Thursday, July 6, 2006

"Great Parishes Project" --- Call for Submissions

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The Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis is often in the news, and it’s not always good news. Most of us are sad about that and pray that wayward parishes soon return to the fold and begin catechizing their parishioners properly, for the good of their eternal souls.

Some also stand up on the internet now and then point out the very many good things that have been happening in our Archdiocese under Archbishop Harry Flynn to let critics from afar know that the situation here is not what they think it to be. They point out how the St Paul Seminary and the St John Vianney Seminary have been turned around and are full of students intending to become priests or to otherwise serve the Church, here or in another diocese.

There probably is no diocese in the country that has had such a success in fostering Eucharistic Adoration in its parishes. Thirty of them have it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. At least 12 more, generally much smaller parishes, offer it at least one day a week on a regular basis. Two large downtown parishes, the Cathedral, the Basilica, constrained by logistical access problems do also offer Adoration on an occasional basis.

Two of our parishes are renowned and mentioned always for their orthodoxy and their ministries, particularly, St Agnes in St Paul and St Augustine in South St Paul. Others such as Nativity of Our Lord and Holy Childhood in St Paul, Holy Family in St Louis Park and St Michael’s in Stillwater are known to be following right behind those leaders.

Now right now I can hear many of you from all over our region wondering why your parish has not been mentioned. The answer is that we don’t know about it, especially if it is not in the Archdiocese. If you feel your parish deserves to be on this list, please contact us and we will check it out and place it there.

Most, if not all of the adoration parishes should be on the list.

What we would like to do is start making a list of the Great Parishes and the reasons why they are Great. Parishes are not Great because of Architecture or Finances; they are Great because of People and Programs. Send us an email with your nominations of parishes and the reason why you think that they should be included. Those of you outside the Archdiocese, please nominate too.

Please enclose their web page URL if they have one. And if you have a pictures of exterior, interior, windows, shrines, etc, you can send with the email, please attach a URL or copy the photo to your message. I do not open files received from people that I do not know. I got burned once

Ray Marshall
Stella Borealis
Minneapolis


P.S. I'm going to make the first nomination later on this evening. You'll be surprised at where it is but I was there last Saturday.




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