5-Year Pastoral Plan Greater Things Are Yet to Come As we look to the future, it is essential to prayerfully reflect on how to position St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church to fulfill God’s will. Guided by the theme of our Five-Year Plan, "Greater Things Are Yet to Come," this vision is the fruit of a collaborative effort that embraced diverse perspectives within our community. Through this process, we have identified key priorities, established meaningful milestones, and crafted strategies to not only sustain but also strengthen our parish's mission and impact. This plan serves as a clear and actionable roadmap, aligning our vision with tangible goals to navigate the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, ensuring St. Anthony of Padua continues to flourish as a vibrant faith community. We invite you to play an active role in bringing our Five-Year Plan to life by sharing your time and talents through one of our many ministries. Your involvement is essential to fulfilling our shared mission. Together, we can ensure our parish remains a source of inspiration and guidance for the faithful for generations to come. BELONG St. Anthony’s will continue to foster a sense of “belonging” for all parishioners & employees, through hospitality, communication, and service. Hospitality: St. Anthony’s will continue to foster a sense of “belonging” for all parishioners and visitors, by increasing accessibility, pastoral responses, and overall hospitality. Parishioner Experience: Expand processes for the best user experience when seeking services from the parish. Communication: A communication strategy that fosters connections with new parishioners that encourages engagement and involvement in parish life. Work Environment: Develop a work environment that fosters a sense of belonging and offers professional growth opportunities that attract and retain talent. BELIEVE Create meaningful opportunities for parishioners, especially young people, to deepen their faith and grow spiritually through a continuous and enriching journey of formation. Lifelong Learning: Prepare education progressions for all age levels, and opportunities to stay involved in between sacraments. Ensure inclusion of parents, young people, and children. Support of and Inclusion of Young Adults: Launching them for the next generation of our Parish. Invite them to be a witness to children or other young people. Mystagogy: Continue to engage adults, teens, and children after they have completed programs and received sacraments, deepening their understanding by layering instruction that evolves with their growing faith. BLESS Multiply opportunities to spread the Gospel in our community and the world by going, serving and connecting with individuals and families in need. Identify Needs: Analyze emerging trends and shifting dynamics to identify key outreach priorities and develop tailored, effective strategies for delivering impactful solutions. Outreach Success: Identify the most effective methods for organizing efforts. Assess current outreach opportunities, build upon existing successes and expand their reach. Expand Partnerships: Continuously explore opportunities to form new partnerships with nonprofit organizations that address the identified needs. Ministry Awareness & Alignment: Elevate the visibility of the Parish ministries, strengthen alignment with the overarching mission, and expand parishioner participation and impact. BUILD Develop and maintain a resilient, adaptable, and innovative infrastructure that supports our mission and community needs. Infrastructure: St. Anthony will continue to provide well-maintained facilities that meet the parish needs for worship, learning, outreach, administration and social activities. Audio Visual: Provide a user-friendly, intuitive, and consistent A/V experience. Information Technology: Remain relevant with new technologies that will provide an edifying end user experience. Safety and Security: Ongoing evaluation of systems, protocols, and technology to adequately protect STAOP students, parishioners, and staff. BEYOND Nurture a sacred and reverent liturgy that reflects the holiness of the divine, while also creating a meaningful and transformative experience for the faithful. Liturgy: Enhance the beauty of the Liturgy through integration of training, catechesis, and spiritual formation in both the spoken word and music. Music: Foster diversity in sacred music that faithfully reflects Catholic teaching while inspiring both reverence and spiritual connection. Spirituality: In collaboration with laypersons, clergy, and parish leadership, undertake a synodal process to draw meaningful themes from the Sunday readings that align with and support the parish's direction. Support: Develop and implement a compassionate follow-up process to consistently support families of the deceased whose funerals were celebrated within our parish. Previous Item Next Item

