St. John Paul II Catholic Parish to Celebrate Feast Day and Hold Annual Fall Mission on October 22
St. John Paul II Catholic Parish to Celebrate Feast Day and Hold Annual Fall Mission on October 22 at St. John Paul II Catholic Parish
September 29, 2022
Ryan Bilodeau | Communications, St. John Paul II Parish
SCARBOROUGH — Sisters Francesca Silver and Christianna Hamman (pictured below) to present “Turning to God with St. Francis and St. John Paul II” at 9:30am at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church Hall (150 Black Point Rd, Scarborough, ME 04074) on Saturday October 22. The public is welcome to attend.
An annual event, this year’s Fall Mission will be led by two local Sisters and presented on the heels of 40 consecutive hours of Eucharistic Adoration (beginning 4pm on Thursday the 20th). People are welcome to sign up to attend Eucharistic Adoration at https://tinyurl.com/40hours-adoration. The 40 Hours Devotion, which involves 40 consecutive hours of adoration of the sacramental Eucharist exposed in the monstrance, finds its origin in 1500’s Milan with St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria.
The Mission will also occur on the day after the St. John Paul II Parish community concludes a 9-day prayerful Novena to its patron saint, John Paul II. All are then invited to gather with us on Saturday, October 22 as we listen to a presentation on “Turning to God with St. Francis and St. John Paul II” by Sr. Francesca Silver and Sr. Christianna Hammon.
For most people, conversion is a process that lasts the whole of one’s life. This was true for St. Francis, whose life was marked by a continual turning toward God. The talk will explore his significant moments of conversion and apply them to our own lives with St. John Paul II as our guide.
The October 22nd Schedule is as follows:
· 8 am: 40 consecutive hours of Eucharistic Adoration concludes
· 8–8:30 am: Mass followed by Coffee and Donuts
· 9:30–11:30 am: Presentation on “Turning to God with St. Francis and St. John Paul II” at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church Parish Hall by Sisters Francesca Silver and Christianna Hammon
Sister Francesca Silver grew up in the mountains of East Tennessee. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Outdoor Education from Northland College and her master’s in Theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary. Sister Francesca has extensive experience as an outdoor educator and a classroom teacher, and professed perpetual vows with the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist in 2021. She works in campus ministry for the elementary school campus of St. Dominic Academy in Lewiston, and has enjoyed getting to know the people and places of Maine over the past year.
Born and raised in Michigan, Sister Christianna Hamman holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education with majors in mathematics and Spanish from Western Michigan University and a master’s degree in theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Connecticut. After college, she moved to Connecticut where she felt the Lord inviting her to join the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist to whom she professed perpetual vows in 2018. Currently, she works in campus ministry and teaches Spanish at the middle and high school campus of St. Dominic Academy in Auburn. Sister Christianna enjoys hiking and reading books about saints. She is grateful to the people of Maine for their warm welcome and generosity.
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In July of 2020, St. Bartholomew Parish in Cape Elizabeth, St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish in Scarborough, and St. John and Holy Cross Parish in South Portland joined to form the new St. John Paul II Parish. The three churches maintained their individual names under the common patronage and intercession of St. John Paul II. For more information, visit www.jp2me.org.
