Easter 2024 Services at St Francis, Chester
Palm Sunday - 23rd/24th March
- Saturday 23rd March 6:30pm - Mass in English
- Sunday 24th March 8:00am - Mass in English
- Sunday 24th March 9:45am - Mass in English
- Sunday 24th March 12 Noon - Mass in Polish
- Sunday 24th March 4:30pm - Mass in Polish
- 12:00 Noon - Mass in English
- 11:00am - 12:00 Noon - Confessions
- 7:00pm - Mass of The Lord’s Supper (for all in English)
- Followed by Holy Hour
- 10.30am - Stations of the Cross
- 3:00pm - Celebration of The Lord’s Passion (for all in English)
- 11:00am - 12:00 Noon - Confessions
- 8:00pm - Easter Vigil (for all in English)
- 8:00am - Mass in English
- 9:45am - Mass in English
- 12:00pm - Mass in Polish (no mass at 4.30pm today)
- 12 Noon - Mass in English
- 4:30pm - Mass in Polish
- Saturday 6th April 6:30pm - Mass in English
- Sunday 7th April 8:00am - Mass in English
- Sunday 7th April 9:45am - Mass in English
- Sunday 7th April 12 Noon - Mass in Polish
- Sunday 7th April 2:30pm - Special Holy Hour *
- Sunday 7th April 4:30pm - Mass in Polish
- Car park is for Church and Hall use only.
- Park your car prudently using every available space. For those who are arriving first please use the spaces against the wall not the front spaces.
- Any regular parishioners using the car park out of service time must inform one of the brothers using any medium of communication to avoid confusions.
Monday to Wednesday of Holy Week25th, 26th & 27th March
Holy (Maunday) Thursday - 28th March
Good Friday - 29th March
Holy Saturday - 30th March
Easter Sunday - 31st March
Easter Monday - 1st April
Divine Mercy Sunday - 6th/7th April
* Sunday 7th April, is the Octave day of Easter, which is also the Feast of the Divine Mercy. We will have a Special Holy Hour here at St Francis, from 2:30pm to 3:30pm. All are welcome.
Further Threat to the Unborn of Abortion up to Birth
In the next couple of weeks an attempt is to be made to widely decriminalise abortion up to the birth. This is a further assault on the sanctity of human life in our society. This extreme amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill is being made by Diana Johnson MP and parliamentarians will be under pressure to support the amendment on grounds of compassion for mothers who seek to abort their unborn child beyond the legal limits.
The effect would be to withdraw legal protection from the unborn. It is important to make our voice heard in support of the unborn child. The Right to Life website has details under ‘Take Action’ which enables you to find and contact your MP directly and the website of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children has helpful information under ‘Resources.’ The Right to Life website also has details of an alternative amendment by Caroline Ansell MP to reduce the legal limit for abortion from 24 to 22 weeks on the basis of the increased survival rates for babies being born at 22 and 23 weeks. We cannot doubt the impact which your e-mail or letter will have in making known opposition to decriminalizing abortion up to birth and in support of the value of every human life.
https://righttolife.org.uk/littlefighters https://www.spuc.org.uk/Mark – Bishop of Shrewsbury
Please contact your Member of Parliament to ask that they oppose the decriminalization of abortion up to birth:
SAMANTHA DIXON Parliamentary office House of Commons London SW1A 0AA Phone: 020 7219 3000 Email: Samantha.dixon.mp@parliament.uk Constituency Office Phone: 01244 343229
Prayer Intentions
During Lent we are asked to pray for these intentions: Candidates for the Sacraments; Women; The Needy and Hungry of the World; Penitents and Wanderers. We are especially asked to pray for Candidates for the Sacraments on Sundays in Lent.
Good Friday
Good Friday is a day of fasting, and of abstinence from meat, for the whole Catholic Church. Fasting is binding on all Catholics between the ages of 18 and 60.
Car Parking at St Francis Church
Please note the following and many thanks for your co-operation.
St Francis Retreat 'Lift Up Your Hearts'Friday 3rd - Saturday 4th May 2024
You are invited to our Parish Retreat called 'Lift Up Your Hearts'. Our Church will be open for 24 hours of praise. Put the dates in your diary to be free for God's praise. The Eucharist will be exposed throughout. There's no cost. All are welcome and yes, it runs all through the night! You can come for as much or as little time as God wants you to be there.
Below is a copy of the flyer for our St Francis Parish Retreat in May 2024.
A PDF copy of the flyer which will allow you to download and print out your own copy is available by clicking on this link [Lift Up Your Hearts]
Job Vacancy - Exam Invigilators
The Catholic High School is looking for exam invigilators to support the exams from as soon as possible. If anyone is interested please visit the school website Vacancies - The Chester Catholic High School (christofidelis.org.uk) or email Mr Kilcoyne School Business Manager kilcoynea@christofidelis.org.uk for more details.
