Sacred Heart St. Francis de Sales intends to live stream the 4 pm Mass on Saturdays. At the time of the live stream click the play button to begin watching. You can watch previous broadcasts by clicking on the play button and selecting “previous broadcasts” and then click the date you want to view.
Entrance: "O Cross of Christ, Immortal Tree"
Offertory: "Where Charity and Love Prevail"
Communion: "Peace"
Recessional: "There Is One Lord"
Reading I Mi 7:14-15, 18-20
Responsorial Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
Gospel Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
Light Shines in the Darkness Parish Retreat – March 11 Deacon Phil Lawson and Bill Gavin are offering us a live event here at SHSF in the church from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Lenten Program** – Mondays from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (March 15 & 22) **Wild Goose continuation via Zoom; registration information provided through Flocknote
Daily Mass: Monday through Friday: Mass at 8:00 a.m.
Stations of the Cross: Monday through Friday following 8:00 a.m. Mass (self-guided) and Fridays at 5:30 p.m. in the church. Our Faith Formation teachers will lead.
Family Stations of the Cross: Friday, March 26 at 6:00 p.m.
Lord, Let Me Walk That Lonely Road With You: An Evening Service of Scripture and Song for Holy Week 7:00 p.m. Tuesday March 30. The event will in-person and will be live-streamed.
Palm Sunday Masses: Saturday, March 27 at 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 28 at 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.
Holy Thursday, April 1st: Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7:00 p.m.
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament until Midnight
Good Friday, April 2nd : Stations of the Cross at 12:00 noon
Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at 7:00 p.m.
Holy Saturday, April 3rd: Easter Vigil at 8:00 p.m.
Easter Sunday, April 4th: Masses at 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.
About Us
On July 29, 1853, the Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, was formally created by papal brief under the leadership of the first bishop, Louis de Goësbriand. At this time there were 10 churches and approximately 20,000 Catholics being served by five priests. The Diocese was very much a missionary Diocese with limited resources and a small congregation of Catholics sprinkled throughout the vast state. The terrain was challenging, and the mostly Protestant state did not welcome Catholicism.
Bishop de Goësbriand spent most of his quarter-of-a million-dollar inheritance to travel throughout the state to spread the Good News and build churches, schools and homes for the most vulnerable. The fruits of his labor paid off. By 1891, the number of Catholics more than doubled to 48,000 with 78 churches. In addition, he helped found eight academies and 16 parochial schools in the Diocese with seven congregations of women religious to staff them.By the time he died in 1899, he had spent his entire fortune; he had only $2.12 to his name and a few old suits, noted Father Lance Harlow, rector of St. Joseph Cathedral who wrote a biography of the bishop in 2001. "Bishop de Goësbriand, even though he was raised in a well-respected and well-to-do household, lived in austere simplicity," said Kathleen Messier, assistant diocesan archivist. "In several biographical accounts of Burlington's founding bishop, his Christ-like love of the poor has often been noted."
Today we find the Diocese of Burlington is again missionary territory, similar to what Bishop de Goësbriand faced but with new challenges: Covid-19, declining population and a generation of young people disinterested in joining any type of formal religion.We must face these challenges with the same fortitude and faith as our first leader, Bishop de Goësbriand, and create new ways to engage young people and lay leaders, while keeping our faith community connected during the pandemic and continuing to support the most vulnerable among us. When the pandemic closed our churches, we increased our communication by live-streaming almost 200 faith engagement activities including weekly and Sunday Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, daily rosary, daily scripture reflections and many other faith engagement opportunities. We continued to provide emergency aid to families — many impacted by Covid-19 — moved our Catholic education online and guided our parishes to safely open for the public celebration of the Mass when the stay-home-order was lifted.
The faith community of Sacred Heart Saint Francis de Sales welcomes new visitors as well as old friends to join us in prayer and celebration. Please join us for Mass, in prayer and fellowship or as a guest at one of the church community’s many special events.
We are a warm, vibrant parish and are always happy to see new faces. If you are new to the Bennington area and are interested in becoming a member of the parish, please stop by the parish office or for additional information. We are glad to have you with us.