This weekend is Hospitality Weekend, hosted by the Rosary and Altar Society and the Holy Name Society. Please make plans to join us for coffee, donuts, and fellowship after Mass.

Our parish will be participating in a life-affirming Baby Bottle Fundraiser to benefit Access Pregnancy & Referral Centers of Catholic Charities. ACCESS provides comprehensive pregnancy support services to abortion- vulnerable women, including pregnancy testing, ultrasound services, online Medicaid enrollment, low-cost maternity care and material support. Baby bottles will available after each Mass during the weekend of Oct. 17 & 18. Simply return your baby bottle filled with a donation the following weekend. This is a great way to show your support for LIFE. Thank you!

With the calendar year almost over, please be reminded that many of you indicated during school registration in January 2015, that you desired to be a registered, active, and supporting (RAS) family of St. Benilde Parish. Thank you for your commitment to our parish and for your desire to support the work of the Church in proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel! Please note that to be recognized as a RAS family at St. Benilde Parish, a contribution level has been set at $520 per calendar year. This is a friendly reminder that if you do not maintain the status of a RAS family by December 31, 2015, you will have to pay a higher non-participation tuition rate per child for the 2016-2017 school year. This has been a long-standing policy of our parish and is consistent with our neighboring Catholic Churches in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. If you would like to check your current contribution level, please call the Parish Office at 834-4980.

St. Benilde School is currently looking for a part time custodian to work with Mr. Fellman on various projects around the school. Interested applicant can contact Mr. Fellman Mire - Director of Facilities - at 504-833-9894.

The St. Benilde Foodie Fest is on its way! And we could use your help. We need some more cleaned out eggs to do our ever-popular confetti eggs. What is a confetti egg? It is an egg shell with the yolk removed and the insides cleaned out. It is then filled with confetti. Kids (and adults) love taking the eggs and smashing them on the heads of people at the fair. What do you need to do to help us out? Simply remove the yolk from eggs, clean out the shell, and bring them in to the school or parish office. The fair committee will take it from there. To learn how, simply Google “Confetti Eggs.” There are plenty of helpful tutorials online.

St. Benilde Parish is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on October 14th during The 40 Days for Life Campaign. Please consider joining other St. Benilde parishioners for an hour at the Ridgelake Avenue abortion facility to pray for an end to abortion. There is a sign-up poster in the vestibule of Church. Please call the Parish Office for more information.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans will offer a writing workshop for persons seeking an annulment in the Catholic Church or for persons responding to an annulment. The workshop will be held in St. Clement of Rome’s Parish Center in Metairie. The series will be for three (3) Saturdays, October 24, October 31 and November 7, 2015. Hours are 8:30 AM – 12 Noon. The materials for the series cost $25.00. To register or for more information, call Cathy at 504-861-6243.

Notre Dame Seminary will host its annual Gala & Auction on Saturday, October 10, 2015, 7:00 PM-10:00 PM, on the grounds of the Seminary located at 2901 South Carrollton Ave. The Seminary is celebrating 92 years of service to the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the dioceses throughout the South by preparing men for the ministerial priesthood. Tickets start at $100.00 and can be purchased at www.ndsgala.org or at the seminary.

Respect Life Sunday will be observed October 3-4. The CYO will be at all the Masses selling the 2016 Right to Life Calendars. The calendars cost $5 and portray prolife themes in beautiful full color graphics. The proceeds will help all the good pro-life work of New Orleans Right to Life, CYO, and other parish organizations.

Following all the Masses the weekend of September 26th and 27th, volunteers will be outside the main Church doors collecting cash donations for Cloth-A-Child. Every year, the Clothe-A-Child campaign provides gifts of newly purchased clothing for underprivileged children in the New Orleans area. The cash donations are used to purchase clothing that are individually wrapped for each child. The gifts are distributed to the children and families at an annual Christmas party sponsored by Catholic Charities. Please consider donating to this campaign. Thank you for your generosity.

