St. Mary, Star of the Sea

"My Dear Brothers and Sisters of St. Mary, Star of the Sea, in Aransas Pass, little by little, we are beginning to resume our regular ministries here in the parish. We have received some calls regarding Baptisms. For a list of requirements for baptism, please contact the parish office. We will email these to parishioners. Non-parishioners will be referred to their home parishes/parish of residence. Our deadline to have your child baptized on the last Sunday of October will be Thursday, October 15 by 12pm. Only those persons who have all the required documents on that date will be able to attend the Baptism Class for October. Anyone lacking any documents will have to wait until the next time baptisms will be celebrated. At this time, we will be having celebrations in November, but not December. If for some reason, the pandemic worsens during the winter months, we may suspend baptisms once again. We regret that the current situation may require some time before we get back to "normal." Always feel free to contact the parish office with your questions. With regard to Religious Education, we will be having both live classes with an instructor (teacher) and at home classes conducted by parents. Children requiring sacramental preparation for the Sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation are asked to contact the parish to register their children beginning Monday, October 12, 2020. Live classes are tentatively scheduled to begin on Saturday mornings beginning November 7, 2020. The classes will go from 9:30am - 11:30am. This is subject to change based on information we receive from the parents. Students receiving instruction at home will receive lessons via regular mail or email. These lessons are to be completed by the deadline indicated and parents will be responsible for ensuring that the requirements are satisfied and paperwork is submitted in a timely fashion. All non-sacramental classes will not officially begin until January 2021, assuming that the situation with Covid-19 does not hinder our plans. Some information regarding non-sacramental classes will be given/distributed before January 2021. More information will be forthcoming and parents registering their children will be given further instructions at the time of registration. Please, be patient with the process during these difficult times. Thank you and God bless all of you. Hope to see you soon! Your pastor, Fr. Emilio"

"Special Announcement - Beginning Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, the public celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession) will be made available to our parishioners at St. Mary, Star of the Sea in Aransas Pass. Confessions will be heard from 6pm to 7pm in what was formerly known as the "Library," which is the room located next to the choir area of the church. If you are facing the altar, it is to the left of the altar. The Sacrament will be celebrated each First Friday of the month until further notice. Private confessions can still be scheduled through the parish office. Masks must be worn and social distancing must be observed. The options of behind the screen and face to face confession will be made available. Please observe signs and instructions regarding where to line up for the reception of the Sacrament. Please call the parish office if you have any questions. In October additional announcements will be made regarding Baptisms and Religious Education classes. Please stay tuned. Thank you all for your patience and God bless all of you. Fr. Emilio"