St. Joseph Church (Shelton) Music Ministry proudly presents “A Christmas Prelude”. Please join us in the upper church for our annual Christmas Concert presented by the St. Joseph Church Adult & Children’s Choirs with Nicholas Stampone, Director of Music, and Allison Fay, Adult Choir Director.
Friday, December 24 at 3 PM
St. Joseph Church
50 Fairmont Place, Shelton, CT
Christmas Eve Mass will follow the performance.
Norwalk – Fr. Miguel & St. Matthew Church are thrilled to announce our upcoming Christmas Fair on December 2-3. The fair will benefit third-year Seminarian Juan Herrera, a dear friend of Fr. Miguel’s and church programs.
The fair will feature an incredible collection of 5,000 pieces of new designer clothing for men and women, including brands such as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Izod, and more. Additionally, there will also be Christmas crafts from our New Horizons ministry group.
On Saturday, December 2nd, the fair will run from 2pm to 6pm in the Great Room. We’ll also be serving complimentary pizza after the 5pm Christmas Tree lighting. On Sunday, December 3rd, the fair will be open from 8:30am to 6pm in the Great Room.
We invite you to join us for this festive event to support a worthy cause and get into the holiday spirit!
St. Matthew Church is located at 216 Scribner Avenue, Norwalk, CT.
By Joe Pisani
The Fairfield County Catholic Cemeteries will host two Trees of Remembrance events during Advent and Christmas to give families an opportunity to remember loved ones who have passed by hanging ornaments in their memory.
Members of the community are invited to take part in the events, which will be held at St. Mary-Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich and the St. Joseph Center in Trumbull. The family members do not have to be buried in the Catholic Cemeteries.
“Hanging an ornament with the name of a person you love who has died can be so healing,” said Carolyn Killian, Director of Bereavement for the Diocese of Bridgeport. “It can take a hard time and transform it into a healing moment, not just for you but for other members of your family.”
Jenine Berardesca, Family Services Director for Catholic Cemeteries, began the tradition last year in Greenwich, where some 200 people gathered to put ornaments on a 10-foot-tall spruce, which was lit throughout the Advent and Christmas season. She says they are already getting inquiries about this year’s event from throughout the diocese.
“It will give families a time to come together mutually and celebrate their loved ones during the holiday season,” Berardesca said. “The event is family friendly, and it will be a celebration of the season and a celebration of life. It is not limited to families of any denomination or to families only from Greenwich. Our invitation is joyously extended to everyone.”
Berardesca recalls that last year one of the employees of Catholic Cemeteries, who had lost his father, volunteered to hang the ornaments and was surprised to be holding one that said, “Merry First Christmas in Heaven, Dad.”
“It had a great impact on him and showed him that all people have a common bond when it comes to grief,” she said.
Another employee was observing the 20th anniversary of his brother’s death and was moved by the impact the Remembrance Tree had upon him.
“It gave them both an outlet for their grief,” Berardesca said. “And showed them that the miracle of Christmas can turn even grief into hope. It’s not an evening about loss, but about the reunions that are sure to come. The Holy Spirit was with us, and it wasn’t a time of loss. It was a time of hope.”
The tree at St. Mary-Putnam Cemetery will be available to the public from Monday, November 27 until Friday, January 5, 2024. There will be a lighting ceremony with a special blessing, music and complimentary refreshments on Thursday, November 30 from 5 to 7 p.m. at 399 North Street in Greenwich. Berardesca requests that you do not bring ornaments that have great sentimental or financial value. For further information, call (203) 742-1510 or go to info@ctcemeteries.org
Carolyn Killian, who is organizing the event at St. Joseph Center in Trumbull, said individuals and families can bring an ornament or choose a complimentary one to place on the tree, which will be blessed by Father Nick Pavia, chaplain, during a lighting ceremony on Wednesday, November 29 at 4 p.m. St. Joseph Center, which is a nursing care facility, is located at 6448 Main Street in Trumbull. Complimentary refreshments will be provided by Abriola Parkview Funeral Home.
