On Saturday, December 18, Bishop William Koenig will install Fr. Chris Coffiey as the 23rd Pastor of St. Benedict/St. Elizabeth Parish at the 4:00p.m. Mass at St. Benedict Church in Ridgely. A light but elegant Wine & Cheese Reception will follow the Mass in the Parish Hall. All parishioners are invited to attend and no RSVP's are required. A special gift from the parish will be presented to Bishop Koenig at the reception.

Our Youth Ministry won First Place Float in this year’s Denton Christmas Parade which took place on Thursday, December 2nd in downtown Denton! The float, depicting a colorful and cozy gingerbread rendition of St. Elizabeth Church, was created through the combined efforts & creativity of our Youth Ministry members and their leaders. We thank our youth for representing our parish in the parade and for evangelizing in such a fun way.

A special Mass for First Responders & Members of the Military will be celebrated on Saturday, October 30th at 11:00a.m. at St. Benedict Church and will be followed by a luncheon in the Parish Hall. The Mass will honor all active duty and retired firefighters, police officers, paramedics, EMT's, and members of the military from all branches. Spread the word to anyone you know who serves or has served and invite them to attend the Mass & Luncheon. All parishioners are also invited to attend to show support and appreciation for our first responders and members of the military. RSVP is required by contacting the Parish Office.

Our 52nd Annual Christmas Bazaar will be held on November 12 & 13, 2021. Vendors will offer an array of items and there will be delicious homemade food, a Silent Auction, raffles, and much more! Tickets for a delcious homemade dinner with your choice of entree will be on sale at all Masses beginning October 15/16. Make plans to come to the Bazaar and bring a few friends - start (or finish!) your Christmas shopping close to home and support small businesses in our community.

On October 7-9, our parish will welcome Fr. Sean Loomis from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, as guest speaker and homilist for a Solemn Celebration of Forty Hours. The Forty Hours Devotion derives its roots from Italy in 1527. It provides a wonderful opportunity for the spiritual growth of each person and the parish as a whole, giving unique time to deepen our appreciation of the importance of the mystery of the Eucharist. Forty Hours recalls that traditional "40-hour period" from our Lord's burial until his Resurrection. It is celebrated similar to a Parish Retreat or Mission but with great solemnity and reverence. The Forty Hours will include prayer, adoration, a Eucharistic Procession, and Mass on Saturday, October 9th at 4pm at St. Benedict Church followed by a free dinner in the parish hall. Click the monstrance at the left for a flyer with all the details.

Our Religious Ed program year will begin on Catechetical Sunday, September 19th. Registration for K-10 grade classes is underway. If you have not yet signed up your child/children, please contact the Parish Office to request registration forms as soon as possible. Classes will be held each Sunday from 9:40-10:45a.m.

The Knights of Columbus will host their next Friday Night Fellowship Dinner on November 19th from 5:30-7:00p.m. in the Parish Hall. The menu includes open face roast beef sandwiches with brown gravy, creamed corn, salad & dinner roll. Cost is $8 per person. You may dine-in at the Parish Hall or reserve carryouts. Please RSVP by Wednesday, 11/17 via Flocknote or by contacting the Parish Office.

Next Sunday, June 6th, we will have at our parish for the first time in decades, a special Mass and Outdoor Procession for the feast of Corpus Christi. At the end of the 8:30 Mass that morning, we will take the Blessed Sacrament outside the church and process around the block stopping at three different altars for various Eucharistic gospel readings, solemn blessings with the Monstrance, and end inside the church with Solemn sung Benediction.

July 15, 2021 will mark the 125th Anniversary of St. Benedict Church. In celebration of this anniversary, Bishop W. Francis Malooly joined us to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving on Sunday, July 11th. The Mass was followed by a lively reception in the Parish Hall. Click the logo at the left for links to a photo album, the event program, memories from parishioners, and Deacon Jopp's homily at the Anniversary Mass.

