As you may know, as a “senior” priest, euphemistically called “retired”, I help out in three parishes. I live blissfully on Hilton Head Island, aka, Paradise and help in two parishes in the area, Holy Family Church about a mile from my “villa” as condos are called here. And don’t worry, it is a 1,000 square feet villa, with two bedrooms, a general outdoor parking lot, and good luck finding a place close by during the height of the tourist season, and little to no storage.
I also help at St. Gregory the Great in Bluffton, the Diocese of Charleston’s largest parish with about 6,000 registered households in this retirement Mecca!
I also go to Savannah regularly to celebrate the TLM at Sacred Heart Church.
Holy Family Church caters to the throngs of tourists that visit Hilton Head Island. I am always impressed that Catholics, even on vacation, make sure to go to Mass and here on HHI a goodly number go to Holy Family’s 8 AM daily Mass!
In fact, at normal Sunday Masses about 3/4’s of those who attend Mass are visitors!
On Easter Sunday, Holy Family Church has to add many, many more Masses. Several in the church that already seats 1,500 people and several in the social hall that can accommodate up to 300 people.
HERE IS HOLY FAMILY CHURCH’S EASTER SUNDAY SCHEDULE:
These are in the main church that can accommodate up to 1,500 men, women and children:
7:30 AM: Fr. Allan
9:00 AM: Fr. Allan
10:30 AM: Fr. Scott
12:00 Noon: Fr. Scott
1:30 PM: Fr. Scott
3:00 PM (Spanish): Fr. Jose
The Social Hall that accommodates up to 300:
8:00 AM: Fr. Frank, OSB
9:30 AM: Fr. Frank, OSB
11:00 AM: Fr. Allan
While the church normally has ample parking on a stunningly beautiful piece of property, Parking is a nightmare on Easter Sunday and people have to find free parking blocks away.
Last Easter Sunday was my first time at Holy Family. It was surreal to see so many people coming and going and last Easter Sunday the weather was terrible with major thunderstorms!
4 comments:
Why is Fr, Ron not on the schedule? Is he that ill?
He is retiring. His last day as pastor is the Friday after Easter Sunday. He has congestive, memory issues and needs to live in an assisted living situation in Charleston. I have been taking most of the Masses for the past couple of weeks and beginning this weekend with Saturday’s Palm Sunday, I will take all the liturgies of Holy Week. The new pastor arrives Wednesday of Easter Week and begins with his first Mass there that Friday.
Not congestive (darn that auto-correct) but cognitive…
Father Allan, one year while on vacation in HHI we celebrated Easter Sunday at St. Gregory the Great. To accommodate the large crowd, the Mass was livestreamed to both the gymnasium and the large lawn in between on a large screen. Typically, we attend Sunday Mass at either Holy Family or Saint Francis by the Sea depending upon where we are staying.
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