Come join in sharing the start of the season with beautiful sights, smells and sounds of Christmas to come! And, don't forget to wear your favorite Victorian attire. If you join us in dressing up, you will receive a special prize and a chance to win one of our raffles. 
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Ave Maria's Hometown Christmas Festival will be held on December 6th from 5-10 pm.
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End the night with Eucharistic Holy Hour accompanied by an Angel Choir Procession (from 9-10 pm).

​Parish Events, Activities and Highlights
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Christmas Victorian Bake Shoppe from 5-8:30 pm

• Parishoners can sample a wide variety of Christmas baked goods as well as hot cocoa and cider in the Bake Shoppe cafe. Several raffles will also be offered. 

• Enjoy Christmas holiday classics sung by carolers dressed in Victorian style clothing.

• Saint Nicholas will regale the crowd with many inspiring stories and will also be available for pictures.

• Arts and craft vendors will be on hand to share a variety of handmade items.

• Children will love our Christmas Scavenger hunt as they explore the many venues spread across the town, with surprises around every corner.

• As a new tradition, Father Mayer and the Christmas Victorian carolers will kick off the Christmas tree lighting.

• Christmas Carol Competition Winners will share their vocal talents with the entire town, singing Christmas classics. ​

• Donahue Academy third grade students will bring Christmas to life with an unforgettable Nativity Tableau.

• A choir of adorable angels will lead the crowd on a walk around the church to begin the Holy Hour.

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Every Monday, abortions  are performed at Planned Parenthood on the corner of Goodlette-Frank Rd. and Creech Rd. The Diocesan Respect Life Office has equested that each parish choose one Monday a month when they would commit to bringing as many people as possible to the Planned Parenthood sidewalk to pray. Ave Maria Catholic Church has been assigned the 5th Monday of any month that has a 5th Monday. We will be covering the hours from 9:00-300 p.m. with people praying on the sidewalk. Please contact Richard and Suzanne Dionne at jmjdionnes(at)hotmail.com or 239-324-0714. If you are unable to commit to a specific time or feel free to come at your convenience.

The Knights of Columbus Silver Rose is visiting Ave Maria Catholic Church on Tuesday June 25 and Wednesday June 26.  Each year, from early March through mid-December, Silver Roses are stewarded by Knights of Columbus councils along routes from Canada to Mexico. Every stop the Silver Rose makes throughout the pilgrimage is a rosary-centered occasion for Knights, parishioners and community members to pray for respect for life, for the spiritual renewal of each nation, and for the advancement of the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

History of the Silver Rose

Our Lady of Guadalupe did so much for her people in Mexico that, in 1960, the Columbian Squires, a youth organization of the Knights of Columbus, wanted to give something back to her.

The group of young men in Knights of Columbus Council 2312 in Monterrey, Mexico, came up with the idea of running a rose to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Monterrey, Mexico. The rose was chosen to commemorate Juan Diego and the miracle of the roses, an important part of the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Hence the Silver Rose tradition was born and continues with the Knights of Columbus.

 “Through the Silver Rose Program we honor not only Our Lady of Guadalupe and express the unity of the Knights of Columbus, but we also reaffirm our dedication to the sanctity of human life. It is to the Blessed Mother that we turn in prayer as we work to end the Culture of Death that grips our society. As we think in terms of ‘One Life, One Rose,’ it is most appropriate that we turn to Our Lady of Guadalupe who made known Her will through Juan Diego and the miracle of the roses.”

–Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson

The Silver Rose will be on display at the 12:00 noon Mass on Tuesday and 11:00 am on Wednesday and Silver Rose Prayer services will be conducted after each Mass by Father Paciorek.

On January 19, 2017 the Diocese of Venice purchased the oratory from Ave Maria University (AMU) and elevated its status from a quasi parish to a parish.  With Diocesan approval Ave Maria Parish became a church and Catholic sacraments like baptisms, weddings, and funerals can now be performed without exemption from the Bishop.  

At time of purchase, AMU donated a 2 1/2 acre lot adjacent to the Church and Ave Maria Development donated a 10 acre parcel to the diocese for future development.  

