Not to preach the Gospel would be my undoing, for Christ himself sent me as his apostle and witness. The more remote, the more difficult the assignment, the more my love of God spurs me on. I am bound to proclaim that Jesus is Christ, the Son of the living God. Because of him we come to know the God we cannot see. 

He is the firstborn of all creation; in him all things find their being. Man's teacher and redeemer, he was born for us, died for us, and for us he rose from the dead.

All things, all history converges in Christ. A man of sorrow and hope, he knows us and loves us. As our friend he stays by us throughout our lives; at the end of time he will come to be our judge; but we also know that he will be the complete fulfilment of our lives and our great happiness for all eternity.

I can never cease to speak of Christ for he is our truth and our light; he is the way, the truth and the life. He is our bread, our source of living water who allays our hunger and satisfies our thirst. He is our shepherd, our leader, our ideal, our comforter and our brother.

He is like us but more perfectly human, simple, poor, humble, and yet, while burdened with work, he is more patient. He spoke on our behalf; he worked miracles; and he founded a new kingdom: in it the poor are happy; peace is the foundation of a life in common; where the pure of heart and those who mourn are uplifted and comforted; the hungry find justice; sinners are forgiven; and all discover that they are brothers.

The image I present to you is the image of Jesus Christ. As Christians you share his name; he has already made most of you his own. So once again I repeat his name to you Christians and I proclaim to all men: Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, Lord of the new universe, the great hidden key to human history and the part we play in it.

He is the mediator – the bridge, if you will – between heaven and earth. Above all he is the Son of man, more perfect than any man, being also the Son of God, eternal and infinite. He is the son of Mary his mother on earth, more blessed than any woman. She is also our mother in the spiritual communion of the mystical body. 

Remember: it is Jesus Christ I preach day in and day out. His name I would see echo and re-echo for all time even to the ends of the earth.

Please remember in your prayers the repose of the soul of Rev. Elmer P. Wurth, M.M. who passed away on October 4, 2021, in Kalida, Ohio. 

Father Wurth was 92 years old and a Maryknoll priest for 65 years. 

Memorial Mass: Wednesday, November 3, 2021 at 11:00 A.M. (11:00PM Hong Kong Time), Queen of Apostles Chapel, Maryknoll, New York

Replay available through the YouTube link below.

With thanks to Dennis Montecillo for compiling this video and to all of our current and former parishioners for contributing!  

The following remarks were prepared by David Lamb, Chairman of the English Speaking Parish Council of St. Anne's on the occasion of the departure of our Pastor, Fr. John McAuley, M.M.

Fr John arrived at St Anne's a little more than four years ago. His first weekend, or perhaps day, at St Anne's was on Service Sunday, when without much warning he was quickly thrust into the Parish ministries and operations. He handled that cooly with his able manner with which we have now become accustomed. Since then, it is safe to say that Fr John has been involved in every aspect of our Parish. He has shown himself to be truly a "hands-on" individual who gets things done!

Fr John arrived here amidst change. Fr Ed served as our Pastor for a short time after the long tenure of Fr Wurth. At the time, the Parish was looking for a bit of stablity and Fr John stepped up to that role and became the steady and trusted pair of hands that guided the tilller of our Parish. Fr John's calm, capable and confident demeanour was just what the Parish needed. Fr John has clearly been the glue or bond that has held St Anne's together.

In summary, Fr. John has been an inspirational Pastor whose diligence, spirituality and leadership have greatly benefited the St. Anne's community. He has been instrumental in ensuring that the Parish receives maintenance and care both spiritually and tangibly!

We will miss Fr. John but we will keep him in our hearts and prayers and know he will do the same for St. Anne's. 

Father William Galvin died at Mission St. Teresa's on April 21, 2016. He was 86 years old and would have celebrated his 60^th year of ordination in June 2016.

William Joseph Galvin was born in Kew Gardens, New York on June 25, 1929, the youngest child of Eugenia Bannin and John F. Galvin, Jr. His sister, Ella, and his three brothers, Jack, Tom, and Paul, are all deceased. He graduated from Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Grade School, Forest Hills, and Bishop Loughlin High School, Brooklyn, both in New York City. A life-long association with and appreciation of the De LaSalle Brothers dates from his Loughlin days.

He entered Maryknoll September 11, 1947 at the newly opened Maryknoll Apostolic College, Lakewood, New Jersey. His final year of Philosophy was taken at Maryknoll, New York, where he received his B.A. in Philosophy in 1951. After Novitiate at Bedford, Massachusetts, he obtained his Master of Sacred Theology degree in 1955, and his Master of Religious Education in 1956, both at Maryknoll Seminary, Ossining, New York. He took his Final Oath to Maryknoll in June 1955, and was ordained a priest in the new Maryknoll Chapel by Francis Cardinal Spellman on June 9, 1956.

Father Galvin's first mission assignment was to Hawaii. He was Assistant Pastor for three years at St. Joseph Parish, Hilo. In 1959, the year Hawaii became a State, he was transferred to the new Maryknoll mission on the Island of Mindanao in the Philippines. After language school in Davao City, he was assigned, along with Fr. Jim Collins, as the first Maryknollers on the East Coast of Davao, to the parish of St. Francis Xavier, Manay. In 1961, he was named the first Maryknoll pastor of Senor Santiago Parish in Cateel on the East Coast. There he built and was director of the Maryknoll High School of Cateel.

 Godspeed, Fr. Mike. With love from your Body of Christ at St. Anne's!

Congratulations, Fr. Mike on the 25th Anniversary of your Ordination! 

St. Anne's is a Roman Catholic community striving to bear witness to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

As a parish, we do this by nurturing our members in the Body of Christ, increasing their faith by the Word of God and receiving the Sacraments.

As a mission church in an international city, St. Anne's has unique opportunities and encourages her parishioners to reach out to serve the greater community through its ministries. The fellowship of love and compassion, inspired by the Holy Spirit, utilizes the many talents of its congregation.

As the world enters a new decade, St. Anne's is charged, with revitalized energy and confidence, to continue and expand her commitments. It is her goal to foster an ever-growing awareness of God's presence in the lives and welfare of all people.

The following video, prepared in commemoration of St. Anne's 50th Anniversary, tells the story of the parish from its very beginning. Led by Fr. Elmer Wurth, this presentation draws on the first-hand experience of its clergy and parishioners, in some cases dating back to the very founding of the parish in 1959.

Produced with love by The Media Village

Director: Charles Edwards
Special thanks to Steve Marcopoto and Vincenzo Viola