St. Bernard at 248 S. Harbor Drive, Holmes Beach, FL 34217-1918 US - Home
Welcome. We hope you enjoy this beautiful island we are blessed to share with you, and we thank you for joining us in thanking and praising the Lord.
Fr. Michael, Fr. Woady, Fr. Dan, and the staff at St. Bernard's wish everyone a happy and joyful Mother's Day!
Effective Sunday, June 2, 2013, we will change our Sunday Mass times. The new Mass times will be 8:30am and 10:30am.
Congratulations to our First Communicants!
- Will Carroll
- Mara Dunn
- Isabella Grace
- Siobhan Grumley
- Sophia Hernandez
- Ryan Joseph
- Gabriel Moschini
- Matthew Potter
- Laila Singer
- Sara Marie Stein
A special thank you to our catechists and aides: Maria Grumley, Kathy Ripperger, Virginia Possehl, and Clara Weingart.
St. Bernard Youth Group at the annual DeSoto Bottle Boat Race. This
was the first year that St. Bernard participated in this event. A special
thank you to all the parents who assisted in this event.
St. Bernard's Parish Sacramental Policies
We often receive requests from people who are not registered members of our parish community to celebrate baptisms or "destination weddings" here.
Sacraments are customarily meant to be celebrated in the context of an active faith community. The celebration of any sacrament presumes the practice of the faith, which, in the case of baptism, gives the Church every assurance that the child baptized will be raised as a Catholic. It does disservice to the sacrament when it is celebrated without the serious intention of practicing one's faith. Parish registration helps to ensure that individuals are an active part of a faith community, and it affords them the opportunity to be a support to that community, not only through their financial contributions but also through their active participation.
It is because of this broader theological understanding of the sacrament that St. Bernard's will only accept requests of baptisms and weddings from registered parishioners and/or families of registered parishioners.
Sacraments (baptisms and weddings) are not normally scheduled until six months after someone has registered.
Fr. Al's Mailing Address
Rev. Aloysius Hribsek
Queen of the Clergy Residence
Suite 201, 274 Strawberry Hill Avenue
Stamford, CT 06902
Rosary on the Beach
In addition to the daily rosary held before weekday Masses in the church, a group of parishioners meets at the Manatee County Beach (located a couple of blocks from the church) every Wednesday at 7:00am to pray the rosary while walking on the beach. Lifting our voices in prayer as the dawn surrounds us in light offers a special way to start our day on this beautiful island.
Year of Faith
The Year of Faith began Thursday, October 11 and continues to November 24, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI states the purpose of the Year of Faith is to be "a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Savior of the world." To unify the faithful during this period of renewal, the Diocese of Venice has adopted a prayer to be recited throughout the Year of Faith:
O my God, I firmly believe that You are one God in three divine Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
I believe that Your divine Son became man and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths the Holy Catholic Church teaches because You have revealed them, You who can neither deceive nor be deceived. In this faith I intend to live and die.
We turn to You in humble supplication for ourselves and our Parish and Diocese in which we work, live and pray, that this Year of Faith may be a true source of renewal for each of us. May we be strengthened to live our faith in the midst of the world with joy and love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.