ANNUAL ST. PATRICK'S MASS SATURDAY COMMEMORATES A SESQUENTENNIAL.............

Saturday morning, Reverend Monsignor Edward J. Kavanagh will preside at a Concelebrated Mass he has held on the Saturday nearest St. Patrick's Day for some thirty years, at St. Rose's Church on Franklin Boulevard in South Sacramento, which since 1932 has been the headquarters of St. Patrick's Home and School.  St. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland, is the Co-Patron of the Diocese of Sacramento.  His name, was chosen by the Sisters of Mercy and their pastoral co-worker Reverend Father Thomas Dalton, in 1863; in Grass Valley, California where they founded St. Patrick's Orphanage, a home for children that has existed to this day.  St. Patrick's Home moved from Grass Valley to South Sacramento sixty nine years after its founding has been a mainstay on Franklin Boulevard ever since.  Msgr. Kavanagh arrived there in 1948, as a newly ordained priest, and remains there at age 88, being a priestly, fatherly, presence to the people of St. Rose's / St. Patrick's, and the alumni of the Home and School he, along with the dedicated Sisters of Mercy, and lay staff, ministered to, in his case for the past 65 years.  This year's St. Patrick's Day Mass commemorates the 150th Anniversary Year of St. Patrick's Home and School.  Coming three days after the Election of Pope Francis, will make it an even more special celebration.  I have been asked to preach at the Mass.  The Mass is at 8 a.m., in St. Rose's Church, at 5961 Franklin Boulevard at 38th Avenue in South Sacramento; followed by an Irish Breakfast in the Msgr. Kavanagh Hall, 5905 Franklin Boulevard.  All are welcome who want to spiritually and socially honor the venerable St. Patrick, whom the Church and the World festively remembers this weekend.............Fr.  Troy