Advent giving

ADVENT CANDLES AT SACRED HEART

For over 30 years Sacred Heart has had a tradition of giving to charities that provide service to those in need.  This year’s recipients are St. Katherine Drexel Parish in Roxbury, our sister parish, the Sisters of St. Joseph Aftercare Program, and Saint Mary’s Center for Women and Children in Boston.

Donations to St. Katherine Drexel will be administered by their Social Justice Committee for food, gifts or necessary essentials for those most in need.  Sr. Maureen Clark, chaplain at MCI Framingham, coordinates the Aftercare Program. Aftercare staff and volunteers work to prepare incarcerated and recently released women for life after prison.  St. Mary’s Center for Women and Children supports over 500 of Boston’s most vulnerable women, children, and families annually, working to address root causes of family homelessness.

Candles will be decorating the pillars of Sacred Heart beginning the first Sunday of Advent.  Donations to these recipients can be made by check made out to Sacred Heart Parish with the charity noted in the memo line.  You may  also designate ‘Advent Candles’ in the memo line and monies will be divided evenly among the three recipients.

  • ST. KATHARINE DREXEL

    “Our vision is to be a welcoming Village that is the pulse of the Black Roman Catholic Community dedicated to social justice, living the word of God through sacraments and service, increasing our numbers by the lives we touch.”

    The Social Justice Committee will distribute Sacred Heart donations to those in the parish most in need. The Committee is co-chaired by Sr. Tess Browne, SCN, and Ms. Lorraine Valentine.

    In addition to direct support, each Thanksgiving and Easter, turkeys and hams go to two Food Pantry locations managed by the Outreach Committee.

  • PRISON MINISTRY

    The Sisters of St. Joseph AFTERCARE PROGRAM helps women prepare to leave incarceration and return home to family and friends. 

    Chaplain, Sr. Maureen Clark, coordinates this program and works with volunteers and advocates to prepare incarcerated and recently released women for life after prison. 

    Sr. Maureen and her staff will use the funds to support the AfterCare Program.

  • ST. MARY'S CENTER FOR WOMEN AND CHILREN

    Located in Dorchester, East Boston, and soon Roxbury, St. Mary’s Center works collaboratively with over 500 mothers, fathers, and children annually through multiple adult family shelter programs, a young parenting living program, a transitional housing program, permanent supportive housing, and workforce development and behavioral health support programs. 

    By providing holistic wraparound supports, we partner with families on their journeys toward success, stability, and self-sufficiency. “