Archdiocesan news briefs
Special needs Mass
A Mass for people with special needs will take place at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at St. Charles Borromeo Church, 601 N. Fourth St. in St. Charles. The Mass is organized by the parish’s respect life committee and Knights of Columbus.
Naming and Commendation
St. Anselm Parish will host the Rite of Naming and Commendation for an Infant Who Has Died Before Birth on Sunday, March 1, after the 11 a.m. Mass. Father Aidan McDermott, OSB, will lead the brief ceremony in the St. Anselm Parish Chapel, located in the Parish Center, 530 S. Mason Road in Creve Coeur. The rite memorializes children who have died before birth, including miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion or accident. It also offers parents and families an opportunity to name the child and unite with our merciful God, which can help bring peaceful closure to great loss.
Holy Hour for vocations
There will be a Holy Hour for priestly and religious vocations at 7 p.m. Friday, March 6, at the Monastery of St. Clare, 200 Marycrest Drive, off the 6000 block of Telegraph Road in south St. Louis County.
Lenten speaker series: hunger, housing, health
Sacred Heart Parish in Valley Park will host a Lenten speaker series on Thursdays from 7-9 p.m. beginning March 5. Topics and dates include housing on March 5: Explore the challenges facing our brothers and sisters in Christ in the southern vicariate who lack safe and stable housing and how Christian discipleship calls us to respond; hunger on March 12: A deeper look at food insecurity, including the realities, root causes, pathways of hope and emerging issues and the opportunities to address them; and health on March 19: A reflection on health disparities, the impact they have on the most vulnerable in our midst and how we can make a difference. Talks will take place in the church hall, 17 Ann Ave. For more information, visit sacredheartvp.org/lenten-speaker-series-2026.
Support Archbishop Carlson Adoption Fund
A raffle to support the Archbishop Robert J. Carlson Adoption Fund is taking place through March 25. The first prize includes use of the Mercy Suite for one St. Louis Cardinals home game during the 2026 season, 20 tickets, buffet (ballpark food and drink) and two parking passes. Second prize includes 10 tickets, buffet and one parking pass. Raffle tickets are $25 each or six for $100. The drawing will take place March 26. Proceeds benefit the adoption fund, which supports families seeking to adopt a child and is administered by the archdiocesan Office of Natural Family Planning. To purchase raffle tickets, see bit.ly/ARJC-CardsRaffle.
End of life workshop
The archdiocesan Office of Worship will host a workshop on end of life issues from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, March 27, at the Cardinal Rigali Center, 20 Archbishop May Drive in Shrewsbury. Father Peter Fonseca will deliver a keynote address, and breakout session topics will include planning a Catholic funeral, the sacrament of anointing of the sick, navigating grief in the Catholic faith, Catholic bioethics and estate planning. Registration is $10 and includes lunch. Mass will be celebrated. Register by March 15 at archstl.org/event/now-and-at-the-hour-of-our-death-end-of-life-workshop/.
