Monday - Friday
8:00 AM
St James Chapel

Second Sunday of the month
October - June
1:00 PM
St James Chapel

For information about receiving the Sacraments at St Mary's Parish please contact the rectory at

401-364 7214

In his dialogue with Nicodemus, Jesus taught that Baptism was necessary for salvation. "No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit" (Jn 3:5). After his Resurrection, Jesus met with the eleven Apostles and gave them the commission to preach the Gospel and baptize, telling them,

"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mk 16:16).

The word baptism in its origins is Greek and means "immersion" and "bath." Immersion in water is a sign of death and emersion out of the water means new life. To bathe in water is also to undergo cleansing.

The origin and foundation of Christian Baptism is Jesus. Before starting his public ministry, Jesus submitted himself to the baptism given by John the Baptist.

Jesus' immersion in the water is a sign for all human beings of the need to die to themselves to do God's will. Jesus did not need to be baptized because he was totally faithful to the will of his Father and free from sin. However, he wanted to show his solidarity with human beings in order to reconcile them to the Father. By commanding his disciples to baptize all nations, he established the means by which people would die to sin—Original and actual—and begin to live a new life with God.

Please complete the Baptism Questionnaire to schedule a Baptism

Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults

“At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet ‘in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.’ (CCC 1323)

“The Eucharist is the source and center of the Christian life.” In the Eucharist, we find our life, our hope and our strength and we return all of our love and thanksgiving to the Eucharist, “for in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.” (CCC 1324)

To receive Holy Communion (Eucharist), one must be a Catholic in good standing with the Church. Children who have not yet received their 1st Holy Communion should enter the Parish Enrichment Program(PEP) and adults who are members of the Church and would like to receive this or any of the other Sacraments are invited to join our R.C.I.A. program.

Please contact Sally Lambert
401-364-7214

for more information about receiving this Sacrament at St. Mary's Parish

Confirmation, together with Baptism and Eucharist, form the Sacraments of Initiation that are all intimately connected. In the Sacrament of Confirmation, the baptized person is "sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit" and is strengthened for service to the Body of Christ.  The prophets of the Old Testament foretold that God's Spirit would rest upon the Messiah to sustain his mission. Their prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus the Messiah was conceived by the Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus on the occasion of his baptism by John.  Jesus' entire mission occurred in communion with the Spirit. Before he died, Jesus promised that the Spirit would be given to the Apostles and to the entire Church. After his death, he was raised by the Father in the power of the Spirit.

Confirmatioin:  Strengthened by the Spirit Called to Action

" Penance is an experience of the gift of God's Mercy"

The Sacrament of Penance is an experience of the gift of God's boundless mercy. Not only does it free us from our sins but it also challenges us to have the same kind of compassion and forgiveness for those who sin against us. We are liberated to be forgivers. We obtain new insight into the words of the Prayer of St. Francis: "It is in pardoning that we are pardoned."

God's Gift of Forgiveness

Confession Times