Prayer During Our Transition

Following the Holy Name Province announcement that the Franciscan Friars will withdraw from our parish later this year, let us join in ongoing prayer – for the Friars, for our community members, and for Bishop Zarama as he determines who will be the next pastor at St. Francis of Assisi.

Join Us

The Pastoral Council invites you to join us in prayer in one or more of the following ways:

Take a Transition prayer card from the Stewardship Center, which includes a Transition Prayer written by Fr. Jim Sabak. This Transition Prayer can also be found below. Consider reciting our Transition prayer individually, with your family, or as part of St. Francis gatherings (including ministry meetings or events). Also, join us in prayer at Mass, where we will recite this Transition Prayer after the Prayers of the Faithful each week.

Pray our featured weekly prayer intention of our transition. Each week one intention crafted by parishioners during our recent listening sessions will be lifted in Prayers of the Faithful during our liturgies. By Monday, we will post this intention below for your reference.

Each Friday, take a few moments between 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. to pray the Transition Prayer and our featured weekly intention. We have designated this as a time when our entire parish community can join together in spirit to offer a collective prayer for all those navigating the transition that our faith community is experiencing.

Each Friday, we will gather to pray as a community of faith from 9:45 to 10:21am (the actual time when Fr. Steve received the withdrawal call). Please join us in Anthony Hall Founders Room whenever you are able.

Prayer During the Time of Transition

Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Community

Raleigh, North Carolina

Loving God, Alpha and Omega,

you are both beginning and end.

Our endings and our beginnings are rooted in your love.

Whether near or far, we are held close by your love,

and kept safe from any lasting loss.

Through all the years of our lives

your love protects and guides us.

Your Spirit calls us to service

in the name of Jesus Christ.

We praise you for the gift of the Franciscans of Holy Name Province,

who have served the Catholic Community of Saint Francis of Assisi,

for their faithful witness, their proclamation of your Word,

and the pastoral care and leadership

they have offered to our community of faith.

As their ministerial service concludes,

let this ending be filled with your blessing.

Touch all the faithful of this parish

with your grace and your peace.

Help us to live with courage and gladness

in the future you present us.

In every time and place,

may we offer you our highest and our best,

that we may remember the love of Christ

which unites all of us in your service.

We ask all this through your Son, Jesus Christ,

our life and our hope,

who lives and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Our Weekly Transition Prayer Intention

During this transition period, we pray for Bishop Zarama to be led by the Holy Spirit in naming our new pastor. We pray for our current friars that they continue to joyfully minister here and in their new assignments, wherever that may be. We pray for our future pastor, that we support and welcome him when he comes. For our parish community to faithfully continue what we have learned from the friars over the past 33 years.

For our community during this time of transition: for our friars as they continue to joyfully minister here and in their new assignments. For Bishop Zarama, that he is led by the Holy Spirit in naming our new pastor. And for our future pastor, that he is supported and welcomed when he comes, we pray.

More Transition FAQs