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Catholic Chatt presents a Fall Retreat Oct. 27-29, 2023, for young men and women ages 18-39. Led by Fr. Michael Zimmerman, topics will include The Sacred Heart & Divine Mercy. Held at Christ Prince of Peace Retreat Center in Benton, TN. Click for details and registration, open through Oct. 20. 

John Mahoney, the Basilica's maintenance supervisor for the past 34 years, passed away on August 27, 2023 at 7:13pm, while hospitalized with pneumonia and a pulmonary embolism. John was about to retire from his job within the week, having completed 34 years of service at Sts. Peter and Paul. His family was by his side, and Fr. Carter administered the full last rites to John. Please pray the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet for John Mahoney's soul. *** FUNERAL Mass at the Basilica Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023 at 1pm, followed by burial at Mount Olivet. VISITATION Friday, Sept. 1 from 6-8pm at Chattanooga Funeral Home - East Chapel, with a Rosary at 5:30pm.

Request for prayers for Brian Blatchford, the brother of Fr. Colin Blatchford and Fr. Neil Blatchford. Brian was in a bad car accident on 8/11/23 and suffered a serious neck injury. There is a chance he may not walk again or be able to use his hands. The Blatchford family asks for your prayers. Also please consider donating towards the enormous cost of medical care, making his house handicapped accessible, and dealing with lost income. (Click for the requested novenas, Brian's CaringBridge site, and donation link.)

Registration is now open for our RCIA & Mystagogia programs for Becoming Catholic, as well as Religious Education for preK through 12th grade; Youth Group for 6th through 12th grade; and Youth Schola for 2nd grade and up. VOLUNTEERS are needed in these programs at all levels – leadership, teachers, assistants, substitutes, and sponsors. Click for more info.

Geraldine DeBoer has been diagnosed with end-stage liver disease. She is the mother and primary caretaker of Daniel Sharkey, who has been on our prayer list for his severe complications from diabetes. Please pray for Geraldine and her care providers as they get her ready to be a candidate for a liver transplant. Also, Geraldine would really appreciate anybody that can help Daniel by sitting with him during the day to keep him company while she is attending to her own health needs. Click for more info and MEAL TRAIN for Geraldine & family.

We are all shocked by the horrible devastation from the fires that ravaged an area of Maui in Hawaii with a death toll hard to imagine. For those who want to assist financially with the disaster relief, we ask that they donate to Catholic Charities Hawaii at https://www.catholiccharitieshawaii.org/maui-relief/ (click here to access) as they are closest to the grieving community and can best assist them with their immediate and more long term needs. Please pray for the many victims of this tragedy and for the loved ones who mourn family members and friends who perished in the fires.

Brother Kevin Doerge, from our Sts. Peter and Paul parish, has been a Postulant with the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius in Chicago since the summer of 2021. He made his first vows on August 14, 2023, and asks for everyone's prayers as he begins this next step on his journey towards the holy priesthood. Click for photos and his address to send cards.

Calling all women who appreciate our priests: A new Seven Sisters Apostolate for Basilica women is beginning. The Seven Sisters Apostolate is a call to strengthen the Church by ensuring that a Holy Hour is prayed each day of the week for the sole intention of a specific priest or bishop—a “holy wasting” (cf. Mt. 26:10) or lavishing of prayer for his deeper conformity to Christ. Click for more information.

Deacon Renzo Alvarado Suarez, a newly ordained transitional deacon from Colombia, South America, just moved in at the Basilica yesterday and will begin serving at our Spanish Masses. We look forward to his serving both of our communities when he is ordained a priest. We will soon be introducing Dcn. Renzo to the community, and we thank God for sending him to our parish. Please pray for Dcn. Renzo and welcome him to our parish!

Our block of East 8th Street will be closed all day (DATE TBA) in front of the church, while a crane is on-site repairing loose mortar on the bell tower. During this time, you can access our parking lot from Lindsay St, by going the wrong way on 8th St., or park at All Saints Academy.

