Padre Pio, the Italian Capuchin Saint, wrote "Oh, the lovely month of MAy! It is the most beautiful month of the year. How well this month preaches the tenderness and beauty of Mary!"

The tenderness and beauty of the Blessed Virgin is the focal point of our spiritual life at Saint Francis Academy this month. Our Marian devotions have begun with the daily recitation of the rosary. On Tuesday evening our community will come together in prayer at our annual Mother's Day Mass. On this evening we will remember the many wonderful mothers, living and deceased, who have entrusted their children to Saint Francis Academy. On this occasion our new Parents' Guild will be installed and our outgoing Guild will be honored. The gratitude, appreciation and prayers of our entire community honors these women whose faith has allowed them to say yes, as Mary so generously said yes to the message of Angel Gabriel. Please join us in our chapel, mothers, grandmothers, families, as we honor the Queen of Heaven.

Our second graders are now preparing for their First Holy Communion. These First Communicants will lead the entire school in the rosary and the Crowning of Mary at the end of the month. Our Eighth Grade will also honor Mary on their graduation trip to the Basilica of Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Our group will attend Mass at the Crypt Church on the two days we will be in our nation's capital. Celebrating the Eucharist in this magnificent monument to the Blessed Mother is a truly inspiring experience.

May the beauty and tenderness of Mary bring you and your family closer to each other and may your families be abundantly blessed by the Queen of the May,