Calendar - March 16, 2024

EVENTS

FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH MASS, March 19, 10 a.m., St. Joseph Church and Shrine, 610 Sixth St., Gretna.

ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW ORLEANS, confession available in all parishes March 20, 5-6:30 p.m.

ANNULMENT MINISTRY, free one-day seminar for persons wanting to know more about annulments in the Catholic Church, March 23, 10 a.m.-noon, with Deacon Drea Capaci. The Office of Marriage and Family Life coordinates. Sts. Peter and Paul Church Parish Center, 66192 St. Mary Drive, Pearl River. Details: (504) 861-6243.

ST. PIUS X, blood drive, March 24, 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Donors will be checked for blood pressure, iron, cholesterol and temperature and receive a free ice cream gift card or T-shirt. Sign up at thebloodcenter.org; appointments not necessary but encouraged. Gym, 6600 Spanish Fort Blvd., New Orleans.

ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA, “the Seven Last Words of Christ,” evening of music and reflection with Lorraine Hess, March 25, 7-8:30 p.m. 105 Bonnabel Blvd., Metairie.

DIVINE MERCY NOVENA, March 29-April 7, ends with a Feast of Mercy Mass April 7 at 3 p.m. with Father Kyle Sanders as celebrant. Times: March 29, 2:30 p.m.; March 30, 7:45 p.m.; March 31, 10 a.m.; April 1-2, 5:45 p.m.; April 3-5, 11:45 a.m.; April 6, 3:45 p.m. St. Joachim Church, 5505 Barataria Blvd., Marrero. Details: (504) 233-1007.

WAY OF THE CROSS FOR JUSTICE, March 29 at 10 a.m., sponsored by Hope House. The prayerful walk through New Orleans’ central business district recalls the suffering and death of Jesus and relates it to the ongoing suffering of God’s children in our own time. Starts in front of St. Joseph Church, 1802 Tulane Ave., and ends two hours later at the Mississippi River. Bring water and comfortable shoes.

NEW ORLEANS CATHOLIC CEMETERIES holds annual Good Friday Stations of the Cross, March 29, 10 a.m., inside St. Roch Cemetery No. 1, 1725 St. Roch Ave., New Orleans. Divine Word Father Leon Ngandu, pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, will lead. The cemetery’s St. Roch Chapel will be open for viewing.

OUTDOOR STATIONS OF THE CROSS, Good Friday, March 29, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., various houses in River Ridge: 9006 Tanglewild Place, 713 Moss Lane, 252 Walter Road, 318 Walter Road, 350 Walter Road, 9432 Citrus Lane, 1 Sparrow Lance, 8 Kinder Lane, 9708 Bromeliad Circle, 227 Garden Road, 9729 Paula Drive, 10100 Suzanna Drive, 10124 Gail Court. The final station at St. Matthew the Apostle Church, 10021 Jefferson Hwy. Directions to each of the 14 stations with descriptions, prayers and rosaries will be distributed. E-mail [email protected] or visit Facebook at Neighborhood Stations of the Cross-River Ridge.

CENTER OF JESUS THE LORD, Living Stations of the Cross, Good Friday March 29, noon, Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, 1235 Louisiana Ave., New Orleans.  Doors open at 8 a.m., for pilgrim visitors, but veneration follows the stations.

THE SHRINE OF DIVINE MERCY CHOIR, of Vilnius, Lithuania, will sing the music of St. Faustina in concert April 3-4, 7 p.m. First-class relics of St. Faustina and Blessed Father Michael Sopocko will be available for veneration. St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans.

ANNULMENT WRITING WORKSHOP, five sessions for persons seeking an annulment in the Catholic Church or persons responding to an annulment, April 4, 11, 18, 25; May 2, 7:30-9 p.m. Cost: $25. St. Matthew the Apostle Parish’s Msgr. Bendix Center, 10021 Jefferson Hwy., River Ridge. Register: bit.ly/3p5FzVh or call the archdiocese’s  Office of Marriage and Family Life at (504) 861-6243 or email [email protected].

HOTEL HOPE, a support organization for women and children facing homelessness, holds second annual Hope Fest, April 6, 7-10 p.m., Zony Mash Beer Project, 3940 Thalia St., New Orleans. Event features music, food from local chefs, Zony Mash beer, spiked seltzers and an online auction. Erica Falls and the legendary Preservation Hall All-Stars provide music. Ticket/sponsorship information: hotelhope.org/hopefest.

CENACLE ON THE LAKE, Cenacle Sister Kathy Scott presents a Day of Prayer, April 10. Website: https://neworleansretreats.com/days-of-prayer-women-of-grace. Upcoming 2024 Women of Manresa Ignatian retreats with Jesuit priests: May 20-23 with Jesuit Father Greg Waldrop; May 30-June 2, Father Stephen Kramer; July 22-25, Father John Brown; Sept. 19-22 with Father Ross Romero; Oct. 21-24 with Father Ron Boudreaux. Register: https://neworleansretreats.com/womenofmanresa or call (504) 267-9604.

