St. Francis Xavier

Update March 25, 2020:

The 4th Annual Walk in the Park has been postponed until Saturday, September 19, 2020.  

The Tree Marker Unveiling with First Lady Yumi Hogan, originally scheduled in April, has been postponed.  More details will be forthcoming about the new date and time.

Update March 23, 2020:

Per Governor Hogan's new Executive Order that all non-essential businesses are closed, effective 5:00 pm today, the Parish Office will remain closed until further notice.

If you are aware of any parishioners who are in need of groceries or any other assistance, please contact Fr. Rob at the Rectory:  301-475-9885.

In an effort to assist Catholics everywhere, FORMED.org has made immediate access to their Catholic movies, faith formation videos, audio talks, and great children’s videos free for the next 40 days. See the link here.

To help you to set up a prayer service at home, check out this resource here.

Update March 20, 2020:

A video message to all the people of the Archdiocese of Washington from Archbishop Gregory.

The archdiocesan website in response to the coronavirus is updated regularly with information for all the faithful.  Please check out the Archdiocesan website, which includes this link to find a listing of live stream Masses and prayers throughout the archdiocese.

Update March 19, 2020:  

Pastoral care of the sick and homebound visits will be limited only to people who are dying and those with the Coronavirus who request the Sacraments.

• Our deacon and lay volunteers will not be visiting the sick in any official capacity.

• Communion should not be brought to any other parishioner who is homebound or who cannot attend Mass.

Update March 13, 2020:

Archbishop Gregory has indicated Masses open to the public, in ALL archdiocesan parishes, missions, and campus ministries will not be celebrated starting this Saturday, March 14^th until further notice. 

• Weddings and funerals may proceed but attendance should be limited to immediate family.

• Archbishop Gregory has also issued a dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass during this time to all parishioners of the Archdiocese of Washington. 

• In light of public concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, there will be no parish meetings or activities (this includes the Stations of the Cross) until further notice.  

• If you are not already enrolled in our Online Giving, please continue to support the parish offertory by scrolling to the right of this webpage (directly under "From the Pastor") to find out how to enroll in our automated giving. You can also mail in your offertory donation:  21370 Newtowne Neck Rd, Leonardtown, MD 20650. St. Francis Xavier Church continues to rely on your generous support for our regular expenses.

• We will not be publishing the parish bulletin in print or online until Mass resumes.  

• The church will be open for individual prayer during those times that we would normally be open for Mass:

       SUNDAY:  7:00 AM - 12:00 PM
       MONDAY:  7:00 - 9:00 AM
       TUESDAY:  CLOSED
       WEDNESDAY:  7:00 - 9:00 AM
       THURSDAY:  7:00 - 9:00 AM
       FRIDAY:  7:00 - 9:00 AM
       SATURDAY:  3:00 - 5:00 PM

From Archbishop Wilton Gregory:

"Please know that this decision does not come lightly to close our schools or cancel Masses. We are profoundly saddened that we are not able to celebrate our sacraments as a community for the time being but we know Christ remains with us at all times – specifically in times of worry like this.

I have made available pastoral and spiritual resources as well as TV Mass that I encourage you to use. I also invite you to join us for Mass and prayer via livestream in our social media. May the peace of Christ settle any anxieties and fear we may have. Let us continue to pray for the people whose lives have been impacted by the coronavirus as well as those who continue to care for them.”

SATURDAYS
After the 4:00 PM Mass until the line runs out.

SUNDAYS
7:30 - 7:50 AM  |  10:30 - 10:50 AM

Fridays in Lent, immediately after the Stations of the Cross until the line runs out.

HOLY HOUR
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM (Benediction at 9:20 AM)

Please consult the latest bulletin as there may be some changes if a conflict arises on First Friday.

St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
21370 Newtowne Neck Road
Leonardtown, MD  20650

Phone: 301-475-9885
FAX:  301-475-5662
Email:  sfxparishmd@gmail.com

FIRST CONFESSION:  
Saturday, February 1, 2020
10:00 am in the church
(Penance Service; not a Mass)

FIRST COMMUNION:  
Saturday, May 9, 2020
9:00 am Mass in the church

CONFIRMATION - New Date: 
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
7:00 pm Mass in the church
Bishop Roy Campbell presiding

If you will be traveling and would like to find a local church try this link:catholicmasstime.org

Even though Catholics in the Archdiocese of Washington are dispensed from the Sunday Mass obligation while public Masses are temporarily suspended, please make use of every opportunity to nurture your spiritual life and honor the Lord's third commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day.  Below are some suggestions:

1.  Spend some time with Jesus in individual prayer before Blessed Sacrament.  Please see the times we have listed for when our church will be open for prayer in the "Coronavirus Update" section of this webpage.

