Easter Vigil

The Easter Vigil Mass started in darkness outside the church with the blessing of the holy fire from which the Easter candle was lit. Above, Fr. John Mark prayed the blessing at St. Joseph Church on St. Croix.

Left, Fr. Charles Crespo baptized Alice Barber during the Easter Vigil at St. Anne Chapel on St. Thomas.

Right, four youth prepared to be baptized at St. Ann Church on St. Croix. Their sponsors stood behind them.

Good Friday

The Hispanic Catholic communities on St. Thomas and St. Croix this afternoon did a Living Stations of the Cross.
The St. Thomas community (right) marched down Main Street, ending in front of Ss. Peter and Paul Cathedral with His Excellency, Bishop Herbert Bevard, watching from the steps.

Left, the soldiers made Jesus carry his cross from Sacred Heart Chapel to Holy Cross Church on St. Croix.

At St. Joseph Church on St. Croix, the passion play featured the Blessed Virgin Mary weeping at the foot of the crucifixion of Christ

Deacon Bernard Gibs held the crucifix during the Veneration of the Cross at St. Anne Chapel on St. Thomas.

Holy Thursday

His Excellency, Bishop Herbert Bevard, visited the repositories of all the St. Thomas churches after his Holy Thursday Mass at Ss. Peter and Paul Cathedral. He is pictured here (center) with others at St. Anne Chapel.

Fr. John Mark washed the feet of the apostles at St. Joseph Church on St. Croix.

Capital Improvements

St. Joseph High School on St. Croix received a $42,834 capital improvements drinking water grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, administered locally by the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources, to install a new reverse osmosis treatment unit and an ultra violet water purification system and for needed repairs to down spouts for the cisterns.

Workmen roped off and surveyed the land next to Building 8, the future school chapel, a week ago. They used a backhoe to dig around the existing water pump yesterday.

Chrism Mass 2011

His Excellency, Bishop Herbert Bevard, celebrated the annual Chrism Mass at Ss. Peter and Paul Cathedral on St. Thomas this afternoon. At this Holy Week celebration, he consecrated the three holy oils that were then bottled and distributed to all the parishes of the diocese for sacramental purposes. Also at that celebration, all priests serving in the diocese renewed their ministerial commitment to the diocese and renewed their promise of obedience to the bishop.

Students in Spain

Aixys Valentín-Morales, Spanish teacher at St. Joseph High School on St. Croix, has taken some of her students on a week-long study trip to Spain. She wrote on April 18 that they went to a monastery in Monserrat, Barcelona, where they visited the Virgin of Monserrat. “We attended Mass there in Catalan, the official first language in Barcelona.”

Pictured above, Enrique Arroyo (Grade 11) and Jonathan Morales (Grade 9) posed in front of St. Joseph statue at the monastery.

Pictured left, Jonathan Morales examined the image of the Virgin of Monserrat in the monastery.

Lenten Youth Retreat

Fr. John Mark (far right) led a Lenten retreat for altar servers and all youth at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church on St. Thomas on April 16. He taught them about the Mass. About 60 youth from all parishes attended.