Saint Ann Catholic Church 

This email is our monthly Faith Formation update to let you know about programs happening at Saint Ann and across the Diocese in adult faith formation, OCIA, religious education, sacrament preparation, and more. 

These emails do not replace regular communication channels for our OCIA participants, youth ministry, and Sunday School - if you'd like to receive more regular emails about any of these programs, please contact mandi@stannnash.org. 

Join us for the Liturgies of Holy Week this week. View our schedule here. 

Join the parish on Saturday, April 26th, at 6:00 PM (immediately following the 5:00 Mass) for our annual Eucharistic Procession, this year held in honor of Divine Mercy Sunday. We will process through Sylvan Park, pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy together (beginning a parish-wide Novena to the Divine Mercy), and end with Benediction in the church. Reception to follow. 

Every twenty-five years, pilgrims from all over the world flock to Rome for a jubilee year to witness the opening of the Holy Door, and to receive a blessing by passing through it. The door depicts salvation history in sixteen panels to inspire us to connect our lives to the story of our savior. We may not all be able to travel to Rome for the jubilee year, but a bit of Rome will come to Saint Ann on May 5th at 6:00 PM in Breen Hall. Join us for "How to Be a Jubilee People" with Joan Watson, author of the new book "Opening the Holy Door: Hope-Filled Reflections from St. Peter's Basilica." Joan is a prolific writer, veteran pilgrimage guide to Rome and other Holy sites, and the former Director of Faith Formation for the Diocese of Nashville. The talk is free, but books will be available for purchase, and we'll have an opportunity to support Joan's ministry with a good will offering.  More information and flyer here: https://saintannparish.com/events/how-to-be-a-jubilee-people-with-joan-watson

If you are unable to attend the event at Saint Ann, but would like to hear Joan speak, she will be at St. Mary's Bookstore on Saturday, May 3rd, from 11:00 to 1:00 PM, and at St. Matthew's Church on Sunday, May 4th, at 6:00 PM.

Join Father Fye and the Saint Ann Evangelical Catholic team on Tuesday, May 20th, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM in Breen Hall for Being an Easter People, a mission huddle in which participants will be encouraged to explore what it means to celebrate the Easter season for all fifty days and beyond. Through discussion, scripture, prayer, and both spiritual and practical advice, attendees will encounter their own tombs of darkness and opportunities to live the Joy of the Resurrection. Dinner provided. RSVP to mandi@stannnash.org.

Family Bible Study hosted by Zane and Maria Laughlin continues in May monthly on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays at 3:30 PM in Breen Hall. Families of all ages and sizes are welcome! Join the GroupMe to learn more! 

Cursillo, a Catholic retreat since the 1940s, is a source of spiritual awakening within Central Tennessee. Contact Saint Ann parishioners Ben Pietrzyk at ben.pietrzyk@gmail.com or Tony Frankie at tonyfrankie@gmail.com to attend an upcoming retreat.

Men's Weekends - Sept 25-28, 2025

Women's Weekends - Oct 2-5, 2025

More information available at nashvillecursillo.com

Our next Parent and Godparent Baptism class is Monday, May 12th, at 6:30 PM. Contact mandi@stannnash.org to learn more or to register.

Mondays, 6:00 PM Young Adult Vespers and Social - Church

Mondays, 6:00 PM Catholics in Recovery - St. Joachim House

Mondays, 7:30 PM Men's Prayer and Basketball - Gym

Tuesdays, 6:30 PM OCIA Meeting and Social - Breen Hall

2nd Tuesdays, 6:30 PM Lighthouse Young Adult Adoration, Praise, & Worship - Church

Thursdays, 10:00 AM Bible Study - Church Office

Thursdays, 6:30 PM every other week The Chosen Group Study - Church Office

Fridays, 6:00 AM Men's Bible Study - Church Office

1st and 3rd Saturdays, 3:30 PM Family Bible Study - Breen Hall

Sundays, 9:40 AM Children's Religious Education PK3-Confirmation Prep - School

1st and 3rd Sundays, 12:15 PM Middle School Youth Group - Gym

Sundays, 3:30 PM Children's Religious Education K-10th Grade, Spanish - School

Sundays, 3:30 PM OCIA Meeting, Spanish - Breen Hall

2nd and 4th Sundays, 6:00 PM High School Youth Group - Gym

Sundays, 7:30 PM Gianna's Group Bible Study for Moms of Young Children - St. Joachim House

Young Adult Bible Studies Join the Young Adult GroupMe to request information

Tuesday - Friday, 4:30 to 5:30 Daily Adoration 

Bishop J. Mark Spalding of Nashville will celebrate Chrism Mass at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15, at Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Church. During Chrism Mass, Bishop Spalding will consecrate the sacred chrism and bless the oil of the sick and oil of the catechumens. Diocesan priests will renew their commitment to priestly service, and Bishop Spalding will renew his own dedication as the shepherd of the diocese. For the first time, Bishop Spalding will bestow the Papal Blessing with a plenary indulgence. Visit NashvilleChrism.org for more information.

All are invited to a Tenebrae Service at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 16, at St. Edward Church in Nashville. The solemn service will feature Italian Baroque music including Mozart’s Miserere mei as attendees experience the beauty of the Liturgy of the Hours by candlelight ahead of the Sacred Triduum. For more information, call the parish office at 615-833-5520 or visit stedward.org.  

