GROWING IN our Faith

We are always proud to share and celebrate what makes our school community so special. The Pope Francis Prep community celebrated CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK with a focus on the value of a Catholic education and its contributions to our families, our faith, and our community. The week kicked off with students attending open houses at St. Mary’s Academy and St. Michael’s Academy and sharing their experiences as PFPS students. On Tuesday, we came together as a community to celebrate Mass and on Friday we hosted a vocations panel where speakers shared their personal stories about being called to their vocation and some of their experiences since. A sincere thank you to Bishop Byrne, Fr. Jon, Fr. Pierz, Fr. Sliwa, Sr. Joan Clare, SCMC, Sr. Faustina, SCMC, Sr. Faith Marie, FSE, and Sr. Francis, FSE.

We celebrated the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY with a special Mass. Thank you to Fr. Jon, the Christian Leadership team, and the Liturgical Choir for a beautiful Mass.

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In celebration of CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK, the January 29th Chalice of Salvation Mass was filmed at Pope Francis Prep and proudly produced by our very own students. “The Chalice of Salvation” program now in its 65th year, is the region’s only one-hour weekly televised Mass and is seen every Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. on NBC affiliate WWLP TV-22.

Dozens of PFPS students including Christian Leadership and Respect For Life club members joined Mr. Anziano and Fr. Jon at the SPRINGFIELD MARCH FOR LIFE. The event included a Mass with Bishop Byrne at St. Michael’s Cathedral and a march to Main Street. Reflecting on the importance of the event, junior Julia Rubin said, “Having the opportunity to march for life, is having the opportunity to give a voice to the voiceless, and to support the vision of a future world where the beauty and dignity of every human life are valued and protected. The event is important because it brings awareness to the fight of protecting the most vulnerable in our society: babies.”

We celebrated the FEAST DAY OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI with a Blessing of the Animals on Monday, October 4. Thank you to all who joined us. We had a great time visiting with your furry family members!

As we wrapped up with classes and prepared for the start of fall semester exams, our community paused for a moment and came together for an all-school PRAYER SERVICE. Thank you to our Christian Leadership team for planning the prayer service and for reminding us of what is most important during the holiday season.

On January 5, we honored the life and legacy of POPE EMERITUS BENEDICT XVI, Joseph A. Ratzinger. Fr. Jon offered a Requiem Mass for the late Pope and was accompanied with traditional Latin chant, masterfully led by Mr. Silbereis. In his homily, Fr. Jon spoke of the virtues of the late Pontiff. Pope Benedict XVI was a man of disciplined prayer, a man of warmth and joy which came from his deep love for Jesus Christ and His Church, he was a man of generosity having given his life to the Church for 71 years as a priest, 8 of which he served as Supreme Pontiff, and finally he was a man of Truth. He taught us by his books, homilies, speeches, articles and his simple, humble life on the Truth of our Catholic Faith, on who Jesus is and how to live this Truth in charity. This is his legacy. Rest in Peace, Your Holiness, may your good deeds be rewarded by the God whom you so faithfully served. Mr. Silbereis concluded the Mass by playing the Vatican City Anthem on the piano.

Every year, the PFPS sophomore class comes together to watch THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. Mr. Dewey’s sophomores spent five class days preparing. They read and discussed an appropriate Scripture passage, did an academic activity and prayed the corresponding decade of the rosary to conclude the class.

ST. BLAISE was a 4th century Bishop in Armenia. While in prison for being a Christian, he healed a young boy who was choking on a fish bone. From that time on he became associated with healing diseases of the throat. On his feast day, the Church offers the traditional “Blessing of Throats” in his honor.

Our THANKSGIVING MASS was celebrated on November 17. We were blessed to have Fr. CJ from St. Mary’s Parish in Longmeadow as our celebrant for this special Mass. Father CJ spoke about the importance of being thankful for the many blessings in our lives and also encouraged our students to always be themselves.

BISHOP BYRNE blesses our Boys Hockey team during their last practice at Olympia and before heading to the state championship game at the TD Garden.