From the Desk of Fr. John Nickolai

I imagine many of our parishioners who don’t have children in our school are curious about the upcoming academic year. Our school, All Saints Academy at Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, is scheduled to begin classes this week.

It’s been the custom here at St. Rose for the Wednesday morning Mass at 8:00 to be celebrated at the school, when school is in session, and members of the parish have been welcome to join the students at Mass. This year, at least at the beginning of the school year, that won’t be the case. There are a number of new policies in place for the health of everyone in the school community. The faculty and staff will need a few weeks to see how the school day goes, what works, what needs to be adjusted, what unforeseen circumstances arise.

For the first few weeks after school starts, then, the Wednesday liturgy at 8:00 a.m. will be a parish Mass at the church site on Parker Road. It is possible that, after a few weeks, the children will join us “virtually,” using the livestream. After school has been up and running for a while, we hope to develop a plan for celebrating liturgies at the school.

Please pray for everyone involved in education — teachers, staff, principals, administrators, pastors, and others. They are facing many additional challenges this year. Saint Thomas Aquinas, pray for us!