St. Joseph Church will present “Seven Last Words” at noon on Good Friday, April 18, at the church in Madison. The play is a dramatization and meditation on the thoughts of seven women who followed and assisted Christ during his public life. All are welcome.  

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Nashville’s annual Festival of Hope, presented by First Horizon Foundation, is 7-9 a.m. Tuesday, April 29, in Ascension Hall at the Catholic Pastoral Center in Nashville. While the event is free, registration is required. To register or donate, visit bit.ly/festivalofhope2025.

There will be two Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats available in 2025. They include May 16-18 at St. Bernard’s Abbey in Cullman, Alabama, and Sept. 5-7 at Passionist Retreat House in Whitesville, Kentucky. Rachel’s Vineyard offers post-abortion healing for women and men suffering from the emotional and spiritual wounds of abortion. For more information or to register, call 270-474-4707 or email retreats@hopeafterabortionky.com, or visit HopeAfterAbortionKY.com. For a full list of retreat dates and locations, visit rachelsvineyard.org.  

Father Mike Schmitz will be in Nashville at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center on May 22nd at 7:00 PM for his Parables Tour. Purchase your tickets here. 

Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital is seeking volunteers to serve as Extraordinary Ministers of Communion for patient visitation at both the West and Midtown campuses. Eucharistic Ministers must be practicing Catholics and apply first to become hospital volunteers. A letter of good standing from the pastor must also be provided. Those interested should contact Susan Fussell at 615-222-6602 for additional information.

Listen to Nashville Catholic Radio on 100.5 FM and Streaming 24/7 on NashvilleCR.com...just tell your smart device to play Nashville Catholic Radio for the following local shows:"

Mondays: Around the Diocese 11 a.m., Laudato Si 11:30 a.m.

Tuesdays: Classic We Believe 11 a.m., Parenting Matters 11:30 a.m.

Wednesdays: NashVocations Podcast: Adapted for Nashville Catholic Radio 11 a.m., Faith in Business 11:30 a.m.

Thursdays: Belonging for Young Catholic Adults 11 a.m., Parenting Matters (repeat from Tuesday) 11:30 a.m.

Help is needed on air, in production, promotion, financial, and many new areas to come. Email Jim Crowe (jim.crowe@dioceseofnashville.com) or Ron Fleitz (rfleitz31@gmail.com) for more information.

Visit volunteer.cctenn.org/need to see how you can help Catholic Charities help those in need.  

Retrouvaille is a marriage recovery program for struggling couples who are considering separation or divorce. It is Catholic in origin and orientation but is open to all married couples regardless of religious background. For confidential information about the program: 800-470-2230 or 615-523-0631 or nrv3043@gmail.com or www.HelpOurMarriage.org.

There are many great options online to help your family enter well into Holy Week. Shining Light Dolls has a free downloadable Holy Week pack to keep your whole week immersed in these important liturgies. Teaching Catholic Kids has a wealth of ideas for your Holy Week celebration, including a "scavenger hunt" of 25 things for your kids to look for at all the liturgies. Holy Heroes has a downloadable Easter basket blessing that you can do as a family, as well as a downloadable Easter triptych.

As your parish, we want to be a resource for your family 's domestic church! Click reply to this email with any questions you have about resources, devotions, prayer, etc.

We continue our effort to improve our Mass experience for families with small children and children with sensory needs. Learn more about this effort and find out how you can help here. 

Pray the family rosary every night with fellow Catholics around the country at 7pm on Nashville Catholic Radio. 100.5FM, streaming at NashvilleCR.com, or ask your smart speaker to "Play Nashville Catholic Radio".

We continue to have copies of Magnifikid available on Sundays and major feasts and holy days. They are placed near the bulletins for children to grab as they come into Mass. Each copy of Magnifikid includes all the readings and prayers of the Sunday Mass with explanations of the difficult words and the meaning of the rituals; a suggested prayer for Morning and Evening; many suggestions on how to live the entire week with the Lord; various games, a comic, and activities to help children learn about Christian life and culture; and a page intended for the parents with suggestions for family prayers. MagnifiKid is for children between the ages of 6 and 12. 

Watch The Last Days: the Passion and Death of Jesus the Christ with Jonathan Roumie, the actor who portrays Jesus in the award-winning The Chosen. This resource is a filmed presentation of a live theatrical production that movingly recreates the final days of Jesus' earthly ministry. 

Saint Ann has a parish subscription to FORMED, the premier Catholic video streaming platform! Follow these steps to create your FREE account:

• Go to signup.formed.org
• Select your parish
• Register with your name and email address
• Check that email account for a link to begin using FORMED

Congratulations to the students in our English-language program who recently made their First Communion! Older students in both our English and Spanish language programs are looking forward to Confirmation in May. 

Our Pre-K Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program has a variety of needs for our Spring semester. Email atrium@stanncgs.org to be included on our mailing list to get regular updates! A training will be held at the Dominican Campus June 23rd through 28th for anyone interested in level one certification. Email mandi@stannnash.org for more information about this opportunity.

This Saturday at the Easter Vigil, we will baptize three adults, bring four into full communion with the church, and confer First Communion and/or Confirmation to six adults baptized Catholic as infants. Please pray for them! 

Believe it or not, inquiry for Easter Vigil 2026 begins now. Visit saintannparish.com/ocia to request more information, or attend our first inquiry session on Tuesday, April 29th, at 6:30 PM.

Find and request more information here. If you know someone who is seeking God, please prayerfully consider forwarding this email to them.