More from the Easter Vigil

These are a few more photos from the celebration of the Easter Vigil with Baptisms, Confirmations and First Holy Communion, held on April 19, 2014. Congratulations to all.

RCIA Easter Vigil

The celebration of Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion for the new RCIA members was celebrated at the Easter Vigil on Saturday April 19 at the new St Francis church with 4 being baptized and a total of 12 being confirmed. These are some photos of this special annual event in our parish. Special words of thanks goes to Sister Kevin and her team in preparing these candidates. More photos will appear in a few days.

Our Churches at Easter

Photos of the decorated Historic Church at Easter 2014, thanks to Judy Kennedy and her Altar Society friends who spent hours working on decorating the sanctuary this year, which includes two angels in front of the altar, besides plenty of Easter Lilies on the three altars.

The new church on 27th Street decorated for the Easter season by Lupita and Rick Wesseler, helped by their daughter Kimberly. Prominent in the display is an original empty tomb in front of the altar, which was created for the first time this year.

Easter Food blessed

A few parishioners brought their bread, eggs, asparagus, kilbasi and other staples to be blessed in a new tradition that started this Easter Vigil at St Francis of Assisi in Bend.

 

For more or different photos check www.fatherjulian.blogspot.com

Living Stations - part 2

Continuing the Living Stations presented by our middle-school children at St Francis church in Bend....

8th Station - Jesus meets and consoles the women of Jerusalem

9th Station - Jesus falls for the third time

10th Station - Jesus is stripped of his garments

11th Station - Jesus is crucified to the cross

12th Station - Jesus dies on the Cross

13th Station - Jesus is taken down from the Cross

14th Station - Jesus is laid in the tomb

The Holy Thursday foot-washing ceremony was held during the Last Supper Mass - to see photos of that ceremony please visit www.fatherjulian.blogspot.com

Living Stations - part 1

All the middle-school participants in the Living Stations

A very moving and reverent presentation of the Living Stations was presented on Wednesday April 16 in the new church by our middle-school students of St Francis School. They presented tableaux of the 14 Stations of the Cross with meditations and music in a very impressive and solemn way. These photos show the various stations, to be continued tomorrow.

1st Station - Jesus is condemned to death

2nd Station - Jesus takes up his cross

3rd Station - Jesus falls for the first time

4th Stations - Jesus meets his mother Mary

5th Station - Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross

6th Station - Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

7th Station - Jesus falls for the second time

to be continued tomorrow

A new tradition is born

Palm Sunday procession towards the church led by two donkeys.

Undoubtedly Palm Sunday of 2014 will be recorded as one of the happiest and innovative traditions in our parish. Two donkeys, Poncho and Daisy, owned by Kathy and Greg Jansen led all 4 processions that preceded each Mass celebrated in the new church. As these photos clearly show, they were well-behaved, also led by 4 girl, sisters Francesca and Isabella Rossi, on Saturday evening, and Kelsea and Makenna Bomke on Sunday morning. 

They were quite a hit with children, adults as and even grandparents who relished the sight of two miniature burros, even entertaining the crowds as people left church at the end of  Mass. And I can tell you I wasn’t the only one taking photos of these cute donkeys, whom we adopted by overwhelming acclamation. The Palm Sunday celebrations kicks off the Holy Week celebrations with the blessing of the palms, and a procession before each Mass, which included the reading of the Passion of Christ.

Saturday 5PM Mass procession led by Isabella and Francesca Rossi

Kelsea and Makenna with other children around Poncho and Daisy

Fr Joseph blessing the palms before the 7:30 AM Mass.

Foot-washing ceremony

The 12 apostles with Fr Julian after the foot washing ceremony

The week before Holy Week, during the school Mass, Fr Julian celebrated a foot-washing ceremony for the school-children, whereby 12 children, representing the 12 apostles had their feet washed, as a re-enactment of what Jesus did at the Last Supper. This symbolic ceremony will b repeated on Holy Thursday when 12 more children from the Faith Formation program will also join another 12 from the school. 

On that occasion, besides the apostles, other Passion characters will be presented, like St Martha, St Joseph of Arimathea, St Dismas, St Veronica, St Lazarus and others. Pictures here show the ceremony in progress. Photos by Charlotte Roe.

St Francis History Week - part 2

More posters from the History Week

The last of the Capuchin Franciscans

Some of the Capuchins who served at St Francis, Bend

Fr Luke Sheehan, the first pastor