St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church

My Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

As you well know, Bishop Brennen has followed the governor’s lead in asking that there be no public masses offered in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston until further notice in an effort to contain the spread of disease.  Yet, I know that many of you yearn to attend Mass every week, and some even daily.  

As your pastor, I have the obligation to provide for the spiritual nourishment of the faithful, so I will continue to offer masses each day for you and for the intentions that you have offered.  

Throughout this time of separation, we can stay connected through the use of modern technology and social media tools.  In an effort to provide local spiritual sustenance, I have enlisted the assistance of Ben and Marty Vierheller.  With their help, we have created a Saint Francis Xavier / Saint Monica YouTube channel, and will be posting our mass there.

Our hope is to post Mass by 10:00 a.m. each day.  Even if we cannot be in the same physical space as one body, we can come together as the body of Christ in Spiritual Communion.  The video feed can be accessed at:

• St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, YouTube Channel - To be notified when we upload a new video, simply hit the subscribe button on our YouTube Channel.  We will also link the video to our Facebook page and our website so you can easily find it.  Feel free to share these links with others who may find them helpful.

• The Liturgical Publications - Liturgical Publications offers this resource to help Catholics through Holy Week as we cannot gather in person.  While we intend to livestream the celebrations of Holy Week from Palm Sunday through Easter, some may find this resource helpful.  It includes an abbreviated prayer service that can work in any home, with any size family for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday.

So far, we have all been reminded that precious little is guaranteed to us in this life, and that our greatest hope and treasure is eternal life with Christ.   In this rapidly changing landscape, please continue to be responsible in your choices and faithful in your prayers.  We now have a world that needs them in a very powerful way!

Please be assured of my continued prayers for your health and well being, and know that I remain available for confession and sacramental emergencies at any time.  You can reach me through the parish office phone (304) 422-6786, or by email at [email protected].  And at the current time, we intend to continue with normal office hours.  

Again, many thanks to Ben Vierheller for figuring out how to get this done for the parish, and to Marty for jumping behind the camera to be our technical guy during recording. 

PARISH MISSION

Due to an overabundance of caution, our Parish Mission speaker is unable to travel to Parkersburg for our scheduled Parish Mission March 23-25.  As an itinerant preacher, Father Jonathan Kalisch, O.P. is based in Connecticut and has traveled extensively in recent times.  Although unknown yet whether he has been exposed to COVID-19, he has been placed on travel restrictions by his superior to prevent the spread of disease “just in case.”  We applaud the Dominicans for taking a proactive stance against the spread of this terrible disease.

As a result, the Saint Francis Xavier Parish Mission scheduled for March 23 – 25, 2020 has been cancelled.  Please be assured that we will be providing another opportunity for spiritual renewal as soon as we are able to make those arrangements.  Thank you for your understanding. 

St. Francis Xavier is proud to announce the kickoff of our capital campaign, Continue the Mission! 

Please visit the tab above called "Continue the Mission" to find all of the weekly updates in our Capital Campaign Newsletters.

If you have any questions, please call our Campaign Director Charles Recznik at 304.422.6786.

PARENT INFORMATION REGARDING TUITION ASSISTANCE

2020-2021 DIOCESAN TUITION ASSISTANCE PROCESS IS OPEN

For the 29th consecutive year, the Diocesan Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) is striving to keep Catholic school education affordable for Catholic families who desire it for their children but who may need some financial assistance to make that dream a reality. Thanks to the ongoing and genuine commitment of The Most Reverend Mark Brennan to the Catholic schools in our Diocese, funds have, once again, been allocated for distribution to Catholic families in need of financial assistance.

Applying for TAP through FACTS is easy and affordable.  You are encouraged to apply if your child is already enrolled or has been accepted by one of the Catholic schools in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston for the 2020-2021 school year.

Who is eligible?  Any Catholic student accepted for the 2020-2021 school year in any Diocesan Catholic school (PK thru grade 12) and who belongs to a parish included on the drop-down list as part of the on-line application is eligible.  Determinations are based upon a family's degree of need relative to all other applicants.

How do I apply?  Applications are made on-line. Go to www.factsmgt.com, click on “Grant & Aid Assessment” and log in. If you do not have Internet access, contact your school office for assistance.

Cost?  The application fee is $30.  The Diocese will pay $15 and families pay the other $15.

Grants:  Diocesan grants for Catholic families who have completed their applications and show financial need will receive up to 50% of the child’s tuition.

Phase I Deadline:  In order to receive notification in late May, applications (including all required April 30, 2020 documentation and payment of the fee) are to be received by FACTS by April 30, 2020.

Phase I is intended for families with children currently enrolled or already accepted for the 2020-2021 school year in any Catholic school in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.

Phase II Deadline:  In order to receive notification in early September, all applications for 2020-2021 (including August 14, 2020 all required documentation and payment of the fee) MUST be RECEIVED by FACTS no later than August 14, 2020.  This is a firm deadline.

Phase II is intended for families new to the school or who have had a life-changing event (i.e. birth, death, loss of job, major illness). If an application was submitted during Phase I, please contact the school. Please do NOT submit a second application.

Note 1:  No assistance will be available from the Diocese or from any school unless:

1. an application is completed in full (ALL questions answered) and submitted
2. all required documentation is provided, AND
3. the family portion ($15) of the application fee is paid by the deadline.

Note 2:  ONLY ONE APPLICATION PER FAMILY should be submitted per school year. If you made   an error or had a life event change, please do NOT submit a second application. Contact your principal and your application can be updated by FACTS.

Questions?   If you have questions, please contact the principal of your school.

We, the faithful of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, enjoy a rich and varied heritage and, guided by the Holy Spirit proclaim and live the teachings and example of Jesus Christ and His Church.  With Saint Francis Xavier as our model, we selflessly offer ourselves in service to God and one another.  We seek always to promote the sanctity of human life and inherent dignity to be afforded to all God’s children.  We seek to witness our faith, promote a sense of community, foster the family, protect the weak, comfort the sick and dying, and announce the good news of salvation to all.  We join our hearts and minds by lifting our hands in worship and fostering Christian education and action.

If you would like to become part of our parish.  Please complete the New Parishioners Online Registration Form by clicking HERE.

To report an incidence of suspected child sexual abuse, please contact your local law enforcement agency, or you may confidentially contact WV Child Protective Services at 800-352-6513. To report suspected cases of sexual abuse by personnel of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston to the Diocese, please contact the Diocese at 888-434-6237 or 304-233-0880.