St. Vincent de Paul Church

by Codie Perry

As I set out to write this farewell, it seemed daunting to try and come up with exact message that I could leave you with. I racked my brain on what I wanted to say, what insight I could part to you. After all, I am just a recent college graduate with little real world experience, who has only read about poverty in economic textbooks, studied nonprofit structures in business classes, and heard long lectures on the theology of the Catholic church.

I was intimidated at trying to find what insight could I possibly offer. And so for the past couple weeks, I would try to just sit in silence and listen to the small stirrings in my heart, searching for that piece of gold and have that light bulb go off. But the same thing came up again and again. It was neither overly inspirational nor emotionally stirring. And so here it is: Continue reading →

Each month, St. V produces a monthly issue (pictured) that features at least one longer article as well as general information about the parish. Weekly a one-page insert focuses on news and information for the current week.

Deadline for Submissions: Weekly issue is Wednesdays by 10 PM; monthly bulletin is the third Sunday of the month.

August Monthly Bulletin

Recent Weekly Issues:

St. V This Week 08/20/2017
St. V This Week 08/13/2017
St. V This Week 08/06/2017

Previous Bulletins

Homeless Jesus by Timothy Schmalz

UPDATE: Last fall we learned that the Archdiocese had chosen St. V as the site for the Homeless Jesus bronze by Timothy Schmalz. Recently St. V received confirmation about the time frame for the installation. We expect to dedicate it during our celebration of the Feast of St. Vincent, Sept. 24. We will likely have one Mass that day. If you would like to be involved in planning the liturgy or festivities, contact Colleen McCahill at cmcahill@stvchurch.org.

As part of his letter to the congregation on the the retirement of our pastor, Archbishop Lori announced that a bronze statue known as “Homeless Jesus,” given to the Archdiocese by an anonymous donor, will be installed on the grounds of St. Vincent. The artist Timothy Schmalz says, this work is “a visual representation of Matthew 25. The sculpture suggests that Christ is with the most marginalized in our society.”

The original sculpture was installed in Toronto in 2013, and now casts of it have been placed around the world including one in Rome in front of the Papal Offices of Charities. However, not all cities have welcomed such a visible reminder of our society’s most vulnerable members.

We at St. Vincent, however, are delighted that the Archbishop chose our parish as the home of this statue in Baltimore. While we have not finalized plans for its placement, we anticipate placing it on the corner of Fayette and Front Streets, outside the fence of our park so that it can be seen by people passing by in cars.

Installation is tentatively scheduled for the fall. Currently the Archdiocese is displaying a resin replica of the statue in the Basilica. That replica will be displayed in parishes throughout the Archdiocese in the coming months. When the Archdiocese returns it to the artist, work will begin on the bronze version to be placed here.

• Baltimore Archdiocese Honors Fr. Richard Lawrence with ‘Homeless Jesus’ Sculpture  — Baltimore Fishbowl
• ‘Homeless Jesus’ statue on display in Baltimore Archdiocese during Lent — Catholic Review
• Homeless Jesus finds its place in Baltimore — Baltimore Sun
• ‘Homeless Jesus’ sculpture banned from central London — Mashable

Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter! Weekly issues feature news about St. Vincent, communications from staff, events at the parish, a reflection or prayer from Fr. Ray, and the readings for the upcoming Sunday.

In our most recent issue, you can read our Jesuit Volunteer Codie Perry’s perspective on the words of Pope Francis and  a reflection from Dennis Moore on the Book of Exodus.  If you wish to receive This Week @ St. Vincent, use this subscription link to sign up. You can see all the past issues of the newsletter here.