Symeon the Stylite was a renowned ascetic and the first of the stylites—hermits who lived atop pillars. Born in northern Syria, he joined a monastery but was dismissed for his extreme practices. Living briefly in a hut, he later chose a pillar as his dwelling to seek greater solitude. Starting on a nine-foot pillar, he eventually lived atop one fifty feet high, where he prayed, fasted, and preached. Crowds gathered to seek his counsel, including religious and political leaders. His radical path to holiness inspired others to adopt similar lives of extreme devotion, making him a powerful figure of early asceticism. St. Symeon the Stylite Time Period: 390-459 Feast Day: July 27 Title/Attributes: Ancorite Location of Relic: Back Right Reliquary - Left Section Type of Relic: From the Pillar Symeon the Stylite was a famed ascetic and one of the first of the stylitae , hermits who lived on the tops of pillars. He was born in northern Syria and was drawn to the eremitical life and entered a monastery at Eusebona, near Antioch. His fellow monks found his extreme asceticism to be ill-suited to the community's life, and so convinced him to depart. Symeon spent three years in a hut, distinguishing himself by fasting during Lent, and for standing for as long as his strength might endure. Still he found this life unsatisfactory and so took up residence upon a pillar with a platform set up on the top. The first pillar was nine feet high, but he found its height insufficient to escape the crowds who began gathering to see him and who sought out his advice. The pillar was extended to about fifty feet, and Symeon remained perched at the top until his death. Numerous visitors still came to see him, including many political and religious leaders. He also carried on a wide correspondence and regularly preached to the eager faithful who assembled beneath his pillar. His method of attaining spiritual perfection, while unusual, was nevertheless the source of much inspiration to his contemporaries, convincing a number of other ascetics to follow his example. Next Item Previous Item

Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, born on June 2, 1835, in Riese, became Pope Pius X (258th Pope). His journey from parish priest to pope was marked by deep pastoral concern. He focused on reforming the Church, modernizing Canon Law, and advancing the age of First Communion. He is known for opposing modernism, promoting catechesis through his famous Catechism, and renewing the liturgy, especially Gregorian chant. His papal motto was "Instaurare omnia in Christo" (Renew all things in Christ). Pius X lived a humble, charitable life and left a lasting impact on the Catholic Church. St. Pius X Time Period: 1835-1914 Feast Day: August 21 Title/Attributes: Pope, Confessor Location of Relic: Back Left Reliquary - Center Section Type of Relic: Bones Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto was born in Riese, in the diocese of Treviso, on 2 June 1835, the second of 10 children. When his father died, he could have taken his job at the Town Hall - he was 17 - but his mother helped him follow his vocation, working day and night to make ends meet. A love and a determination that Giuseppe Sarto must not have forgotten. He loved to study, enjoyed excellent health, was good-natured and tenacious at the same time, and his life was full of charitable works. He was chaplain, parish priest, spiritual director of the Seminary, then bishop of Mantua, Patriarch of Venice and finally elected Pope. His first act was to abolish the "lay veto", a kind of right claimed by some European monarchies, with the Constitution Commissum nobis. The Catechism that bears his name, adopted in Italy, is very well known, with its particular structure of “questions and answers”. It was designed specifically for simple people in a society in which culture had not yet permeated all social classes. Pius X’s concern was precisely to spread catechesis among Christians as much as possible. Among the most notable features of his Pontificate, the opposition to modernism and anti-Christian laws in France, the beginning of the reform of Canon Law, the reform of the Roman Curia, the advancement of the age of first communion to around 7 years. And again in Italy, the loosening of the restrictions of the Non expedit of Pius IX, that is, the prohibition for Italian Catholics to participate in political life. He also favored the renewal of the Liturgy, the Biblical movement, gave Gregorian chant pre-eminence. At the heart, participation in the Eucharist. This is just to give a few brush strokes given the wealth of interventions of his Pontificate. Among the curiosities is the revocation ordered by Pius X of the ecclesiastical sanctions foreseen for those who practiced the Tango dance: after having seen a performance he said, in dialect, that he preferred "the dance of the furlana" but that he did not see what great sins there were in this new dance. A Papacy, therefore, certainly very “active”, varied, so much so that his great friend, and Secretary of State during his Pontificate, Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val, not by chance underlined that this enormous work was mainly due to his personal initiative, also highlighting his “goodness” that “no one would be capable of questioning”. At the heart of his life and his Magisterium, the pastoral concern in a society where the crisis of Faith was increasingly felt. An intent sealed by the motto chosen for his Pontificate: Instaurare omnia in Christo, taken from the Letter to the Ephesians. He wanted to live as a poor man: “born poor, lived poor and sure of dying very poor”, he left written in his will. Next Item Previous Item

