Saint William Parish
601 Seagate Dr.
Naples, FL 34103

Driving Directions

Mass Schedule &
Priest Assignments

Confessions:
Saturday
10:00am

Parish Office Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:30am - 4:30pm

Mailing Address:
Saint William Parish
Office & Ministry Center
750 Seagate Dr.
Naples, FL 34103

Parish Office
 239-261-4883

Parish Fax
239-261-8729

Ministry Center Fax
 239-403-4435

 

Family Faith Formation

Contact:
Mary Jane Spirk
Director of Family Faith Formation
maryjane@saintwilliam.org
(239)263-5429

Vacation Bible School

What a success!! Thank you to all who donated food items for our snack time or in any other way, including prayers, helped make our week a wonderful experience for the 90 children who attended.

 

Thinking About This Weeks Gospel

 Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul

      Matthew 16:13-19

           Peter was leader of the community; a man of faith who loved Jesus. He was also weak and denied him. Can you accept loving but weak members in the Church, both leaders and faithful? Can you accept a Church that is at times sinful?
Though this gospel is Peter's story, it is very much each one of our stories because it contains perhaps the most important question ever asked by Jesus. 'But you, who do you say that I am'? Peter spoke directly from the heart in his great profession of faith. Each of us is challenged to answer this question on a personal level during our lifetime: 'But you, who do you say that I am?'

 

About Family Faith Formation

St William’s Parish Religious Education program works together with families to provide faith formation opportunities for children and adults. Catechesis is that activity which enables faith to become living, conscious, and active through the light of instruction -- especially sharing God’s Word in Scripture and the  tradition of the Catholic Church.  Catechesis is a life-long process for each individual as well as the work of the entire Catholic Christian community.

The Church teaches that  the primary responsibility  for  the spiritual growth and development of the children rests  first and foremost with the parents.  Parents may share this responsibility with others, but they do not relinquish it.

Our program strives to work together, with you to  become closer in Christian community to live as Jesus taught us: through love, faithfulness, scripture, faith-sharing and example.

The Family Faith Program at St. William Parish offers sessions during the school year for the entire family.  Regular classroom instruction begins at kindergarten through 8th grade, with child care offered to younger siblings.  All families are invited to participate, (two parents, single parents, grandparents and interfaith families).

The Family Faith Program meets once a month with take home resources for the entire family to continue the deepening of their faith at home within their household.  Sessions are offered with these options,  Sunday morning from 10:30 to 12 noon or Wednesday evening from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

About Sacrament Preparation

Children at St. William may receive the sacraments of Reconciliation, Confirmaiton and Eucharist at the age of 7 (usually 2nd grade) after two years of religious education. These sacraments are offered together following the instructions of the Second Vatican Council.

Second Vatican Council spoke of confirmation as a sacrament of Christian initiation: "The rite of confirmation is also to be revised in order that the intimate connection of this sacrament with the whole of Christian initiation may stand out more clearly."  (Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy, 71)

The early practice of the Church, both in the East and in the West is quite clear. Adults and infants alike were initiated into the Church in a single celebration, usually as part of the Easter vigil.  Separation began in the middle of the fourth century. By the middle of the nineteenth century the rite of initiation had become disengaged from each other in popular thinking and in Church practice and were perceived as three isolated sacramental moments, each with its own prerequisites and effects.

The paschal mystery (the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus) is the heart and center of our Christian lives.  We celebrate the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist together because they draw us into this paschal mystery of Jesus, a mystery for us all.   They draw us, sign by sign, into Jesus’ passage through death to resurrected life.

About Liturgy of the Word for Children

In order for young children to participate more fully in the Mass, we offer the Liturgy of the Word with children during the 9:15 AM Mass in the Church.