairs, hand out worship aids, and seat people.
Greeters are needed before Mass to help set up chairs, greet people at the park entrances, and orient them to bathrooms, first aid, seating, etc.
Breakdown helpers are needed to help return chairs from the park to vans.

Note: Ushers and greeters are asked to be at the park around 8:00am. Breakdown folks are needed after the Mass is over. If you are interested in helping out, please fill out this form.

Carroll Park is in Carroll Gardens on Court Street between Carroll and President Streets. The F & G subway lines at Carroll Street and the B57 bus stop at Court/President Street are the closest public transportation within walking distance of the park. If you have any questions, please contact Jim Connell at jconnell@oratorychurch.org

Father's Day Novena

We will have our Novena of Masses for our fathers, living and deceased, starting on June 15, Father’s Day. Please email your names to the office at info@oratorychurch.org or use your parish giving envelopes. The names will be posted at both churches. The suggested donation is $20. Please submit names by June 12.

🗓️ Upcoming Events

Saturday–Sunday, May 31–June 1, both parishes

✝️ First Communion Weekend

Our children will be receiving their First Communion at the 5:00pm Mass on Saturday, as well as the 9:30am and 11:15am Sunday Masses at our parishes. We wish them well, and we are so proud of them.

Sunday, June 1, following 11:15am Mass, St. Boniface

☕ Coffee Hour

Join us for coffee and fellowship after Mass, sponsored by the LGBT Faith Sharing Group.

Sunday, June 1, 2:00–4:30pm, Union Square 16th St. entrance

🚶 Dorothy Day Walking Tour

Sign up for an Oratory Parishes-only walking tour led by Dorothy Day Guild members. The tour begins in Union Square and ends at Maryhouse. Bring family and friends, but please be sure to register here.

Monday, June 2, 6:15pm, Assumption Hall

🙏 Oratory Evening Prayer

Saturday, June 7, 9:00am, Assumption

⛪ First Saturday Mass

Sunday, June 22, 11:30am, Carroll Park

✝️ Deanery Corpus Christi Celebration Mass

Join together with other Brooklyn parishes to celebrate an outdoor Mass for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. There will be no 9:30am or 11:15am Masses at our parishes on Sunday, June 22. Click here to learn more.

July 1–August 19, Zoom

🙏 Meeting Christ in Prayer

Meeting Christ in Prayer is modeled on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. By means of prayer, reflection and sharing, participants will have an opportunity to meet Christ anew and to experience support in our Christian way of life. The program asks you to commit to spending 20–30 minutes each day in prayer, to keep a journal of your thoughts and reflections, and to attend eight weekly meetings for prayer, discussion and sharing. Regular attendance at these meetings is highly recommended.

Meetings will take place via Zoom on Tuesday evenings at 6:30pm starting July 1 and continuing on 8 consecutive Tuesdays through August 19. If you are interested, please register by clicking on this link or by emailing Fr. Vin at vbiagi@oratorychurch.org

👪 Family Faith and First Communion Resource Guide

Click here to learn more about the Oratory Parishes' Family Faith Formation (F3) and First Communion Classes.

⛪️ Weekly Mass Intention Schedule

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Weekly Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/readings

ASSUMPTION

5/24	5:00pm	Pio Banogon
5/25	9:30am	People of the Parish
5/26	No 8:00am Mass	Memorial Day
5/27	8:00am	Francesco Soru
5/28	8:00am	Open Intention
5/29	8:00am	Br. Gary Gaynor
5/30	8:00am	Frank Gallaro

ST. BONIFACE

5/25	11:15am	People of the Parish
5/25	6:00pm	Holy Souls in Purgatory
5/26	No 12:10pm Mass	Memorial Day
5/27	12:10pm	Open Intention
5/28	12:10pm	Healing: Amelia Moser
5/29	12:10pm	Open Intention
5/30	12:10pm	Salvador Osea

Mass Intentions

It has been a long tradition in the Church to offer Masses for people to pray, especially for the dead, seeking God’s grace, mercy, and spiritual benefits through Christ’s sacrifice. Usually a modest donation is given for this. In the coming weeks we have several Masses with no particular intentions. If you would like to have a Mass offered for someone (living or deceased), email the parish office at info@oratorychurch.org or click here.

🙏 Prayer List

Please keep the sick of the community in your prayers

Amelia Moser, Eileen Acheson Bohn, Francine Mastini, Lisa Williams, James J. Carney, Lou Acerra, Ann McDoughal, Dawn Hewitt, Msgr. Don L. Fischer, Robert Nixon, Mary Cella, Janice Clarke, Maria Fusco, Alice Mulholland, Mary Simon Charles, Kim Manzi

Rest in Peace

Olga Renzi, James O’Neil, Ruth Sanchez, Br. Gary Gaynor, Pope Francis, John Hayes, Fran Alferman, John Dalton, Eddy Graves, Gertrude Conway

If you would like to add someone to the prayer list, email the parish office at info@oratorychurch.org or click here.

🏙️ Beyond the Oratory

Free Spiritual Direction through St Francis Xavier Parish in Manhattan

God asked Adam and Eve: “Where are you?” Jesus invited the disciples with these words: “Come and See.” Journey with a spiritual director from September 2025 to May 2026 to discover God’s invitation to you.

Spiritual direction is a one-on-one monthly conversation with a director to see how God is inviting you to live your life more fully. We have several spiritual directors who have been in training in our Spiritual Direction Formation Program since September 2024, who are seeking individuals to direct for the next 9 months. While meeting with directees, they will be supervised by a qualified supervisor. If interested, please contact Gerry at spiritualdirection@sfxavier.org

Capuchin Summer Programs

Parents and Confirmation Candidates (and others!), did you enjoy this year's Confirmation Retreat? Well, those same Capuchin Friar friends offer three excellent summer programs:

SOW (Summer Outreach Week) – an "urban plunge" type program of daily community service opportunities, coupled with prayer
CAM (Capuchin Appalachian Mission) – bringing hope and material aid to underserved families in both rural Kentucky where the need is most dire, and here in our own backyard
CLASP (Catholic Literature & Arts Summer Program) – an arts and theater based program which sounds like it would be a great fit for our Pageant stars!

Click here for more information and signup directions.

St. Saviour Catholic Academy, Park Slope

For more information on early childhood programs, elementary grades, and middle school, click here.