St. Rosa of Lima, born Isabel Flores de Oliva in 1586, was known for her devotion to the Virgin Mary and her love for Christ. After her family fell into poverty, she worked hard while bringing Christian values to her community. She dedicated her life to prayer, penance, and helping the needy, especially children and the elderly. Despite her desire for cloistered life, she lived as a Dominican tertiary in seclusion. Known for miracles and mortifications, she was canonized in 1671. Rosa is the first saint of the Americas, and patroness of Peru, Latin America, and the Philippines. St. Rose of Lima Time Period: 1586-1617 Feast Day: August 23 Title/Attributes: Virgin, Dominican Location of Relic: Back Right Reliquary - Center Section Type of Relic: Bones Isabel Flores de Oliva was born in Lima on April 20, 1586, the tenth of thirteen children of the Flores de Oliva, Spanish nobles who had moved to Peru. It was her nurse Marianna, of Indian origin, who gave her the name Rosa because of the incredible beauty that characterized her. A name later confirmed at her confirmation and at the age of twenty when she wore the habit of the Third Order of Dominicans, like her model of life, Saint Catherine of Siena. The name "of Saint Mary" was then added to Rosa, to express the tender love that always tied her to the Virgin to whom she turned at every moment to ask for protection. Santa Rosa experienced poverty when her family fell into poverty due to the failure of her father's business; she worked hard as a maid, in the garden and as an embroiderer, until late at night, bringing the Word of Christ and her yearning for good and justice to the homes of buyers, which, in the Peruvian society of the time, crushed by colonizing Spain, seemed completely obscured. In her mother's house she created a sort of shelter for the needy, where she assisted abandoned children and elderly people, especially of Indian origin. Already as a child, Rosa aspired to consecrate herself to God in the cloistered life, but she remained a "virgin in the world" and as a Dominican tertiary she locked herself in a cell of a few square meters, built in the garden of her mother's house, from which she left only for religious functions and where she spent most of her days praying and in close union with the Lord. While praying before an image of the Virgin Mary with Jesus in her arms, one day Rosa heard a voice from that child that said to her: "Rosa, dedicate all your love to me ...". She had no doubts: from then on, Jesus was her exclusive love until death, a love cultivated in virginity, prayer and penance. She often repeated: "My God, you can increase suffering, as long as you increase my love for you". It is the redemptive meaning of the Passion of Christ that became clear to her: pain lived with faith redeems, saves. And the pain of man can be associated with the saving pain of Christ. It is an interior turning point that coincided with the reading of Saint Catherine, from whom she learned love for the blood of Christ and love for the Church. And it is precisely in her hermitage in the garden that Saint Rose relived in the flesh the passion of Jesus, with two intentions: the conversion of the Spaniards and the evangelization of the Indians. In fact, mortifications and corporal punishments of all kinds are attributed to her, but also many conversions and miracles. One of all, the failed invasion of the Dutch pirates in Lima in 1615. While she was still alive, Rosa was examined by a mixed commission of religious and scientific people who judged her mystical experiences as true "gifts of grace", so much so that at her death, due to the enormous crowd that attended her funeral, Rosa was already a saint. She died only after having renewed her religious vows, repeating several times: "Jesus, be with me!". It was the night of August 23, 1617. After her death, when her body was transported to the Chapel of the Rosary, the Madonna from that statue before which the Saint had prayed so many times smiled at her again, for the last time. The crowd present cried out a miracle. In 1668, Rosa was beatified by Pope Clement IX and canonized three years later. She is the first canonized saint of the New World and is the patron saint of Peru, of all Latin America, of the Indies and of the Philippines. She is invoked as the protector of florists and gardeners, against volcanic eruptions and also in case of wounds or for the resolution of family disputes. A Jubilee Year commemorated the 400th anniversary of the death of Saint Rose with the motto: “400 years interceding for you,” in reference to the thousands of prayers that the Saint received and answered over the course of four centuries. https://www.causesanti.va/it/santi-e-beati/rosa-da-lima.html Next Item Previous Item

St. Matthew, also called Levi, was one of the twelve Apostles and one of the four Gospel writers. Born in Galilee, he worked as a tax collector in Capernaum before being called by Christ. Matthew authored the first Gospel, likely written between 60 and 90, originally in Hebraic or Aramaic, possibly while in Antioch, Syria. He preached in Jerusalem and later in Ethiopia, where he was martyred. His Gospel portrays Christ’s genealogy, ministry, Passion, and Resurrection, emphasizing Jesus as the Messiah. In liturgical art, Matthew is often depicted with an angel holding a lance, coin, pen, or money box. St. Matthew the Apostle Time Period: 1st Century Feast Day: September 21 Title/Attributes: Apostle, Martyr Location of Relic: Main Reliquary - Center Section Type of Relic: Bones St. Matthew is one of the twelve Apostles and one of the four Gospel writers. He is also called Levi, or Matthew the Levite. He was probably born in Galilee and worked as a tax collector at Capernaum (Matthew 9:9-13) when Christ called him to follow him (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27-32). Matthew was the author of the first Gospel, written between 60 and 90. It was probably in Hebraic or in Aramaic in its original form. Some scholars believe Matthew was in Antioch, Syria, when he wrote the Gospel. He preached in Jerusalem and then went to Ethiopia, where he was martyred in Persia or in Ethiopia. Matthew provides a telling portrait of Christ in his Gospel, including his genealogy, ministry, Passion, and Resurrection. The entire work is designed to provide a true recognition of Christ as the Messiah. Matthew is represented in liturgical art by an angel holding a lance, a coin, a pen or a money box. Next Item Previous Item