For further information, call (203) 404-0820 or email nancy.bentley@ctcemeteries.org
“It is very healing to have rituals in place at Christmas because they help you remember to hold the person you’ve lost in your heart during what can be a difficult time of year for those who are grieving,” Killian said. “In the holiday season, everyone seems to be very happy, but when you’re grieving you often feel you can’t do this stuff anymore.”
She encourages anyone, who knows someone suffering a loss, to reach out with simple acts of kindness, such as helping them set up their tree if they plan to decorate one, saying a prayer for them, and offering to assist them any way possible during a painful time in their lives.
“These small gestures will help them on their healing journey — along with other members of their family because we never grieve alone,” Killian said. “When you hang an ornament on the tree with the name of someone you love, you recognize your grief, you remember your loved one, and you perform a small act that moves you forward and helps you heal.”
Killian also said the event at St. Joseph Center is intended to help the elderly community, many of whom have seen many losses in their lives.
“We have to support our seniors,” she said. “And knowing how difficult the holidays can be for them, I thought an event like this would recognize them, give them a way to grieve, and provide an opportunity to come together.”
DANBURY – A celebration of sacred masterpieces for choir and organ that offer reverence to the Mass will be performed at St. Joseph Parish in Danbury. Antonín Dvořák’s Mass in D major will be performed at 3 pm in the Robinson Avenue church on Saturday, November 19.
This is the third concert being presented to the parish community and the Greater Danbury area that focuses on the prominent works of master composers who have enhanced the musical and spiritual experience of the Mass.
“Bishop Frank Caggiano in his pastoral initiative called ‘The One’ reminds us that beauty is a doorway to the sacred,” said Father Samuel V. Scott, pastor of St. Joseph’s. “St. Joseph Parish is offering an opportunity to open that doorway with an experience of sacred music of extraordinary beauty.”
The featured work is a glorious setting of the Ordinary of the Mass, including the “Lord Have Mercy, Gloria, Creed, Holy, Holy, Holy and Lamb of God,” composed by Dvořák, said Robert Fertitta, Director of Music at St. Joseph Parish. “It is magical and miraculous the way he captures it all.”
“These texts are universal,” Fertitta said. “To go to an event where this text is being sung in Latin with the English translation in hand is a highly rewarding experience.”
The opening words of the second section, “Gloria in Excelsis Deo,” are set to an exuberant fanfare, followed immediately by a complete contrast with the words, “and peace to His people on earth” set in a lyrical but still joyful mood,” Fertitta explained. The exuberance then continues with the words “we praise You, we bless You, we adore You, we glorify You,” bringing the opening section of the Gloria to a powerful conclusion.
“In a way it is operatic, in that it is dramatic but not to a secular text,” Fertitta said. “The listener gets to hear all five pieces in succession, unlike the way they are presented during an actual Mass.”
Dvořák’s work is structured as the mass text prescribes, with most parts performed by both soloists and choir including the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei.
“The interplay between the choir and organ is remarkable throughout the entire Mass,” Fertitta said.
The hour-long concert¸ which will feature 13 professional singers, many of whom have previously performed at St. Joseph Masses, will conclude with masterpieces by Felix Mendelssohn and César Franck.
“Our choral artists under the direction of Robert Fertitta, the Director of Music and organist at the parish, are giving us a graceful opportunity to grow in our cultural formation and draw us closer to God,” Father Scott said. “We stand in a debt of gratitude to them.”
In June, “Remembrance: A Concert of Sacred Vocal Masterpieces,” was hosted at the church and in December an international 200th birthday celebration for the work of Catholic composer César Franck was held.
“The audience will be hearing something unique,” Fertitta said. “The healing power of musical masterworks is like no other. It is a rare and special way to experience the Mass.”
BETHEL—All are welcome to honor our Veterans at a concert at St. Mary Parish on Saturday, November 11.
The program, directed by Michael Ferrari will include military hymns, marches and Americana tunes, with instrumentalists and soloists from St. Mary’s choir.
A wine and cheese reception at 5:30 pm will precede the concert, which will begin at 6:30 pm.
BRIDGEPORT- Bishop Frank J. Caggiano will celebrate the 2023 Red Mass on Sunday, November 5 at 10 am at St. Augustine Cathedral.
The Red Mass is a Catholic liturgy that is celebrated for all in the legal profession: judges, lawyers, law school professors, law school students and government officials.
