 Parish Ministries
In the United States Jesuits, are known more for their work in education than in parishes. However, world-wide, 21% of active Jesuits labor for the Kingdom of God in the parish context. The Missouri Province has four parishes in the United States and two parishes in Belize, Central America. The parish is the first place where a person meets the believing Christian community. It is the place of baptism and confirmation into the Catholic faith. It is where a person hears the Word of God and celebrates the Eucharist. It is the place of reconciliation, worship, weddings and funerals. The parish is the place where a person meets the Church and recognizes the whole Christian community. It is the place to receive all the sacraments, learn Christian service, and grow in prayer and spiritual maturity. Missouri Province ParishesBelize City, Belize, Central America
St. Martin de Porres Parish
PO Box 489
Belize City, Belize, Central America
Telephone: 011.501.222.4449
Website: http://www.catholicchurch.bz/martins The story of St. Martin de Porres Parish begins in the late 1960s because of a need to care for Catholics living on the western edge of Belize City. Fr. Thomas Thro SJ, served as the first pastor and celebrated Sunday Mass in the homes of parishioners. Around 1971 building began on a church structure and a Jesuit residence. The parishioners selected the name Martin de Porres because of the saint’s care and concern for the poor. The parish has grown considerably over the years. Today the parish grounds cover an entire city block that contains three school buildings, a church, the original building, a pre-school run by the diocese, a soccer field, and a basketball court. Despite the changes, the parish remains deeply committed to those in need and firmly rooted in the neighborhood it helped to create. The surrounding area is often referred to simply as “St. Martin’s Neighborhood.” The community of St. Martin de Porres thanks God for the blessings bestowed over the years and asks for continued blessings in the future. Denver, Colorado
St. Ignatius Loyola Parish
2309 Gaylord Street
Denver, CO 80205
Telephone: 303.322.8042
Website: www.loyoladenver.com St. Ignatius Loyola Parish is an ethnically and culturally diverse Catholic community, united by our faith in Jesus Christ and strengthened by our celebration of the Mass and the sacraments and by our foundation in the spirituality of St. Ignatius Loyola. We seek to help build the Kingdom of Christ by growing in the understanding of our faith and of God’s will for us. We strive to share our faith with others, and to create a home where all are welcome. We pledge ourselves to promote peace and justice in our world. Kansas City, Missouri
St. Francis Xavier Parish
1001 East 52nd Street
Kansas, City, MO 64110
Telephone: 816.523.5115
Website: www.sfx-kc.org Through a process of discernment, prayer, and reflection, the Parish Pastoral Council of St. Francis Xavier has identified ongoing conversion, community building, and active engagement as the primary focus of this community’s energies, talents, and resources. Ongoing Conversion
We are a pilgrim church, seeking ongoing conversion on our life-long faith journey. As a Jesuit parish, we support a center of Ignatian Spirituality. We will invite and welcome people who are looking for a place of spiritual nourishment and a Catholic Church home, accepting them wherever they are on their faith journey. Community Building
We are a community of believers. We will invite and encourage participation into ministries in the life of the church. We will also identify and prepare parishioners for leadership positions in our faith community. Active Engagement
We are a people committed to “seeing God in all things.” We will maintain an active engagement with our community, nation and world to build the Kingdom of God within our midst. The St. Francis Xavier Community does not exist for itself; therefore, we will build and enhance our partnership with our sister institutions and the community at large. We affirm that the Gospel calls each of us to put on Christ. Our collective answer to this call will be determined by how completely we respond to becoming more fully a pilgrim church, a community of believers, and a people committed to “seeing God in all things.” Punta Gorda, Belize, Central America
St. Peter Claver Parish
PO Box 25
Punta Gorda, Belize, Central America
Telephone: 011.501.722.2004
Website: http://www.catholicchurch.bz/peterclaver We are believers united in the love of Christ, aspiring to create a community of communities in which all of its members can live, reflect and promote the teachings of Jesus Christ, empowering each person to develop and share his or her gifts and talents to build the Kingdom of God. By the promotion of faith and justice, evangelization, sacramental and spiritual formation, the community of believers will encounter Christ and commit to his urgent challenge of following him within his body, the Church, and to labor together to bring others to know, love and serve him. Deriving from this, the priority goals in implementing this mission at present are:
► To build lively Small Christian Communities, aware of and contributing to the larger whole of the parish
► To empower our people and increase their self-reliance
► To increase trust, cooperation, shared decision-making between the church leadership and the people
► To counter the growth of the evangelical churches in the Toledo District by increasing our own missioning efforts
► To increase our efforts in building a truly inculturated Catholic Church in the Toledo District. St. Louis, Missouri
St. Francis Xavier (College) Church
3628 Lindell Boulevard
Saint Louis, MO 63108
314.977.7300
Website: www.collegechurch.slu.edu We are a Eucharist-centered, spirit-filled people who choose to form parish community and to experience spiritual growth through life-giving liturgies in a worship space of beauty and reverence. Out of a long history of spiritual leadership from the Society of Jesus, we are challenged with the Gospel values of love, compassion and social justice. As a worshipping community, we extend hospitality and fellowship. We enrich our faith through prayer, diversity of membership, attention to family life and social ministry. We empower the laity in bringing forth the Kingdom of God and foster interfaith partnerships. We seek to deepen and grow in our commitment to being a Jesuit Parish at Saint Louis University in the center of the City of St. Louis. St. Louis, Missouri
St. Matthew the Apostle Parish
2715 North Sarah Street
Saint Louis, MO 63113
Telephone: 314.531.6443
Website: www.st-matthew-church.org The very heart of St. Matthew the Apostle Catholic Church is Jesus Christ present on the altar. Our mission, born at that altar, is to be sent forth into our neighborhood in order to build up the Kingdom of God. The labor of this effort must address in deed more than in word the needs of our people.
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