Fr. Christopher Floersch, Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Knoxville and Parochial Vicar for St. John Neumann, suffered a stroke on Saturday, July 9. [UPDATE 8/6/22: Fr. Floersh returned home on July 17 and is making considerable progress towards recovery. Bishop Stika shared that he has progressed from using a walker to a cane. He and his medical team believe that he will be able to return to full ministry in a few months.] Please pray for his full recovery. Fr. Floersh previously served at Sts. Peter and Paul as a transitional deacon in 2016. Click to read more.

You are invited to EWTN’s FREE Family Celebration event on Saturday, August 26th at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) in Birmingham, AL. Listen to inspirational speakers in both English and Spanish, meet EWTN TV and Radio hosts, and spend time with leading Catholic authors. Confession and Adoration are available throughout the day, as well as the celebration of the Holy Mass. Doors open at 8:00 am. Visit ewtn.com/familycelebration and click on the registration button to reserve your spot for this wonderful family event.

We host parish dinners, receptions after funerals, Confirmation, concerts, and more. We need help planning, cook, serving, and cleaning. But we also just need donations of food and drink for each event. It is not expected for everyone to help every time. Contact Florence Porter [email protected] to join!

Robert Lee Martin, father of Basilica parishioner Robert C. Martin, passed away June 30, 2023 following a long illness. Services for Robert at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul will be Sat., July 8, 2023, with VISITATION at 10:30am and FUNERAL MASS at 11:30am. VISITATION also on Fri., July 7 4pm - 7pm at the Cleveland Chapel of Companion Funeral Home. Please pray for Robert's soul. May Robert Lee Martin, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. (Click to read his OBITUARY.)

Our Lorelei’s Library in the hallway is available for every parishioner to check out one book at a time for three weeks. We have just begun a summer inventory of the library and found already that 40 of the books for small children are missing, and many of them haven’t been properly checked out by leaving the card. Since these books will be expensive to replace, we are asking everyone to check around your house and in your car, in case you have any books with a Lorelei’s Library card pocket in the back cover. Please return these books to the basket at the library as soon as you can. And if you notice children’s books lying around the church, please help us by putting them into the basket. UPDATE 7/22/23: Thanks to all who have returned missing books. The inventory is complete, and we invite you to continue enjoying Lorelei's Library!

Bishop Stika announced his retirement on June 27, 2023. Most Reverend Shelton L. Fabre, Archbishop of Louisville, has been appointed by the Holy Father as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Knoxville until a new bishop is assigned. Read Bishop Stika's statement and Archbishop Fabre's letter to the faithful here.

Michael Buendia, a young adult parishioner of the Basilica as well as St. Jude, has passed at the age of 43 after being hospitalized for several days with possible cancer. A large mass was found in his lower abdomen. Michael is survived by his wife Karmel Buendia, daughter of Basilica parishioner Bill Jochym, and their two small children. Please pray for Michael's soul and for his family.

Shirley Ann McCaleb Lautigar passed away on May 7, 2023. Shirley and her husband Ron had been active parishioners at the Basilica until retiring to Alexian Village in 2019. Shirley was the former head of our Altar Ministry, and a dedicated volunteer of our Facilities projects with her husband Ron, our Facilities Coordinator. Shirley died peacefully in her sleep, of complications from several illnesses. Click for details and to read her obituary.

+ Carole Steiner Tubbs passed from this world on 3/23/2023, after a post-stroke decline. Carole and the Steiner family had been long-time parishioners of Sts. Peter and Paul and she was a graduate of Notre Dame High School. Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul Saturday, June 10, at 2:00 pm, with visitation at 1:30 pm before Mass. Click to read her obituary. May Carole Steiner Tubbs, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Please welcome Fr. John Anglin OFM who will be with us to celebrate Masses on April 29 & 30, 2023, and tell us about the work of Unbound, a lay Catholic sponsorship ministry that helps children and elderly in 18 developing countries. To learn more, call (800) 875-6564 or visit Unbound online at www.unbound.org.