Click here for the July 1 music insert.

In celebration of the national holiday on Wednesday, July 4, 2012, the church and rectory office will be closed.

… a priest from the archdiocese of Benin City, Nigeria, will be in our parish next weekend, July 7 and 8, 2012. to present an appeal on behalf of the pastoral effort of the Catholic Church in West Africa. Reverend Omesa will describe the ongoing work that is being carried out to make it possible for the people of Nigeria to live a Christian life.

Crusade for the Conversion of Greater New Orleans
9:00 a.m.—12:00 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration, Rosary, Confession, Novena and Holy Mass. All are invited.

Closing Mass—July 4 in Washington, DC
Time: 11:10 p.m. (CDT)
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Celebrant: His Eminence Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington
Homilist: Most Reverend Charles Chaput, OFM Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia
Nationwide Telecast: EWTN cable network.

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father, a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,
so that, with every trial withstood
and every danger overcome—
for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all who come after us—
this great land will always be
“one nation, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The sign of “blood poured out”, as an expression of life given in bloodshed as a witness to supreme love, is an act of divine condescension to our human condition. God chose the sign of blood because no other sign suggests a person’s total involvement so eloquently. –Pope John Paul II

The fourteen days from June 21—the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More—to July 4, Independence Day, are dedicated to this “fortnight for freedom” — a great hymn of prayer for our country. Our liturgical calendar celebrates a series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of persecution by political power — St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, and the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome. Culminating on Independence Day, this special period of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action will emphasize both our Christian and American heritage of liberty. Dioceses and parishes around the country have scheduled special events that support a great national campaign of teaching and witness for religious liberty.

Click here to download the prayers.

Men 18 and older interested in being trained as altar server are invited to a training workshop:
St. John the Baptist Church
1139 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. (formerly Dryades St.)
Saturday, July 7, 2012
11:00 a.m.—3:00 p.m.  
Parking on premises; enter through the gate on South Rampart Street.

The second collection at all Masses this weekend will be taken for St. Patrick’s Education Fund. This dedicated collection will help seminarians and students continue their higher education. Please be generous to this worthy fund.

On behalf of Archbishop Gregory Aymond, Father Stanley Klores will award the Order of St. Louis IX Medallion to Mrs. Phyllis Taylor at the 11:00 A.M. Mass this Sunday, June 24, 2012.

The Order of St. Louis IX award was established in the New Orleans Archdiocese more than 40 years ago to honor those members of the laity who have contributed their time and talents to the Church. Through the years, Mrs. Phyllis Taylor has been very generous in many ways assisting with both her time and talent to the support of St. Patrick’s Church parish.

Our sincere congratulations to Mrs. Taylor as she receives the Order of St. Louis IX Medallion!

We welcome Father Kurt Young who will be celebrating his First Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form, this Sunday, June 24, 2012, at the 9:30 AM Mass.

Following the Mass a coffee reception will be held in the rectory, and the courtyard of Reynolds Hall, to honor Father Young. Everyone is cordially invited to attend this joyful event.