Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I'm writing this letter to first share with you that Sacred Heart Parish will be celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2023. Sacred Heart has been serving the Catholic community in East Boston since 1873: let us get ready for this jubilee united in our faith and thankful to God for the chance to move foward together. 

As we prepare for the anniversary celebration and as we continue to move forward and grow as a community of faith, we do need your further financial support. Because of your generousity in last year's Grand Annual Appeal we raised, $31,000 and were were able to address some of the issues affecting our physcial plant:

• We replaced the sound system in the church
• We repaired the exterior handicap ramp and the stairs from the parking lot to the lower level of the church yard. 
• We also replaced the cracked floor by the side door to the all on Paris Street. 

However, we were not able to install a few new window panes in the parish hall as orignally planned.

The Grand Annual Appeal this year will be different than usual. The 2022 Grand Annual is going to be part of the "2023 Jubilee Capital Campaign" -- a massive undertaking to renovate the parish hall. We are in the early stages of the project that will include:

• Installing a sprinkler system,
• Installing a handicap ramp from the church to the hall and make the bathrooms handicap accessible,
• Install window panes, and
• Updating the AV system

The project is scheduled to be completed in December 2023. The scope of the project exceeds what we can raise with the Grand Annual, and for this reason, we are planning to reach out to additional donors and local groups, asking them to also contribute to the capital campaign.

I am writing to invite you to take part in the 2022 Grand Annual Appeal that will kick off on the weekend of October 29th and 30th. I'm asking for a total of $45,000 to be incorporated into the 2023 Jubilee Capital Campaign. If each family contributes $300, will fulfill our financial goal. I understand the unique circumstances of all, therefore, I ask that we pray on what our own maximum contribution could be to support our faith community. Contributions can be made at once, monthly, or quarterly. You can drop of your contributions into the collection box, drop it in the mail or use the form below to pay online. 

As a parish, truly centered in Christ, and recognizing our call to stewardship, we must desire more than maintaining our community. Christ desires that we evangelize in order for his Church to grow. I invite all to discern not just your financial support but how you might be able to share your time and talents with our Parish. Maybe it has been a while since you have been with us; I encourage you to take the opportunity of this 150th anniversary to come back. We have so much to offer as a community of faith, but we can only do so with your complete support through your sharing of all the gifts God has given you. 

With your prayers and financial help, together we can continue to make our spiritual home safe and beautiful. I am truly blessed to be the pastor here. Please know how grateful I am for all that you do to make Sacred Heart the great parish that it is. 

Your servant in Christ,


Fr. Paolo Cumin,   FSCB
Parish Administrator