ST. CLEMENT OF ROME,

Women of Faith has speaker Alexa Schexnaildre talking on “For the Greater Purpose: God Can Bring Good Out of Suffering,” April 11, 7 p.m., in the church, West Esplanade at Cleary avenues, Metairie.

BIG BOOK SALE, Jefferson Parish Public Library, April 12-13, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; April 14, noon to 5 p.m., Pontchartrain Center, 4545 Williams Blvd., Kenner. Free admission, parking. Most items priced from 50 cents to $3. Cash, credit and debit cards accepted. Details: (504) 455-2665 or e-mail [email protected].

ST. BENILDE hosts “Beautifully & Wonderfully Made: An Afternoon Tea,” for all girls in grades 5-7 and their mothers, April 13. Come celebrate the gift of your femininity with tea and treats, crafts, games, shopping and inspiring testimonies from female leaders.  The cost is $40 for one daughter and $45 for two or more. Register online at https://stbenilde.org/mother-daughter-tea. Contact Audrey Huck, [email protected].

MAGNIFICAT, East St. Tammany (Slidell) chapter breakfast for Catholic Women, April 13, 9 a.m.-noon with speaker Janice Charbonnet. Pinewood Country Club, 405 Country Club Blvd., Slidell, 70458. Tickets: $20 through April 9 at Eventbrite.com.

CATHOLIC FAITHFUL CITIZENSHIP DAY hosted by the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops (LCCB), April 17 at Baton Rouge Capitol. Meet at 8:45 a.m. for opening prayer/coffee at St. Joseph Cathedral Hall, 412 North St. Day includes attending committee hearings, meeting legislators, Mass, light lunch and bill debates in House and Senate chambers. Closing prayer at 3:30 p.m. at cathedral. Goal is to educate  and engage Catholics on Catholic Social Teaching and legislation, LACCB positions and to develop relationships with participants and legislators. Register:  laccb.org. Questions: Susan Wolf, [email protected].

VOCARE benefit event on the Steamboat Natchez, April 26. Patron party, 5:30 p.m.; general admission boarding at 6 p.m. with the boat sailing at 7 p.m.; dock return at 8:30 p.m. Cocktail attire; shuttle bus available by reservation. 400 Toulouse St., New Orleans. Proceeds support the ECHO Community. Tickets: bit.ly/3SCNvfj; (985) 951-2215.

OFFICE OF MARRIAGE & FAMILY LIFE sponsors Archdiocese of New Orleans Golden Wedding Anniversary Celebration June 23, 3 p.m. at St. Philip Neri Church, 6500 Kawanee Ave., Metairie. Prayer service honors couples who are celebrating or have recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Open to couples married in 1974 or before. Consult your pastor to register by the deadline.

SCHOOLS

ST. MICHAEL SPECIAL SCHOOL, Spare Strike Saints fifth annual bowling tournament returns after a three-year hiatus, March 23, noon-3:45 p.m., Fulton Alley New Orleans. Individual tickets are $150. Visit: https://one.bidpal.net/sparestrikesaints/ticketing (details: ticketing-summary)

DE LA SALLE, annual Golf 4 DLS golf tournament, April 19, with registration and lunch beginning at 10:30 a.m. and tee time at 12:30 p.m. New location: Lakewood Golf Club, 4801 General de Gaulle Drive, Algiers. Register: bit.ly/437sjBX.

KUDOS

YMCA OF GREATER NEW ORLEANS will honor Lisa and Peter Mansfield with the 2024 Sean Salvo Award for service and advocacy in embracing children of every background. The award will be presented March 24 from 1-4 p.m. at the YMCA’s Hats and Horses Gala at the New Orleans Fair Grounds. Lisa is a faculty member and job coach at St. Michael Special School, where their son Paul attends. She is active in the parents’ organization at St. Ann School in Metairie and served in leadership positions in the school’s Girl Scout Troop and fair committee. Peter, an assistant U.S. attorney, is a board member of the East Jefferson YMCA, GiGi’s Playhouse Down Syndrome Achievement Center and the New Orleans Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. To register for the gala, go to bit.ly/3wp6T6J.

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION will honor philanthropist Shawn M. Donnelley ’91 with the 2024 Adjutor Hominum Award at a jazz brunch March 24 at noon at the Audubon Tea Room. Donnelley founded philanthropic consulting firm, Strategic Giving, which works with clients to invest millions in mission-driven non-profit organizations around the country. She also served on Loyola’s Board of Trustees and founded the Donnelley Center for Non-Profit Communications in the College of Music and Media.