Sister Parishes:

St Mary’s, Los Gatos
and
Sacred Heart Church, Pascagoula, Mississippi

Beyond our differences and boundaries, parishes need to be bridge-builders, reminding us that we are part of a Universal church with ties of faith and humanity to sisters and brothers all over the world. ~Communities of Salt and Light, U.S. Bishops, 1993                                 

We are building an ongoing faith relationship between the people of St. Mary’s Parish and the parishioners of Sacred Heart Church and its parish school, Resurrection School, Pascagoula, MS, in the Biloxi Diocese.

Through a “sister” or “twinning” relationship everyone involved will have an opportunity to respond to the needs of a community devastated by the ravages of Hurricane Katrina. We are inspired to help because of the Church’s social teaching on solidarity with those in need.

There are many opportunities, short-term and long-term for you such as prayers, communications, special events, fundraising and an implementation committee. Contact: Terri Trotter for more information 354-4061 or ttrotter@stmaryslg.org  or Valerie Lozowicki at vlozowicki@comcast.net

As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.

~ 1Peter 4:10

What is the Goal of the Sister Parish Relationship?

Our Sister Parish ministry goal is to join the people of St. Mary’s Church and those of Sacred Heart Church in a bond of mutual support. To accomplish this goal we intend to:

• Discover ways in which all ministries and parishioners can share their time and talent with Sacred Heart Parish and make that sharing a reality
• Discover ways in which Sacred Heart parishioners can share their time and talent with us and to make that sharing a reality as well
• Share our material and spiritual wealth in response to the needs and desires of Sacred Heart parishioners and within our ability
• Become advocates for of Sacred Heart parish by supporting changes and initiatives that will help their community rebuild

Why Pascagoula, MS? 

A group at St. Mary’s was studying the idea of a sister parish when Hurricane Katrina struck. In November, we learned of an initiative within the Town of Los Gatos called the Katrina Consortium. The purpose of this consortium is to link organizations with their counterparts in Pascagoula for a 3-year period to build relationships and support recovery from the hurricane’s devastation. Pascagoula was chosen by Los Gatos because it suffered significant damage, has a similar local government, civic and church leadership infrastructure, is close to a major airport, has a similar population size and a town-like quality. Through a discernment process, Pascagoula became our choice for establishing a St. Mary’s, sister-parish relationship.

About Sacred Heart Church and Its School, Resurrection School  

Sacred Heart Church is one of three Catholic churches in the city of Pascagoula. It was chosen because it was one of the two most severely damaged parishes in the city and had an operating school. Parish size is in a state of flux. Originally, Sacred Heart had about 500+ families which dropped to about 250 after the hurricane. Each week now, parishioners are returning. The pastor, Fr. Mike Kelleher is a native of Limerick, Ireland and has been with the parish for 40 years.

Resurrection School, (Pre-Kindergarten – 6^th Grade) serves 320 students. Although some students withdrew and moved after the hurricane, the number of students at Resurrection remains stable because new students enrolled. The new students came from another Catholic school which was destroyed by the storm. The two schools are now permanently merged, creating an integrated diocesan school.