My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The summer continues at a busy pace. There have been a lot of activities. On 21 August Bishop Joensen will preside at the 8:30 a.m. Mass and will preside at the Rite of Candidacy for our seminarian Stanley Asjes. Everyone is invited to come and show their support for Stanley. The following Sunday the Bishop will be here to preside at a solemn Mass to begin the Eucharistic renewal in the diocese. After Mass there will be a procession to the cathedral with the Most Blessed Sacrament. There will be more details in the bulletin as the plans are finalized.

The Capital Campaign for the diocese continues at a slow pace. Our goal has been set at $730,000.00. So far about $175,000.00 has been pledged. Pledges can be made over a 3-5 year period. Our hope is to reach our goal in three years. If we make this goal, we will get about $150,000.00 back for the parish. This will go towards our new heating system for the Basilica. Please seriously consider a pledge to help us make this goal. We need the help of everyone to attain our goal. A suggested guide is posted on the bulletin board in the vestibule. There is a committee in place headed by Justin Doyle to monitor our progress.  Please watch the thermometer in the vestibule and parish hall to keep track of our progress for this campaign. Pledge cards and envelopes can be found at the doors of the Basilica and there will be a bulletin insert each month as well.

We lost our oldest parishioner recently. Teresa Thompson was 102 and had been a parishioner over 60 years. She will be sorely missed. We also lost Terry Mickle who was received into the Church at Easter. Deacon Mark’s sister also died recently. May they all enjoy the fullness of the Lord’s presence in his heavenly kingdom.

The diocese is monitoring any credible threats against our churches and our pastors in cooperation with the FBI in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling. So far all has been quiet. The Basilica is being locked after Mass and the gate is being closed earlier at night when there are not any scheduled activities. Please report anything suspicious to the parish office or one of the ushers if you see something out of the ordinary.

Hopefully things will quiet down a bit now for the rest of the summer. Again, my sincere thanks for your generosity and all you do for the parish.

Devotedly yours in the Lord,

(The Very Reverend) Aquinas M. Nichols

Pastor