| August 04, 2011
SUMMER AT THE ORATORY – SACRED RELICS EXHIBIT –
ARCHBISHOP CARLSON – CAN YOU GUESS - STORM DAMAGE
Dear Faithful and Friends of Saint Francis de Sales Oratory,
SUMMER AT THE ORATORY: NO BETTER WAY TO BEAT THE HEAT WAVE!
Sunday, August 21 is fast approaching, and with it the crowning event of the summer. Celebrate the feast of St. Louis IX, Patron of our city, and take part in the life of St. Francis de Sales Oratory. After the High Mass at 10:00 AM in honor of St. Louis IX, the Oratory grounds will be host to an afternoon of cool, refreshing fun. As always, we will have our delicious barbeque, live music, and a variety of games and prizes. This year we have added a dunking booth for famous Oratory personages as well as horse rides – the first to be seen in South St. Louis since the church’s consecration! Come with family and friends to Summer at the Oratory – this year is sure to be one to remember!
SACRED RELICS EXHIBIT
Hundreds of faithful streamed into St. Francis de Sales Oratory on July 22 and 23 to pray before over 150 relics of Apostles, doctors of the Church, martyrs, virgins, confessors, a fragment of the Blessed Virgin’s veil, and a large piece of the Cross on which hung the salvation of the world. It was very moving to see children and adults touching their sacramentals to the relics and asking the saints to intercede for their needs in the august silence of St. Francis de Sales Oratory.
For both young and old, the presence of the holy relics was a means for a spiritual encounter with God through His saints. The exhibit gave us all an opportunity to strengthen our faith, to enter through prayer into a deeper union with Jesus Christ, and to gain benefit from the treasury of merits which the Mother Church appropriates through the Communion of Saints. We are very grateful to Father Carlos Martins of the Companions of the Cross for his insightful presentations and for bringing this collection of relics to St. Francis de Sales.
VISIT OF ARCHBISHOP ROBERT J. CARLSON
The Oratory is pleased to announce that we will have the honor of receiving His Grace, the Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson, Archbishop of St. Louis, on Sunday, October 9. His Grace will give the sermon at the 10:00 AM Mass that Sunday. Please mark your calendars as we look forward to welcoming the Archbishop on this pastoral visit! Once again, we present a fun visual challenge to draw your attention to the beauty of St. Francis de Sales Oratory. ( Click here) This time, a lovely detail taken from somewhere in the Oratory or campus is shown on the blog on our website, TraditionForTomorrow.com. If you recognize and can identify the location of this image, please leave a message on the comment section of the blog. The first person to give the correct answer will win a special “Institute” chocolate bar!
STORM DAMAGE
On May 23, 2011 a severe thunderstorm moved through the St. Louis area, accompanied by intense lightning and strong winds. One bolt of lightning was seen, heard and felt striking the cross atop the church steeple. Several problems in the church building (mainly electrical) resulted and were quickly diagnosed and repaired. The wind damage to the roof and the steeple resulted in many broken and loosened slate tiles and it took longer to find an acceptable roofing contractor to correct the problems. A subsequent storm over night before our Corpus Christi procession added to the roof damage. Working with the insurance company, we found the only local contractor willing to work on our roof and steeple, Frank Sager and Son.
They have recently worked on the easiest part of the roof repair by dealing with those areas reachable by a high-lift crane. They surveyed the roof and repaired those tiles that were loose or missing. The steeple work is yet to be done.
 
With heartfelt thanks for your generosity and assurance of my prayers I am
Sincerely yours in Christ the King,
Canon Michael K. Wiener
Rector, St. Francis de Sales Oratory |
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