Gift Aid Envelopes 2024-25
Boxes of envelopes for the coming year will be placed on the table at the back of the church shortly. Please would you collect your box after Mass. For those people not taking part in the Gift Aid Scheme, or those regularly completing the white individual envelopes each week, if you wish to participate in the scheme and obtain a box of weekly envelopes a special form is available from the Parish Priest. Please complete, sign and date the form and hand it back to the Parish Priest after Mass.
Please also let us know if your circumstances have changed, ie you are no longer a taxpayer or if you have had a change of address since the last envelopes were issued, again please inform the Parish Priest. For every £1 donated by a taxpayer the Parish can claim 25p from H M Revenue & Customs.
Sacrament of ConfirmationFriday 8th November 2024
The next Chester parishes Sacrament of Confirmation will be on Friday, 8th November, 2024. Preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation will be led by St. Columba and St. Theresa's Confirmation team.
Any one who is currently at high school may be Confirmed in November, with no upper age limit. If you wish to be Confirmed please email stcolumbatheresaconfirmation@hotmail.co.uk to register and receive further information about the preparation program. Please say in your email if you are over 18, as adults will be prepared separately.
The Rosary
The Rosary will be recited at 11.30am Monday to Thursday. If you would like to volunteer to lead the Rosary please contact Br Jinson. All are welcome to join in.
The prayers that compose the Rosary are arranged in sets of ten Hail Marys, called "decades". Each decade is preceded by one Lord's Prayer, and traditionally followed by one Glory Be.
Usually, five decades are recited in a session. Each decade provides an opportunity to meditate on one of the Mysteries of the Rosary, which recall events in the lives of Jesus Christ and his mother Mary.
Wikipedia contains a series on the Rosary of the Catholic Church available via this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosary
Sunday 9:45am Mass - Hymns & Music
Sunday 31st March 2024 Easter Sunday |
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Organ Prelude: Chorale Preludes for Hymns of Resurrection (J. S. Bach) |
Entrance: 267, ‘Jesus Christ Is Risen Today’ (Tune - Easter Hymn) |
Sung: 518, Kyrie; 529, Gloria; Psalm; Alleluia; 570, Sanctus; Eucharistic Prayer Acclamation; 591, Agnus Dei |
Choir: Easter Sequence before Gospel ‘Christians to the Paschal Victim’ |
Offertory: 275, ‘The Strife Is O’er’ (Tune - Vulpius) |
Communion: Choir Anthem ‘Come, ye faithful, raise the strain’ |
Recessional: 287, ‘Thine Be The Glory!’ (Tune - Maccabaeus) |
Organ Postlude: Easter Hymn from Mascagni’s 'Cavalleria Rusticana'‘O Rejoice that the Lord has arisen!’ |
Sunday 7th April 2024 Second Sunday of Easter - Low or Divine Mercy Sunday (Year B) |
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Organ Prelude: Chorale Prelude on ‘Christ lay in the bonds of death’ (J. S. Bach) |
Entrance: 283, ‘The Day Of Resurrection!’ (Tune - Ellacombe) |
Sung: 518, Kyrie; 529, Gloria; Psalm; Alleluia; 570, Sanctus; Eucharistic Prayer Acclamation; 591, Agnus Dei; |
Communion: Organ Improvisation |
Recessional: 279, ‘Ye Choirs Of New Jerusalem’ (Tune - St. Fulbert) |
Organ Postlude: First Movement from Concerto in G (J. S. Bach) |
N.B. ALL CHOIR MEMBERS - Please make a note of our rehearsal on Saturday April 20th at 12.30pm in Church (i.e. directly after the Mass at midday) in preparation for our contribution to the Parish Retreat Day of Praise on 4th May 2024 at 1:00pm. |
Monthly First Friday DevotionFriday 5th April 2024
Join us for First Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, following the 10.30am Stations of the Cross in St Francis Church, in front of the Sacred Heart statue of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The statue depicts the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a representation of the love of Christ, devotion to which, although it first appeared explicitly in the late 13th century, only became widespread after the Napoleonic Wars.
It was declared a universal feast of the Church in 1856, and in 1875, the year our church was opened, Pope Pius IX exhorted all Catholics to consecrate themselves to the Sacred Heart. It might be considered a visual portrayal of the same sense of Jesus's overflowing love for mankind as is conveyed in the words of Methodist hymns dating from the same era.
Monthly First Saturday DevotionSaturday 6th April 2024
Join us for First Saturday Devotion to The Immaculate Heart Of Mary. Prayers will be led by members of The St Francis Prayer Group. Part of The Holy Rosary will be said in different languages. Anyone who would like to lead a decade of the Holy Rosary is welcome to come forward.