News - December 2023 RSS Feed

Fr. David Carter gives commentary on the Fiducia Supplicans: On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings, issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith on 12/18/2023.

Here is an Eight Day Home Service for Advent, compiled by Basilica parishioner Diane Tobin, to celebrate the eight days before Christmas that celebrate the titles of Jesus as prophesied of old. It follows the liturgical cycle of the “O Antiphons” Fr. Carter recommends this service as a home devotion in the final week of Advent.

East 8th Street will be closed in front of the church for three days, from December 13-15, while a crane is on-site repairing loose mortar on the bell tower. During this time, there will not be thru-traffic between Georgia Ave. and Lindsey St. The Basilica main parking lot will be closed. Visitors can park at All Saints Academy at 310 E 8th Street, accessed from Lindsey Street. (There is no need to pay for parking while the crane is present.) The front entrance to the church will not be accessible. The Basilica campus can only be accessed by walking through the side gate on Lindsey Street at the St. Dominic Building. Visitors can then enter the church through the lower level glass door entrance to Varallo Parish Hall. Thank you for your patience as we make these repairs necessary for everyone's safety.

This year the Fourth Sunday of Advent falls on December 24, which has raised the “two-for-one” question: Can attendance at a Sunday Christmas Vigil Mass fulfill the obligation for both the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas? The prevailing answer of canonists is “No,” each obligation must be fulfilled with a separate Mass. This is also the desire of Archbishop Fabre. He asks that parishioners should make every effort to attend both a Fourth Sunday of Advent Mass (either Saturday evening or Sunday morning) and a Christmas Mass (either Sunday evening or Monday). Click to see the Basilica Mass schedule for Dec. 23, 24 & 25.