Fr. Paul Fagan, C.P. is the Executive Producer and Host of The Sunday Mass. You can visit him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @preachermancp. He grew up in Port Vue, PA, a little town south of Pittsburgh. At the age of 14, his family moved Harrisburg, PA but just for a year and then it was on to the Philadelphia area where he finished his high school education. Once he finished high school it was time to start out on his own, so Fr. Paul made his way to St. Louis, where he attended St. Louis University. He received a BSSW, (Social Work), from St. Louis University in 1976 and immediately went to work for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services as a Child Care Worker. During his four and a half years with DCFS, Fr. Paul worked with abused and neglected children and their families, teenagers and was involved in specialized adoptions.
In September of 1980, Fr. Paul answered a life long invitation by entering the Passionist Residence Program in Philadelphia, Pa. After a year, he moved on to the Novitiate in Pittsburgh and took vows as a Passionist on August 22, 1982. His Passionist journey then took him to Chicago where he studied at Catholic Theological Union. Fr. Paul completed his studies in June of 1986 with a Masters of Divinity with a Word and Worship Specialization.
He was ordained on June 18, 1986 and assigned to the Bishop Molloy Retreat House in Jamaica Queens, New York. He ministered in the retreat house for 8 years offering weekend retreats and evening programs to adults and midweek retreat days to students. During his time in retreat work, Fr. Paul attended a few classes at Fordham University in drama. He tries to apply the skills of acting and drama to his preaching ministry.
Novena Devotions
After: 8:00 & 11:45 A.M. Masses
After: 5:30 & 7:30 P.M. Masses
And at 3:30 P.M. (Novena Only)
Daily Masses
7:00, 8:00 & 11:45 A.M.
5:30 P.M. 7:30 P.M.
Confessions
Lower Basilica for 45 minutes prior to
Each Mass (except 7:00 A.M.) and the 3:30 P.M. Novena Service
Confessions will not be available following the services.
Sunday Mass Schedule (July 17th & 24th)
8:00, 11:45 A.M.
5:30 P.M. in the Upper Basilica
Divine Liturgy - Byzantine Rite:
Tuesday, July 20th at 5:30 P.M.
Bishop Kurt Burnette, D.D.
Eparchy of Passaic
There will be no 7:30 P.M. Mass or Novena Devotions on this day.
Mass of the Anointing of the Sick
Thursday, July 22nd at 1:30 P.M. (Upper Basilica)
Mass for Infants, Children and Grandparents
Saturday, July 24th at 10:00 A.M.
(Outdoors, Weather Permitting)
Sunday, July 25
Mass in TAMIL Language at 1:30 PM
All Masses with Blessing of Grandparents
Pope Francis has declared the Sunday closest to the
Feast of Sts. Joachim and Ann to be a day for honoring
Grandparents throughout the World.
St Ann’s Feast Day - July 26th
Masses & Devotions
4:30, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 10:00 & 11:45 A.M.
3:30 (Novena only) & 5:30 P.M.
7:30 P.M. Pontifical Solemn Closing with Bishop Joseph Bambera, D.D., J.C.L.
St Ann’s Feast Day - July 26th Language Services
1:30 P.M. - Polish
Preachers and Reflections are as follows:
Fr. Paul Fagan, C.P. July 17, 2022:
By 1900, Bishop Michael J. Hoban of Scranton sought out the ministerial services of the Passionists for the diocese. After a temporary residence at Harvey's Lake, Pennsylvania from May until October 1902, the Passionists rented a Sloan Avenue home at Round Woods, on Scranton's west side. At that time, they were given responsibility for St. Ann's Parish and began to build the monastery on a nearby plot of land. The monastery was designed by architect Owen McGlynn of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and financially blessed by the generosity of other United States Passionist monasteries and many Scrantonians. Donation records show a high percentage of Irish. The dedication took place on July 2, 1905. St. Ann was the mother of the Blessed Mother and traditionally known to be the patron of miners.
Disaster struck on the morning of August 15, 1911. A coal mine subsidence seriously damaged the monastery. Passionists considered leaving Scranton. On July 28, 1913, two days after the Feast of St. Ann, another underground shift occurred. Two huge boulders moved into place making the Monastery grounds more solid than ever. Immediately local people saw this a sign of God’s grace and helped raise $37,000 so that the Passionists could make the building and foundation secure and livable once again.
St. Ann's Novena began in November 1924 with just a handful of people requesting the rector of St. Ann's Monastery to have a weekly novena honoring St. Ann. This led to the Solemn Novena from July 17-26. St. Ann’s Church was built by famed Boston architects Maginnis & Walsh and dedicated in 1929. Father John Joseph Endler, C.P. (1892-1957) was the popular preacher associated with the Solemn Novena. St. Ann’s Shrine Basilica, the weekly Monday novena and the annual Solemn Novena from July 17-26 is sacred ground. It is an important place of healing, history, and culture for all people of Scranton and Northeast Pennsylvania and those who now connect via social media.
For more Novena information click here
