The weekend of February 1/2, we welcome a visiting priest, who will celebrate the Sunday Masses and preach at all three weekend Masses. From him we will learn about an area of the world where the work of the Church is still carried out  in a very basic evangelical way, by ministering to those who are truly in need of our Lord’s graces.

Fr. Thomas Carroll belongs to the Piarist religious order.He will be making the mission appeal for his religious institute, and especially for the Catholic school which they operate in the impoverished Appalachian region of eastern Kentucky. 

The Piarist order was founded by St. Joseph Calasanz in Rome in 1617. In addition to the usual religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, the Piarists take a fourth vow to educate youth. They operate nearly 200 schools in 32 countries around the world. In Appalachia, they not only provide educational opportunities, but also have many outreach programs designed to help the generally poor population there. The three Piarists stationed in that part of eastern Kentucky minister in four counties, where Catholics number less than ½ of 1% of the population.

Since we don’t have envelopes for this appeal, in addition to our regular collection – into which our monthly Maintenance Collection goes – a true “second” collection will be taken up during all weekend Masses to benefit the work of the Piarists in Kentucky. Please be as generous in helping the poor here in our own country as we always are to those around the world!