2.  Read and discuss the Mass readings together as a family.  Magnificat is providing complimentary access to their online version to help people pray from home.  

Visit www.magnifikid.com/free to view and download each weekly booklet of colorful Sunday missalette for children ages 6 through 12. While so many children are missing formal religious instruction and are unable to attend Mass, MagnifiKid! can be their special guide, accompanying them through each week as they watch Mass at home.

You can also find the Mass readings on the USCCB webpage by clicking on the calendar in the upper right hand corner.

3.  Watch the Mass on television and/or online.  The Archdiocese of Washington produces a Sunday TV Mass that can be viewed online on demand at https://adw.org/parishes-masses/sunday-tv-mass/.

EWTN also airs daily Masses at 7:00 am, 12 Noon, 7:00 pm, and 12 Midnight on cable and online at: https://www.ewtn.com/tv/watch-live.

4.  Make a spiritual communion.  You can also unite yourself to Jesus through a spiritual communion, using a prayer like this one from St. Alphonsus Liguori:

"My Jesus, I believe that you are in the Blessed Sacrament. I love you above all things, and I long for you in my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. As though you have already come, I embrace you and unite myself entirely to you; never permit me to be separated from you. Amen."

- St. Alphonsus Liguori

The graces of a sacramental Communion are present in a spiritual Communion: “[through] their desire for the sacrament in union with the Church, no matter how distant they may be physically, they are intimately and really united to her and therefore receive the fruits of the sacrament” even absent the sacramental sign (CDF, Letter to Bishops on Certain Questions Concerning the Minister of the Eucharist).

4.  Pray the Rosary or watch it daily on EWTN at 7:30 am & 9:30 pm or pray with it on YouTube.  Historically the rosary has been a very powerful weapon in times of crisis throughout the Church's history.  The first reported case of the coronavirus in China was on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  The second case was on December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Our Lady loves us so much and we can turn to our Mother in our need.

5.  Recite the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy or you can pray with this video.  

6.  Pray the Stations of Cross with audio or written online resources.  EWTN airs the Stations of the Cross every Friday at 7:00 am.

6.  Listen to an inspiring Sunday homily online. Bishop Robert Barron is a well known author and speaker throughout the country. You can find his Sunday homilies at The Word on Fire website every week.  He posts them a few days before the weekend.    

7.  Pray the Litany of Trust.  This is a beautiful prayer composed by the Sisters of Life, especially appropriate for these times when we need to be confident that God will guide and protect us.

8.  Pray Psalm 91.  This is a Psalm that asks for God's security and protection during times of pestilence and plague.  

9.  Join in Pope Francis' prayer, asking Mary to protect Italy and the world during the coronavirus pandemic.

O Mary,
you always shine on our path
as a sign of salvation and of hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,
who at the cross took part in Jesus' pain, keeping your faith firm.
You, Salvation of the Roman People,
know what we need,
and we are sure you will provide
so that, as in Cana of Galilee,
we may return to joy and to feasting
after this time of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform to the will of the Father
and to do as we are told by Jesus,
who has taken upon himself our sufferings
and carried our sorrows
to lead us, through the cross,
to the joy of the resurrection. Amen.

Under your protection, we seek refuge, Holy Mother of God. Do not disdain the entreaties of we who are in trial, but deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.

10. A Prayer Amid an Epidemic

St. Francis Xavier's Children's Faith Formation is a family-centered children’s faith formation program for Pre-K (age 4) through Grade 8.  

All of the classes are held on Sunday mornings at Father Andrew White School, as this is a combined program with St. Aloysius Parish in Leonardtown.

Registration is now open online here.

Family of Faith will meet from 9:15 to 10:30 AM on the first and third Sundays of each month during the school year, beginning on September 15, 2019.

Families are asked to commit to missing no more than three of our sessions.

Those who are unable to make this commitment are asked to register for My Catholic Faith Delivered, a grade-specific, comprehensive online faith formation program, instead of Family of Faith (also available by clicking on the link above). 

St. Francis Xavier offers a monthly parish grief support group for anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one in the recent past.

We meet on Sundays, 9:15 - 10:15 am in the Rectory.  All are welcome.  Questions?  Email Fr. Rob:  rgmaro@gmail.com or call the Parish Office at 301-475-9885.

Bereavement Group Meetings, 2019-20:

March 22, 2020 - CANCELLED
April 26, 2020
May 24, 2020
June 28, 2020
July 12, 2020
August 9, 2020

Please pick up a registration form in the back of church, or click here for a printable form. You can place the form in the collection basket or drop it off at the rectory. 

Take an exciting virtual tour of our church, grounds and cemetery by clicking here.