From the Desk of Fr. Thomas - March 2026 Newsletter
- Pompeii Rising
- Mar 31
- 4 min read
Dear Friends of Our Lady of Pompeii,
As we prepare for the Sacred Triduum, I look at things a little differently this year. Yes, the beautiful ceremonies are the same, but they are the end of a chapter in this chapel's history. Thursday will be the last time the Carpenter Gothic altar is stripped and readorned on the Third Day. Good Friday will be the last time the Crucifixes on the Rood Beam and back wall are unveiled during the adoration of the Cross. Saturday Night will be the last time we gather in our little dirt parking lot for the Easter Fire. I try not to get attached, but I must confess, I will miss it.
At the same time, it is consoling to remember that the next year's Paschal Fire will be in the plaza of the new church, bringing the Light of Christ to Downtown Jacksonville. There will be enough room for us all to gather inside to hear the Church’s oldest chant resound in the sanctuary for the first time in over 60 years.
Starting tomorrow, please join us for any and all ceremonies for Holy Week. Our impressive choir will treat us to a full Tenebrae, a combination of Matins and Lauds, on Saturday. They have worked very hard, and the Gregorian Chant and Polyphony from this Divine Office is unlike any found throughout the liturgical year.
For construction updates, the new mechanical room has been wrapped in an Arnold Stone veneer. We took a big risk in demolishing the old mechanical room and designing a new one from the ground up. Seeing the end result of this new addition affirms we made the correct decision. The match is so close I can’t remember what the edge of the church looked like before.
The catwalk will be installed in April and May.
(L) New wood shoring up old beams with metal brackets. (R) The structural engineer points out a problematic truss with a laser.
Without a doubt, the biggest risk we took was taking down the ceiling. We are so glad we did. While the vast majority of the trusses were in decent shape, one truss was completely compromised. Pictured above our structural engineer told me that if we let this problem go, the beam would have failed in 5-10 years.
I would be grateful if you would offer two special intentions this Holy Week. Firstly, a carryover from last month: real estate in the area. Secondly, we submitted our story to the National Trust for Historic Places for possible matching grants. There were over 300 applicants, and only so many winners, so please storm Heaven beseeching God to incline His ear.
As St. Paul reminds the Ephesians, "Every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the giving of Christ." Our Lord is so generous. In the Gospel of Luke, was it not He Himself who said "For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened."
Keep saying your Memorares,
Fr. Thomas
The children are doing their part. Since the Crusade was called, over Twenty Thousand Rosaries have been offered for the Pompeii Rising Restoration Project.
What a wonderful surprise to be treated to this cake!
Today’s mailbag is from a young lady named Laura who wrote to us with tender memories of her great-grand uncle, Msgr. Shashy. She calls him Aboona, which is ‘Father’ in Arabic.
"Msgr. Andrew Shashy baptized my older brother and me with Father Daniel Shashy as our Godfather. I found these pictures amongst some photos after my grandmother passed. He was very kind and also gentle. Upon seeing him, he would always take my little hands and say, 'Hello, honey. How are you? How you feel?'
"My dad used to tell me that Aboona would always say that he wanted to make it to his 50th jubilee. And wouldn’t you know it, he did make it. He awoke and went about his day. They celebrated his 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination and a few hours after the party, he passed away."
The full story is told in the Florida Times Union article Death comes after 50th anniversary for Monsignor Shashy.
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