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Parents and other adults who serve in ministries that involve youth are now required to be certified under the “Safe Haven” program, which has replaced the previous VIRTUS Safe Environment program for the Diocese of Knoxville. All adult volunteers who are in contact with youth, including those who have already been VIRTUS-certified, must complete this new program prior to serving The registration and training is available to everyone online at your convenience (allow 2 hours). 

Our Annual Stewardship Appeal is in progress and we are aiming for 100% participation from all parishioners. (Click to review and submit the appeal on our Stewardship page at any time.) NOTE: We have increased expenses because of the additional third priest to minister to the growing Hispanic community. We are especially worried about the facilities of the parish, including our roof and HVAC, both of which are substantial capital investments. As of yet, only 109 of the 498 households in our parish have made a pledge for the coming year. That's just 22%. Please help us reach 100% participation!  Thank you for your generous support to our parish.

We are conducting a comprehensive survey of the parish. This planning study follows an extensive process that helped produce our strategic priorities. Before we make any final decisions regarding proposed plans for our Basilica and our parish, we would like to hear from you regarding our needs and the possibility of conducting a major fundraising effort. Your feedback will enable us to determine potential support for several projects. Your input is valuable as we plan for the future of Sts. Peter and Paul.

National Vocation Awareness Week will be celebrated in our country November 1-7, 2020. Please ask Our Lord for more dedicated, holy priests, deacons and consecrated men and women. May they be inspired by Jesus Christ, supported by our faith community, and respond generously to God’s gift of a vocation.

Our priests are now offering confessions for 30 minutes before every Mass except the 7am: the Saturday 5:30 Mass; the Sunday 9:00, 11:30, and 1:30 Masses; as well as before the 12pm Mass Mon-Fri. We are using the confessionals in the church. Please stand in line 6 feet apart (into the vestibule if needed) while waiting. When leaving the confessional, please disinfect the screen, kneeler, and any surface touched, with a wipe provided. Since disinfectant wipes are hard to find, if you have any wipes you can donate to help us offer confessions, please leave them in the confessional. Also, a new Confession resource page is now available on our website. Click to see our new Confession resource page.

Provisions and pastoral guidance on attending the Basilica for Mass, sacraments, meetings, and visiting the parish office are fully detailed on our Coronavirus page.