R. T. FRIDAY, July 24, 2020 

RANDOM THOUGHTS. 

Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Francis Parish, 

Less heat. More rain. Less humidity. Lord, I’m asking a lot!                            Please tell whichever angel is in charge of the weather to give us a break! 

Every morning I say mass with the Sisters of the Garden on Round Hill Road near the Durham line and I’m doing more of it in Italian. I’m pretty proud of myself. 

Yesterday I got to do some real priest stuff. I brought Holy Communion and anointed two parishioners of St. Mary’s in Portland because Father Paul was out of town. I had really nice visits with the families. So good to get out and earn my pay. They were so thankful. 

Last night we had a finance committee meeting. Paola is projecting an overall deficit of $20,000, which, all things considered, is not all that bad. As you can imagine, our traditional fundraisers will not be held. The people or groups who rent our hall on a regular basis are not doing that for now. I’m taking a pay cut which will be offset by my monthly SS check. Yes, I am such a humble saint! 

Thank you all again for being so generous during this very difficult time. Your steady contributions are vital for us to keep going. As I mentioned, Paola has applied for a PPP loan for our parish and hopefully we will get around $25,000. 

Father George is “coming home” for a few days next week, staring on Sunday night. There is a new Father George (Richards) assigned to St. John here in Middletown. He was originally going to cover the Hospital, but with this C 19 situation, he can’t do that. I’m sure he will find plenty to do. Living in the rectory of St. John is a good idea as you undoubted know how an empty building can deteriorate. Welcome to our deanery. 

Fr. Michael McGivney, the founder of the Knights of Columbus Catholic fraternal organization, will be beatified on October 31, the congregation for the Causes of Saints announced this week. 

A miracle credited to the intercession of McGivney was approved by the Vatican and announced by Pope Francis on May 27. A child who was diagnosed as terminally ill in the womb was miraculously healed following prayers for the intercession of Fr. McGivney. 

The priest’s beatification Mass is expected to be celebrated in his native Connecticut. 

McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus in New Haven, Connecticut, 1882. Initially, the organization was intended to assist widows and their families upon the deaths of their husbands. It has grown into a worldwide Catholic fraternal order, with more than 2 million members carrying out works of charity and evangelization across the globe. The Knights also offer life insurance policies to their members. 

In 2018, the Knights’ 16,000 councils worldwide donated more than $185 million to charity and gave over 76 million hours of hands-on service in 2018, worth over $1.9 billion according to a valuation of volunteer work by the Independent Sector. Their volunteer work included support for the Special Olympics, coat drives, and food drives for needy families. 

His brother, Patrick, was the first pastor of St. Francis Parish here in Middletown.