              

Ave Maria Parish just hosted its monthly Pancake Breakfast on March 24th and on April 14th.  Father Mayer hosts the breakfasts with assistance from the Ave Maria Councils of the Knights of Columbus and the Columbiettes.  The mouthwatering event has occurred monthly when school is session since Sep of 2016.  Jim Stevens of the Knights of Columbus stated they usually serve approximately 250 hungry parishioners and guests, which equates to 500 pancakes, 400 sausage patties and gallons of coffee and orange juice.

Transformational merciful love campaign launched March, 2019, Ave Maria, Florida.  On the heels of their massive national young adult Marian Consecration campaign, Mercy Through Mary is leading another national campaign, this time focused on consecration to Divine Mercy.   Based on Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC’s best-selling do-it yourself retreat book, 33 Days to Merciful Love, young adults will be led along the next step of sanctity by tapping into the incredible graces of this time of mercy.  By registering for the national campaign at www.mercythroughmary.com, young adults can receive a free copy of the book, daily inspiration via email, and get connected with others throughout the country.  To receive the book in time participants must register by March 14^th.  
 
St. Therese’s Offering to Merciful Love, which makes the grace of this Time of Mercy accessible to all, forms the foundation of 33 Days to Merciful Love.  Fr. Gaitley masterfully combines Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Catholic Church with the incredible insights of the “Little Flower” to unlock the riches of this powerful Consecration to Merciful Love.  Divine Mercy Sunday, April 28^th, will be the date of consecration with preparation beginning March 25^th.   
 
Last year thousands of young adults at over 240 participating locations consecrated themselves to Mary on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Now the Mercy Through Mary team led by Ave Maria University students is urging young adults everywhere to boldly proclaim the Joy of the Gospel through the experience of Divine Mercy.  This Divine Mercy campaign is for every young adult who is willing to be transformed, answering St. Pope John Paul II’s call “to be the saints of the new millennium.”  Going with Mary to the heart of Jesus, the heart of mercy, the consecration will help all involved truly say, “Jesus, I trust in You.” 
 
Mercy Through Mary is the Nationwide Young Adults Outreach of the Mary & Mercy Center in Ave Maria, FL.  Dedicated to helping young adults live Marian and love mercifully, it’s spirituality rests upon such spiritual giants as Saints Louis de Montfort, Therese of Lisieux, Faustina, Teresa of Calcutta, Maximillian Kolbe, and Pope John Paul II.  Their vision to see a world united under the generalship of Mary Immaculate aimed at winning souls for Christ is rooted in personal holiness, formation, community, and merciful outlook.
 
You can find out more from their website: www.mercythroughmary.com 

Mercy Through Mary at the Mary and Mercy Center 
5060 Annunciation Circle, Ste. 102
Ave Maria, FL 34142 
239-658-5806
info(at)mercythroughmary.com
 

On Thursday, October 3, 2019 the St. Clare Fraternity of Ave Maria and Fr. Rick Martignetti, OFM Director of Campus Ministry at Ave Maria University celebrated the transition of St. Francis of Assisi from his earthly to his heavenly home. Janet Eidem, Vice Minister of the St. Clare Fraternity prepared the readings for the celebration and recruited members to read the parts in conjunction with Fr. Rick who took the Leader role in the readings. Fr. Rick not only participated, but also arranged for us to use Xavier Chapel at the University and asked for help from Ave Maria students to provide music for the group and refreshments as part of the celebration. The refreshments included almond cookies that Fr. Rick explained was a favorite of St. Francis. Fr. Rick also gave each of the participants holy cards with St. Francis’s “Praises of God Most Holy” that St. Francis wrote for Brother Leo to assist him in his meditation on Mount La Verna.

Twenty-one people attended the Transitus celebration. It was a wonderful chance to reflect on St. Francis’s life and his embrace not only of “Lady Poverty”, but also on his appreciation of all of God’s gifts on earth including “Sister Death”. St. Francis’s transition to heaven occurred two years after he was provided the gift of the Stigmata after a forty-day period of prayer and fasting. Franciscans then and now continue to seek to live a gospel life as St. Francis did focused on Christ’s example, going from gospel to life and life to the gospel.