events & videos

Protecting God's Children
For all our volunteers who have not already taken this course, we will be offering opportunities in the near future. To schedule the course at another parish or on line visit  www.virtus.org   Please contact Kim Silk at 978-686-4050 if you have questions.

Monday mornings 9 am - 11 am
July 11-August 29

The Betrothed is an Italian historical novel by Alessandro Manzoni, first published in 1827, in three volumes, and significantly revised and rewritten until the definitive version published between 1840 and 1842.  It has been called the most famous and widely read novel in the Italian language. Set in Lombardy in 1628, during the years of Spanish rule, the novel is also noted for its extraordinary description of the plague that struck Milan around 1630.
The novel deals with a variety of themes, from the illusory nature of political power to the inherent injustice of any legal system, from the cowardly, hypocritical nature of one prelate (the parish priest don Abbondio) and the heroic sainthood of other priests (the friar Padre Cristoforo, the Cardinal St. Charles Borromeo) to the unwavering strength of love (the relationship between Renzo and Lucia, and their struggle to finally meet again and be married.)  The novel is renowned for offering keen insights into the meanderings of the human mind. 

In May 2015, at a weekly general audience at St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis asked engaged couples to read the novel for edification before marriage. Nonetheless, it is edifying for all who read it, a great scholastic work that reveals our ordeal in the 21^st century COVID pandemic being in many ways similar to that of our ancestors, victims of the Bubonic Plague of 1630!

If you wish to join us please sign up at the Pastoral Center Reception Desk.  The group will be facilitated by Pat McCarron and the book may be purchased online from Amazon, new or used, ranging in price from $4.51 to $20.00.