Saint Joseph Abbey and Seminary College will host its annual fundraising gala, Deo Gratias, Latin for “thanks be to God,” on Saturday, October 24, 2015, on the beautiful grounds of Saint Joseph Abbey, located at 75376 River Road, in Saint Benedict, La., just north of Covington. The evening begins at 6:00 PM with Vespers in the Abbey Church with the Benedictine monks. The Abbey Church, included on the National Register of Historic Places, is illuminated by murals painted by renowned artist-monk Dom Gregory de Wit. The gala begins at 7:00 PM on the grounds of the Abbey and will continue until 10:00 PM.

Looking for a way to burn some calories, commune with Jesus, beautify our church, and fill a desperate need at the same time? Come help us vacuum - it is only a 30-45 minute obligation each month! Call Anita at 504-874-1210.

The 29th Archdiocese Youth Conference, World Youth Day New Orleans, will be held on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015, at the Morial Convention Center. The theme is “Rejoice in His Mercy.” The day features dynamic speakers, 2000 teens, praise and worship, Mass with Archbishop Aymond, and more! There is a track for grades 6 – 7 and a track for grades 8 – 12. To register, contact John Stiegman at 504-382-4081 by Oct. 15. We hope to have our Parish well represented. Don’t miss out!

Attention High School Sophomores and Juniors and anyone interested in receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. We are currently forming the Confirmation Class of 2016. Anyone who is currently a sophomore or older, and their parents, should attend an informational meeting and prayer service on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria. Registration forms are in the back of Church. They may be returned to either the School or Parish Office. Please note, the Archdiocese of New Orleans requires two consecutive years of religious instruction before Confirmation. For more information, please contact Cecilia Wilson at 504-782-8943 or by email at cwilson@stbenilde.com.

Do not miss our Annual Parish Bingo that the Home & School/Grandparents ' Club are sponsoring next Sunday Sept. 13, from 12:30- 2:30 p.m., in the cafeteria. There will be food, fun and game prizes for all ages. Doors open at 12noon. The $10 entry fee includes four interchangeable bingo cards for adults and children age five and up. Children under five are admitted free and receive one card. Donations are now being accepted from prize sponsors. To donate or for more information, please contact Cherisse at 504-261-1529 or email cherisseann2002@gmail.com.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans will offer a writing workshop for persons seeking an annulment in the Catholic Church or for persons responding to an annulment. The workshop will be held in Divine Mercy Parish Center, Kenner. The series will be for five (5) Tuesdays, Sept. 15, Sept. 22, Sept.19, Oct. 6, and Oct. 13, from 7:30 – 9 p.m. The materials are $25. To register or for more information, call Cathy, 504-861-6243.

Archbishop Aymond is asking all churches in the Archdiocese of New Orleans to have a light on in the confessional on Wednesday, September 9th as a sign that Christ is not only the light of the world but one who is eager to forgive and to heal us. St. Benilde Catholic Church will offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation on September 9th from 5:30pm - 6:30p.m. If you have been away from the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we invite you to come back to God’s loving mercy and forgiveness.

It is with great enthusiasm and gratitude that we begin a new academic year at St. Benilde Catholic School. I am tremendously proud of our wonderful students and the many contributions of all those who make Catholic education possible at St. Benilde Parish: dedicated administrators, teachers, school staff, volunteers, and parents, and, in a special way, generous parishioners and benefactors. Thank you for all you do to support the ministry of Catholic education.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is sponsoring a "Friends of the Poor Walk" on Saturday, Sept. 12th, at Laketown, Kenner. Onsite registration begins at 8 a.m., The one mile walk will start at 9 a.m. Music and refreshments will be provided from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Walkers are to solicit and collect pledges. Tee-shirts will be available to all onsite. Next weekend SVDP members will be at all the Masses with registration and pledge forms. This is an important fundraiser for our SVDP because all money raised in this parish stays in this parish. Thank you for your continued generosity.

The R.C.I.A. (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) Program is a series of sessions structured and designed to share with non-Christians and non-Catholics the saving truths of the Catholic faith. It is open to those who have never been baptized, as well as baptized Christians seeking to become fully initiated into the Catholic faith. Catholics desiring a better knowledge of their faith are also welcomed. Weekly meetings are held on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. in the library beginning August 24. To register for the RCIA Program or if you have additional questions, please call the Parish Office at 834-4980.