St. Sebastian was a Roman martyr during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian. Likely from Milan, he served as an officer in the imperial guard while secretly practicing the Christian faith. When discovered, he was sentenced to death and shot with arrows by archers from Mauretania. Miraculously surviving, he was healed by St. Irene. Fully recovered, Sebastian boldly confronted the emperor, who, shocked by his survival, ordered him to be beaten to death. He was buried on the Via Appia, and the basilica of San Sebastiano is named in his honor. He is a patron of athletes and soldiers. St. Sebastian Time Period: c. 255 - 288 Feast Day: January 20 Title/Attributes: Soldier, Martyr Location of Relic: Main Reliquary - Left Section Type of Relic: Bones St. Sebastian is a Roman Martyr during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. Sebastian was most likely from Milan, Italy and was buried on the Via Appia, probably giving his name to the basilica of San Sabastino. Sebastian served as an officer in the imperial guard under Emperor Diocletian until it was discovered that Sebastian followed the Christian Faith. Sentenced to death, he was shot by archers from Mauretania. The arrows failed to kill him, and he was healed by Irene, widow of the martyr St. Castulus. Once fully recovered, Sebastian went before teh emperor who, after overcoming his shock at the miracle, commanded that Sebastian be clubbed to death. Next Item Previous Item

St. Fortunatus, a young Roman legionary from Upper Egypt, was martyred in 286 AD in the Agaunum Valley (now Switzerland) as part of the Theban Legion. Composed of Christian soldiers from Egypt and Nubia, the legion refused Emperor Maximian’s order to sacrifice to pagan gods, choosing fidelity to Christ over life itself. Fortunatus, steadfast in faith, met death by clubbing during the legion’s extermination. His relics were later discovered in the Roman catacombs of St. Callistus, transferred to Santa Maria in Via Lata, and then to Casei, Italy, in 1765. His feast honors courage, faith, and devotion to Christ unto death. St. Fortunatus Time Period: d. 286 Feast Day: October 16 Title/Attributes: Martyr Location of Relic: Back Left Reliquary - Left Section Type of Relic: Bones St. Fortunatus, a young Roman legionary from Upper Egypt, was martyred in 286 AD in the Agaunum Valley (now Switzerland) as part of the Theban Legion. Composed of Christian soldiers from Egypt and Nubia, the legion refused Emperor Maximian’s order to sacrifice to pagan gods, choosing fidelity to Christ over life itself. Fortunatus, steadfast in faith, met death by clubbing during the legion’s extermination. His relics were later discovered in the Roman catacombs of St. Callistus, transferred to Santa Maria in Via Lata, and then to Casei, Italy, in 1765. His feast honors courage, faith, and devotion to Christ unto death. Next Item Previous Item

St. Leonard of Port Maurice was a Franciscan proponent of the Blessed Sacrament, the devotion of the Sacred Heart, the Stations of the Cross, and the Immaculate Conception. He was born in Port Maurice, Italy in 1676. In 1697 he joined the Franciscans of Strict Observance. He was then ordained a priest in 1703 and began preaching all over Italy. By 1736 he was attracting huge crowds in Rome and elsewhere and he established six hundred Stations of the Cross and promoted various devotions. Leonard died at his friary in 1751 and is named the patron saint of parish missions. St. Leonard of Port Maurice Time Period: 1676-1751 Feast Day: November 26 Title/Attributes: Confessor, Franciscan Location of Relic: Back Right Reliquary - Left Section Type of Relic: Piece of Habit (Clothing) St. Leonard of Port Maurice was a Franciscan proponent of the Blessed Sacrament, the devotion of the Sacred Heart, the Stations of the Cross, and the Immaculate Conception. He was born Leonard Casanova in Port Maurice, Italy in 1676. In 1697 he joined the Franciscans of Strict Observance. He was then ordained a priest in 1703 and began preaching all over Italy. By 1736 he was attracting huge crowds in Rome and elsewhere and he established almost six hundred Stations of the Cross. In 1744 he was sent by Pope Benedict XIV to preach on Corsica, and then returned in 1751. Leonard died at his friary in 1751 and is named the patron saint of parish missions. Next Item Previous Item