Are you ready to place your bids? Click the logo at the left to visit the Springfest Auction Event Page where you will find a link to view all of our Silent Auction items! A variety of great auction items have already been collected including a Deep Creek Lake Vacation Getaway, Dinner for 6 with Fr. Coffiey at Chesapeake Landing Restaurant, a cedar chest handmade by Paul Fountain, a beautiful quilt handmade by Greta Scanlan, and much, much more! Several dates are also available for in-person viewing of items and bidding. Even though we cannot have our traditional Springfest Dinner & Auction this year, we are hoping that this modified Silent Auction will help us preserve some of the fun of this annual tradition. Please join us!

On Friday, March 21, our parish Youth Ministry presented their annual Shadow Stations of the Cross. Click if you'd like to watch a video of the Shadow Stations as part of your Lenten journey.

The Knights are joining together with the parish to collect items for The Little Sisters of the Poor at the Jeanne Jugan Residence in Newark, DE. Our former pastor, Fr. Hilary Rodgers, resided at the Jeanne Jugan residence and was cared for by the Little Sisters until his death last year. Last May, we filled 2 pickups with donations - let's top that this year! A list of items can be found by clicking this link. Please make monetary donations payable to the Knights of Columbus.

The Knights of Columbus will host their next Friday Fellowship Dinner on Friday, March 19, 2021 from 5-7pm in the Parish Hall. March 19th is the Feast of St. Joseph and therefore the dispensation to fast from eating meat is lifted on that day. The menu for the dinner will include Open-Faced Roast Beef Sandwiches on Texas Toast, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy and Broccoli with Cheese Sauce. Cost is just $7 per person. A Kid's Meal of fish sticks and macaroni & cheese will also be available for $4 each. Dine-in seating and carryout meals are available.

The Eucharistic Apostles of Divine Mercy (EADM) is a Lay Apostolate of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception based in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The ministry promotes the Divine Mercy Message as given to St. Faustina Kowalska, prayer for the sick and dying, the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, pro-life, and more. There is some interest in starting a Divine Mercy Cenacle here at St. Benedict/St. Elizabeth Parish which would meet on a bi-monthly (every other week) basis.

WISDOM & WORKS OF MERCY RETREAT ~ Would you like to gain some practical insights about the Holy Trinity? Would you like to develop a new understanding and appreciation of the mysteries of faith, based on what the Church teaches about the highest and holiest mystery of all? The Blessed Virgin Mother Ladies' Sodality is hosting a retreat to begin on March 23 that will focus on the book The One Thing is Three by Fr. Michael Gaitley. The book "is packed with deep theological insight, and while bursting with information, is written from the heart and speaks to the heart in such a way that the reader is drawn into a greater realization about the nature, mission, and action of the Holy Trinity."

Magnificat is a monthly publication which contains daily and weekend Mass prayers and readings, morning and evening prayer, meditations, spiritual writings and essays on the saints. Magnificat subscriptions are currently available through the parish office. The one-year subscription will begin with the May, 2021 issue. Click this link for more details and a printable order form.

The Youth Ministry will host their annual Spaghetti Dinner on Saturday, January 16. Two dine-in seatings will be offered in the Parish Hall - one at 5pm & one at 6:30p.m. Carryouts will also be available. Menu includes spaghetti & meatballs, garlic bread & salad. Please RSVP by January 13.

The Knights of Columbus will host the next Friday Fellowship Dinner on January 22nd. The menu will include a roasted chicken leg quarter, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole and a roll. Cost is $7 per person. A Kid's Meal of chicken nuggets and macaroni & cheese will also be offered for $4/each.

Thanks to their baking skills in making many cookies and through the generous cookie donations of serveral parishioners, our Blessed Virgin Mother Ladies' Sodality gathered on Saturday, December 12 and prepared over 60 tins of Christmas cookies for distribution to our homebound parishioners and our local Catholic nursing home residents. We thank them for their hard work and care in keeping our parish members connected during this difficult time.