St. Francis of Assisi Parish     |   home St. Romuald's Chapel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~    Winter Masses at the Chapel on the weekends are now: 10:00AM on Sundays Communion Breakfast at Matunuck Prayer to St. Romuald    Mass Intentions         Biography of Saint Romuald  Pictures  Prayer to St. Romuald You lived a simple life of self-sacrifice and poverty; one dedicated to prayer and devotion to the will of God. You did this in the midst of chaos and crisis, sickness and setback. In our time, almost eleven centuries after you lived, we too experience turmoil- in the world, in the church, in ourselves! Help us to persevere in the struggles of our lives; to focus on the Light in the darkness we encounter; and trust in the Providence of a Loving God, Father, and Son and Holy Spirit, who calls each of us by name. Trinity Sunday 2002 Father Nicholas P. Smith Pastor Back to Top  Communion Breakfast at Matunuck         Awesome! The Breakfast offered by the parish at the Matunuck Community Center on Sunday, August 25th was an outstanding success. The weather was perfect, the food delicious and the organization A-Plus. Over 500 breakfasts were served. The simple goal was that we as a family could enjoy a little more time together. That was achieved beyond measure as reunions took place and families gathered and old friendships were renewed. Priceless! Rather then try to list the host of volunteers and run the risk of forgetting someone, let's just tip our hats to the chair-persons, Cathy and Fran Fitzpatrick for an awesome presentation, and to all who made the day memorable. Back to top  Saint Romuald Saint Romuald was born in a family of nobility in Ravenna, Italy about 951. Throughout his teenage years his life was typically idle and care free. At twenty he witnessed a duel in which his father killed his opponent. Romuald was so distraught with the horror of the experience he entered a Benedictine monastery to do penance and live his own life more seriously. After forty days he was so impressed with the austerity of the monks he joined the community. For the next three years under the guidance of the Benedictines his spirituality developed with an ever increasing desire for simplicity and complete acceptance of Divine Will. The life of solitude as a hermit provided the environment he wanted and needed. With permission he left the community and founded hermitages throughout Italy and France always under the strict Benedictine rule. Eventually he formed the Camaldolese Order of Hermits under an adaptation of Benedictine Rule and founded many more monasteries. Saint Romuald was inflicted with a spiritual aridity many times during his life and labors but never once did the experiences diminish his strong and lively faith in God's will and providence. He died in his cell at the monastery of Val di Castro in 1027. Back to Top  Mass Intentions Sunday, February 23 10:00am   Rev. Thomas Trpanier Requested by Robert and Lorraine McGale Sunday, March 2 10:00am   Celebrant's Intention Back to Top                           Before                                              After                                     Before                                             After                                                 A view of the altar from the summer section St. Romuald's Restoration:       In the coming months St. Romuald will see a new bathroom (the two pictures on the left) and a new sacristy (the picture on the right) The new bathroom on the left and the new sacristy on the right                                        Before                                             After Back to Top