Following Mass, there will be a breakfast and program at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield. The keynote address will be delivered by Dr. Amy Uelmen, director for mission and ministry at Georgetown University in Washington.
FAIRFIELD- All are welcome to attend a Mass for People with Special Needs this Sunday, November 5 at 2 pm at Holy Cross Parish in Fairfield.
Hosted by St. Catherine Center for Special Needs, the Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano.
Reservations are recommended; please RSVP via email to Angela Hite at ahite@stcatherineacademy.org.
FAIRFIELD—The Social Justice Committee of St. Anthony of Padua Parish extends an invitation to all to attend a viewing of the film, “Going Home Like a Shooting Star, Thea Bowman’s Journey to Sainthood” on Sunday, November 5 at 2:30 pm in St. Anthony’s Parish Hall.
The free event, which is being held at the beginning of National Black Catholic History Month, will include the film, followed by a community conversation with wine and cheese and Fall refreshments available. Those wishing to attend should RSVP to the parish office (203.259.0358) by November 1.
Thea Bowman was the only African American member of the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration when she joined the order in 1952 at the age of 15, having converted to Catholicism six years earlier. She transcended the prevailing racism of the period to leave a lasting mark on U.S. Catholic life. Before her death in 1990, Sister Thea, a teacher, musician, liturgist and scholar who made major contributions to the ministry of the Catholic Church toward African Americans, also helped found the National Black Sisters’ Conference to provide support for African-American women in Catholic religious life.
Just months before her death from cancer, Sister Thea spoke to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1989 from her wheelchair, and the bishops “powerfully and visibly moved, applauded her. When she finished they stood linking arms and singing as Sister Thea led them in the spiritual, ‘We Shall Overcome’”. Less than a week before her death, the University of Notre Dame announced that it would award Bowman the 1990 Laetare Medal. It was presented posthumously at the 1990 commencement exercises. She died on March 30, 1990, aged 52, in Canton, Miss., and was buried with her parents in Memphis, Tenn.
A cause for canonization was opened for Sister Thea by the Diocese of Jackson, Miss. in mid-2018, gaining her an official designation as a Servant of God, the first of the four steps toward sainthood. At the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ 2018 Fall General Assembly, the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance indicated unanimous support for the advancement of Sister Thea’s canonization cause on the diocesan level.
Thea Bowman flyer FINALDANBURY – A hauntingly good time begins tonight as the Forest of Fear comes to life behind Saint Gregory the Great Church.
This is the fifth year the quarter-mile wooded trail behind the Great Plain Road parish is transformed by terrifyingly good haunts and gruesome scenes in the spirit of Halloween.
“We’ve made changes in many areas to make them better,” said Gene McNamara who along with Pastor Fr. Michael Dunn, Bob Novella and Dave Knight are the main masterminds behind the ghoulish creations designed to scare those who dare to enter the attraction, which has previously been rated the best haunt in the area by i95 radio station.
“Every time we think we’re not going to outdo ourselves, it gets better,” Fr. Dunn said.
This year, pumpkins are playing a prominent part in the sinister festivities with a new creepy feature.
“Pumpkins aren’t supposed to be scary but ours are,” Fr. Dunn said, adding that students from Saint Gregory the Great School helped carve some of the dozens of pumpkins that are a part of the attraction.
The team prides themselves on changing or updating the attractions every year so there are new surprises for anyone who attends annually.
In fact, the first one-thousand people to attend will receive a free Forest of Fear wristband which has become somewhat of a collector’s item with many people wearing all the different colored bands they have received over the years to the event.
The Forest of Fear is full of scenes that can trick the senses with smells, startling sounds and reality-bending illusions.
In addition to the hi-tech haunt using sophisticated technology to trigger the unexpected for unsuspecting guests, there is also the creativity of creepy character actors that are superb at eliciting shrieks and screams from those who choose to explore the Forest of Fear where a haunted cemetery, disturbing hospital and a creaky cabin in the woods awaits.
Every year the attraction has gotten better and it has become the major fundraiser for the year, Fr. Dunn said.
