We are a Diocese of people with many backgrounds—socially, economically, geographically, and culturally—but we are united in Jesus Christ, especially in the Eucharist. Together, we are using our many gifts and talents to spread Christ’s message of love, hope, and unity to all. We celebrate this message with one another and share it joyfully with our neighbors.

We spread the message of oneness in various ways. Sometimes it’s on a smaller level at our local parish. Other times it’s on a grander scale that impacts people around the country, or even the world. But no matter how soft or loud the message, it ultimately speaks to the same values: our faith, humility, belief in Christ, and compassion not only to fellow believers but to all people.

Parishes in Christ

Let’s look at how one parish reached out to evangelize an entire city. Father Peschel at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in New Bedford was coordinating a Eucharistic procession and he reached out to local pastors to make this a citywide collaborative. The procession stopped at four parishes along its route, bringing their members together. The procession culminated with parishioners across the city coming together as one for soup and prayer. This is an excellent example of one parish reaching out to create a community event.

Corpus Christi in East Sandwich and Holy Family in East Taunton represent a great example of a cross region of two parishes working together to bolster the relationships of men in their communities by expanding upon Corpus Christi’s ACTS men’s retreat.

Then there’s St. Joseph Guardian of the Holy Family, led by Monsignor Avila, that brought three parishes together canonically under one roof and one name. Diocese Bishop Edgar Moreira da Cunha approved a proposal to unite three Falmouth churches—St. Anthony’s, St. Patrick’s, and St. Elizabeth Seton—into one.

Collaboratives in Christ

Another example of individual parishes working as a community is the union of four parishes joining forces for a great cause. Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Seekonk, St. Francis Xavier in Acushnet, Corpus Christi in East Sandwich, and St. John Neumann in East Freetown came together to run a summer camp for youths in the Church. On the last day, they brought the families together to celebrate their faith as one.

Collaboratives in Christ

On a grander scale, the Diocese of Fall River brings together people from all over to share their faith with others in surrounding communities. We’re in the midst of a Eucharistic revival in the country. To boost this revival, the Bishop hosted the Relics of Blessed Carlo Acutis and St. Manuel Garcia tour that was making its way around the country. Led by National Eucharistic Preacher Father Roger Landry, we went throughout the Diocese preaching about the Lord and the Eucharist. By the end of the week-long tour, we reached close to 2,000 people. Because it was challenging to bring everyone together geographically, we went to them so we could all be united as one community.

Our shared commitment to living out the message of the Gospel is what ultimately unites all Catholics as one community in Christ.

David Carvalho
David Carvalho
Secretary for the New Evangelization