St. Elizabeth of Hungary, a Hungarian princess, was betrothed in childhood and married at 14 to Louis IV of Thuringia. A deeply devout woman, she was known for her extraordinary acts of charity, including feeding the poor and tending to the sick—deeds once symbolized in the miracle of roses turning into bread to feed the poor. After Louis’s death during a crusade, Elizabeth was exiled by her in-laws but found refuge with her uncle and joined the Third Order of St. Francis. Despite personal hardship and illness, she devoted her remaining years to caring for the destitute in Marburg, founding a hospital, and serving the poor until her death at age 24. She is venerated as a model of Christian charity and humility. St. Elizabeth of Hungary Time Period: 1207-1231 Feast Day: November 17 Title/Attributes: Widow, Mother, Princess Location of Relic: Back Left Reliquary - Center Section Type of Relic: Piece of tunic St. Elizabeth of Hungary was a Hungarian princess and renowned for her charity and deep spirituality. She was the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary and at the age of four she was betrothed to the nobleman, Louis IV of Thuringia. She married him in 1221 after his succession as ruler of Thuringia. Elizabeth toiled constantly to ease the suffering and hunger of the poor and infirm, although the expense incurred by her charity angered her husband. Once, when he complained bitterly about her activities, a basket of roses was changed miraculously into a basket of bread. Thereafter, he supported all of her charities, held her hand while they kept vigils, and prayed with her. Louis died in 1227, and Elizabeth came under the control of her brother-in-law, Henry Raspe. Declaring himself unable and unwilling to pay for her many charities, he exiled her. She fled to her uncle, the bishop of Eckbert, and became of member of the Third Order of St. Francis. Settling at Marburg, she fell under the harsh influence of Conrad of Marburg, whose demands upon her were so severe that she was finally removed from his spiritual direction. After recovering her health, she returned to the care of the poor in the area around Marburg and founded a hospital there. She died at the age of 24 from illness. Next Item Previous Item

St. Philip was one of the twelve Apostles, originally from Bethsaida. He was a disciple of John the Baptist before being called by Jesus to follow Him. Philip is mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and the Gospel of John provides deeper insights, highlighting his role in the feeding of the multitudes and his conversation with Jesus about seeing the Father. After the Ascension, details of his life are unclear, though tradition suggests he preached in Phrygia and was martyred by crucifixion upside down. He is also known for his two revered daughters, as mentioned by Polycrates. St. Philip the Apostle Time Period: 1st Century Feast Day: May 3 Title/Attributes: Apostle, Martyr Location of Relic: Main Reliquary - Center Section Type of Relic: Bones St. Philip was one of the twelve Apostles. According to John (1:43-51), Philip came from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter, and belonged to the group of disciples who surrounded John the Baptist. Philip was apparently present when John pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God. Christ called him to be a disciple only one day after choosing Peter and Andrew. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke give reference to Philip in their lists, usually placing him fifth, behind Peter, Andrew, James, and John (Luke 6:13-16; Mark 3:14-19; Matthew 10:2-4). The Gospel of John offers much more insightful information about the disciple, mentioning Philip in the episode of the feeding of the multitudes (6:5-7); the desire of several Greeks to meet Jesus (12:21-23); and the memorable exchange with the Lord when Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us,” to which Jesus replied, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (14:9). Philip thus appears as a realist, a pleasant personality, and a disciple hesitant to force his views upon others. Few details are known of his Activities after the Ascension. Some confusion in accounts has occurred between Philip the Apostle and Philip the Evangelist mentioned in chapter 8 of the Acts of the Apostles. Eusebius and other writers preserved assorted traditions about Philip’s later life. He supposedly preached in Phrygia, in Asia Minor; Clement of Alexandria reported that Philip died a martyr during the reign of Domitian by being crucified upside down; perhaps he died at Hierapolis, in Asia Minor. His two daughters were mentioned by Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus. Both Philips had daughters who were much revered in the early church. Next Item Previous Item