Marian Pilgrimage & Other News
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati is celebrating their Bicentennial on June 19, and will kick off this celebration with a 33 day Marian Pilgrimage! It is the longest Marian Pilgrimage in the United States, stopping at 36 parishes in every deanery in the Archdiocese. The Petersburg Parishes are excited to host 2 days of the pilgrimage on May 17-18! Many activities have been planned, and you can see a complete list on the flyer in this bulletin. Some of the highlights are:
On Sunday May 16 we honor a long standing Fryburg tradition of praying the rosary in May by the outdoor Mary statue, and also honor our farmers by asking Our Lady to bless our land. Join us at 2:00pm at St. John for outdoor rosary and blessing of soil. Please bring soil from your field, your garden or even your flowerbed to be blessed. (In the Fall we will have a harvest celebration & blessing at St. Lawrence with a Eucharistic Procession.)
On Monday May 17 the pilgrims arrive at Immaculate Conception with the Our Lady of Fatima statue. A rosary will be prayed with the pilgrims at the outdoor Mary statue at 7:00pm.
On Tuesday May 18 the pilgrims travel to St. Joseph. Family Friendly Adoration will be held in church beginning after the 8:00am Mass, and ending early evening. At 7:00pm a Marian Concert with Top Catholic Recording Artist Michael Russell O’Brien will be held in the St. Joseph Parish Life Center! Come and hear your favorite Marian hymns, and Michael’s conversion story of coming back to the Catholic faith through the intercession of the Blessed Mother. This is a fun family friendly event and is open to all ages!! It would be great to see multi generations of families come to the concert! There is no cost to attend, but free will donations will be accepted.
Extra morning Masses have been added to accommodate the pilgrimage schedule, and all are welcome to come and celebrate Mass with the visiting pilgrims! Added Masses are Tuesday 8:00am at Immaculate Conception, and Wednesday 8:00am at St. Joseph. Please note that on Weds & Thurs the St. Joseph and St. John Masses have been flip-flopped.
The Archdiocese is also sponsoring a 33 day Marian Consecration as part of the Bicentennial Celebration. Booklets have been provided free of charge from the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception and are available at all parishes. Please pick up your copy and plan to start Day 1 on May 16th!
Anyone is welcome to accompany the pilgrims for a portion of the journey. The pilgrimage departs from Botkins on Tuesday morning at 9:00, and from Wapakoneta on Wednesday morning at 9:00. Meet at the church to accompany the pilgrims. You would be responsible for your own transportation back.
Many other activities have been planned throughout the Archdiocese. For more information go to Mary2021.org. Also see petersburgparishes.org and our Facebook page for event information.
In other news, we have a little temporary change happening in the parish office. Last summer Grace Weatherhead, our communications coordinator, was supposed to serve as a summer intern for One Bread, One Cup at St. Meinrad Archabbey. Due to the pandemic the program was cancelled.
This summer they offered her another internship and she will be going to St. Meinrad for almost two months in June and July. In the meantime, her good friend and fellow Immaculate Conception parishioner, Valerie Christman will be filling in for her. Valerie recently graduated from Wright State with a Communication degree and has been learning the ropes from Grace. Please welcome Valerie and pray for a fruitful internship for Grace. Since it is a temporary arrangement, you can still utilize Grace’s email (gweatherhead@petersburgparishes.org) for all your communication needs.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Sean Wilson
