In attendance were Father Mawn, Father Peter, Father Frances, Fatima Andrade, Gabriela Calouro, Pedro Cosme, Patricia Ferguson, Wayne Pickles, Connie Pickles, Cesar Tellez, Frank Sapienza and Thomas Witham. Absent were Carl Benanti, Marilinda Cruz, Patricia Mariano and Josie Paolino.

Father Mawn opened the meeting with a prayer.

• Religious Education Update:
– Tom and Susan Witham and Anita Sapienza have voluntarily taken over the religious education program. During COVID, the confirmation program successfully continued as an on-line program.
– Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Year of the Eucharist is extended until June 18, 2022.
– The cement mural of The Last Supper has been restored by two parish volunteers and will eventually be placed in the upper Church as a reminder of the Year of the Eucharist.
– Confirmation is currently scheduled for Saturday, April 23 in a separate ceremony instead of during a Mass.
– Virtus training still needs to be scheduled. Any new volunteers need to participate in this training.
• Parish Projects and Maintenance
– The plexiglass that protects the Rosetta window facing Union Street has been replaced. It is now one full piece of plexiglass instead of three separate pieces. A donation was given to the parish to pay for the cost of this window replacement (approximately $5000.00).
• New Business
– Restoration work is being done in the downstairs church. The pews have been removed for sanitation and refurbishing. The rug has been pulled up, and new flooring will be installed. New stands for the statues are being built, since the original stands sustained water damage.
– Engineers and architects are currently reviewing plans for the rectory, which will be demolished and rebuilt. Since the new rectory will have a sprinkler system and the church does not, it is a requirement that there be a 10 foot separation between the rectory and the church. We are currently getting bids to reconstruct the rectory so that plans can be made to move forward with tearing it down.
– Father Mawn would like to resume the Exposition of the Holy Sacrament on Fridays. A suggestion was made to shorten the time of Adoration to 9:00 a. m. until 3:00 p.m.
– Susan Witham is now the CORI forms coordinator. It was noted that having the forms completed before or after Mass is a great time saver, and the process makes it much easier for all volunteers to complete the CORI form.
– Father Peter and Father Francis from the Franciscan community were introduced to the council.

The meeting adjourned with a prayer. The next meeting of the Parish Council will be on October 18, 2021.

Respectfully submitted by,

Connie Pickles