From the Desk of Fr. Thomas - March 2025 Newsletter
- Pompeii Rising
- Apr 2
- 3 min read
Ite ad Ioseph. The month of St. Joseph is of utmost importance to this project. Firstly, as the Patron of the Universal Church, all matters fall under his purview. Secondly, as the guardian of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he is the safekeeper of all shrines dedicated to his Ever Virgin Spouse. Maybe most obviously, as the patron of carpenters and builders, no hammer is swung or board is cut without his guidance. And finally, his silent example is how we move forward - without argument and with complete confidence in the Lord God’s providence.
Last week, when I visited Jacksonville and updated the community on the Pompeii Rising Restoration Project, I mentioned a “page-turn” meeting. In the industry, this vital consultation brings the various contractors together for a sanity check. Each page submitted for permits was discussed in an open-forum until all matters were considered closed. This laborious process took five hours over two days! We proactively worked out kinks and got ahead of possible insufficiencies. Contributors were Chuck Kennedy, the civil engineer; Buck Pittman, the landscape architect; Lane Hinkle the Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing engineer; Buck Smoak, the general contractor lead; Jeff Lane, our architect; and several parishioners on the Executive Committee, advocating for the parish needs. You can imagine the level of comfort this degree of planning brings when it is time to answer City requirements. Carrying the momentum forward, the Jacksonville Zoning Committee has allowed us to submit both Civil and Building plans simultaneously which will save us weeks, if not months, of processing time. As we wait for the City’s approval, we pray to St. Joseph, implementing the number one rule of a builder: to measure twice and cut once.
I also announced that on May 08, 2025 we will ceremoniously begin construction. Please click here to RSVP if you will be joining us. This also marks the one year anniversary of our custodianship of the Miraculous Image of Pompeii’s US based replica. Please join us as we break ground, invoke the Blessed Mother through the Suplica, and celebrate this milestone with delicious Eastertide food and drink. I will be there fresh from a pilgrimage to Italy - from Rome to Pompeii, ready to see Pompeii Rise in Jacksonville.
And to end on a high note, Blessed Bartolo Longo, exhorted his contemporaries to be “Promoters” of the construction of the Basilica in Pompeii. This month, I’m asking that you take up this same challenge simply by sharing this video with your friends. Feel free to post it on your social media. Subscribe to our YouTube channel where we will post all of our construction updates. Add a comment about where you live and how you heard about Our Lady of Pompeii. There are so many hearts the Mother of God wants to touch, and in this modern age, a video like this might be her way in.
Keep saying your daily Memorares,
Fr. Thomas
In lieu of our usual mailbag, I am inviting all of you to send me your intentions so that I can bring them before Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in her Papal Shrine in Pompeii on our pilgrimage to Italy on April 28. Please email them directly to me at Prayerintentions@pompeiirising.org.
What else have we been up to in March?
We are ramping up to for our 13th Annual Pascua Pilgrimage. It is not too late to sign up! If you cannot physically make the journey, sponsor clergy to make the trek on behalf of your intentions.
The Consoling Sisters of the Sacred Heart visiting Florida from Phoenix, AZ get a tour of Our Lady of Pompeii. This order is based in Italy where a number of members recently went on their own pilgrimage to Pompeii, including a vocation from our parish, Sr. Maria Raeffella.
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