Sadly, Sr. Ida Dolan passed away Tuesday, February 23rd. A wake followed by a funeral is being held Tuesday, March 2nd, at 10 am at St Mark's Church in West Hartford. A Mass will be celebrated on Sunday, March 21st, at 8 am at St. Mary Parish to honor the life and service of Sr. Ida. A donation was also sent by the church to the Mercy Home in Sr. Ida's memory.

Lenten meditation booklets titled "Mending Our Hearts" are available for parishioners to pick-up and utilize during their journey through lent 2021. May it help you grow closer to our Holy Father.

Stations of the Cross will be held once again during the season of lent on Fridays following the 12:10 pm Mass and at 6:30 pm. Stations and have been recorded for you to participate at home. Friday, February 19th, will be the first session.

Full Mass with ashes will be at 8:00 am and 6:30 pm. Prayer service with ashes will be 4:00pm. The 6:30 Mass will be streamed and "to-go" ashes will be available Wednesday in the church.

Dear Parish Family, As Pope Francis designated 2021 to be dedicated to St. Joseph we need to turn to him for his protection. St. Joseph was the guardian, protector and provider of Jesus and Mary. A candle has been place next to his statue to honor him. Please make a visit and say a prayer for your family, parish, Church and country with faith that St. Joseph will hear and answer us. God bless. Fr. John

My Dear Parish Family, From the bottom of my heart (oh and Patsy’s too ), I’d like to thank everyone for your cards, goodies and gifts for Patsy and me. It was clear that he loved all of his stuffed toys and treats, although there’s only one brand he’s able to enjoy freely and without digestive consequences. Anna orders them from Chewy so if you’d like to give him treats please speak with Anna. He will enjoy the other treats but few and far in between. On the other hand, I’m loving the cookies, sweets, cards and gifts but especially the messages of welcome and enthusiasm. I’m so happy to be here with you and look forward to when things get back to normal and the ministries resume., we’re going to have a great time together. So thank you everyone again and be assured of my love and prayers for each of you. Fr. John and Patsy

Local parishes will join together in continuous prayer from September through October as a silent beacon of hope for the protection of the precious life of the unborn. St Mary Church will be outside the Planned Parenthood building on October 20th during this annual 40-day long prayer for life. Contact Rose Arceri for more information.

Beginning in October for all families with children in grades 1-8, we will be meeting once a month online (October through April) for a one hour family program (parents and children) that focuses on 7 different parables of Jesus and how we can live out His important messages in our daily lives.  Please register if you have not done so already! See the Faith Formation page for more details and to access forms.

St. Mary Parish financial information for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020 is now published and available on the Finance Committee page. Click to see more...

Be sure to sign up for the 2020-2021 Century Club for a chance to win $50 every week.

Please follow this link to celebrate the Rosary with the Council #7 Knights of Columbus.

https://www.norwichdiocese.org/coronavirus

As a precautionary measure, the Faith Formation Office has been made to cancel all faith formation classes, activities and events due to the corona virus epidemic. This will remain in effect until further notification. At this time, we ask for your prayers and compassion for those who have contracted the virus and for each other as we all try to navigate this situation. Please email the Faith Office with any questions.

Please check with the coordinator of your activities to get the most up-to-date information regarding group activities. Our parish and the Diocese of Norwich are taking special precautions to protect the health and safety of all of us.

All submissions for the parish bulletin must be emailed to BulletinStMaryPortland@gmail.com with the subject line "Bulletin Materials (Date of View)" by 12:00pm Friday a full week in advance of the posting date. Thank you for your anticipated co-operation and continued support as we welcome "The Bulletin Guy"

Despite his busy schedule and preparations for the race, Joey wanted to take the time to personally thank all of us, especially the youth group, for supporting his fund.