Before the sun goes down, there is a special, “not-so-scary hour,” allowing children, often dressed as little princesses, action heroes and monsters, to experience the Forest of Fear with friendly and welcoming ghouls and goblins.
There are about 100 volunteers every night that ensure things run smoothly and everyone has a spooky and safe experience.
It takes about a half an hour for guests to go through the entire attraction.
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The Forest of Fear will be open from 5:30-9pm on both Friday and Saturday nights on the weekends of Oct. 13/14, 20/21, 27/28.
The not-so-scary children’s hour starts at 5:30 p.m.
Rain dates will be the Sundays of Oct. 15th, 22nd and 29th at the same times.
Admission is $25 per person.
The not-so-scary hour is $20 per person.
Tickets can only be purchased on site on the nights of the event.
FAIRFIELD–Prospective students and families are invited to attend Notre Dame High School’s Fall Open House on Sunday, October 15th at 1:00pm. The event will provide our guests with an overview of ND’s academic, athletic, and extracurricular programs as well as its flourishing partnership with Sacred Heart University.
Registration information can be found online at www.notredame.org. Please contact the Admissions Office at 203-372-6521 or kguastelle@notredame.org with any questions.
Notre Dame is a college preparatory high school with a nearly 70-year tradition of academic and athletic excellence. The school is known for its tight-knit yet diverse community with students hailing from 32 cities and towns in CT and NY. Fueled by an intellectual curiosity and a strong sense of ethics, graduates leave armed for college and the world beyond.
NORWALK- All are welcome to join St. Matthew Parish to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Matthew, as well as the installation of Father Frank Hoffmann’s installation as pastor this weekend!
Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano on Saturday, September 23 at 4 pm. Following Mass, Bishop Caggiano will bless the parish’s new playground in honor of Bl. Michael McGivney. A reception will follow.
THIS SATURDAY — Bishop Caggiano invites you to his Annual Young Adult Mass and social!
Whether you’re entering college or navigating marriage and family, if you are 18-35ish, we hope you will be able to join other young adults from every corner of the Diocese as we come together for worship and fellowship.
Space is limited RSVP on Eventbrite, today!
Saturday, September 30
St. Matthew Parish
216 Scribner Avenue, Norwalk
5:30 PM Rosary and Reflection
6:00 PM Mass with Bishop Caggiano
A social with refreshments will follow mass
Our Lady of the Assumption SeptemberFest committee members and volunteers working hard all weekend long! Serving up classics like fried dough and fried Oreos! There’s still plenty of fun to be had Saturday from 1pm to 10:30pm and Sunday from 1pm to 6pm! 545 Stratfield Rd. in Fairfield.
FAIRFIELD- Our Lady of the Assumption Church’s annual SeptemberFest is right around the corner! From Friday, September 15th to Sunday, September 17th, all are welcome to come on down and get in on the fun!
Rides and games will once again demand your attention, while carnival staples and other SeptemberFest favorites will call out to your tastebuds! Hot dogs, burgers, fries, fried dough, fried Oreos, pasta, grinders, porchetta, and liver bacon and onion sandwiches will make up the many delicious offerings at this year’s fest. All the while, the ever-classic bingo will take place in the church hall. But that’s not all! Brace yourselves, for a tremendous raffle drawing that will occur on Sunday, September 17 at 6 pm. A $10,000 grand prize is up for grabs along with a $3,500 1st prize and $1,500 2nd prize. All winners will be notified by phone, so don’t switch off that ringer!
The SeptemberFest is a volunteer led tradition that stems back to 1994. Assumption’s pastor, Father Peter Cipriani had this to say when asked about what the SeptemberFest means to him as leader of the parish. “The Fest means Family! And if there is anything Families need more of today it’s joy…and who better to provide that joy than a Church Family whose generosity with volunteering and donating and organizing is bar none the best!”
Our Lady of the Assumption Church is located at 545 Stratfield Rd in Fairfield.
SeptemberFest hours are as follows:
Friday, September 15 from 6 pm to 10:30 pm
Saturday, September 16 from 1 pm to 10:30 pm
Sunday, September 17 from 1 pm to 6 pm
Raffle tickets can be purchased at the rectory office and will be available for purchase during the entirety of the Fest. Rectory office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 am to 4 pm.
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