Immaculate Conception  & 

Assumption of Our Lady 

On Sunday, December 12 at the 8 AM Mass at Immaculate Conception, we will say a special prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe for all expectant mothers and fathers. Please help us spread the word and invite new parents to come to Mass that morning.

Lessons and Carols will be held on Sunday, December 12 at 3 PM in Immaculate Conception Church. The “Lessons” are readings from Scripture, and the “Carols” are traditional songs of the Advent and Christmas seasons. Join us as we bring them together in a wonderfully moving, interactive, and prayerful service.

Gift labels for the Jesse Tree are now available. We ask that all gifts be NEW and placed in a gift bag (no wrapped gifts, please) with your label attached to the gift bag. Please look for gift labels at the entrances of either church.

If you’d like to participate, please return the gifts to either church by Sunday, December 19. If you have any questions, please contact us HERE.

The Jesse Tree Ministry thanks you for your continued support and generosity for those most in need.

Please join us for Hospitality Sunday in Fr. Fata Hall on Sunday, January 2 after the 9 AM Italian Mass at Assumption Church.

Enjoy some light refreshments and the company of your fellow parishioners.

From Fr. Sorgie:

"Back in February 2015, Timothy Cardinal Dolan gave me a tremendous gift: he asked me to consider traveling and participating in a three-month program at the Vatican for priests. It is a sabbatical program called the the Institute for Continuing Theological Education (ICTE), using the campus of the Pontifical North American College.

It has taken me six years to get the Parish in a certain order and my staff supported to take advantage of this gift. Therefore, I will be on sabbatical in Rome from Monday, January 17 – Wednesday, April 20, 2022. I will live with 25-30 priests from all over the United States. My weeks will be filled with classes and lectures by professors at the Pontifical Universities in Rome in all fields of theology. There will be travel related to sacred art and music, and we will have opportunities for retreats in some of the most important Monasteries of our Church.

The Institute was created and supported by the Bishops of the United Sates following this wise teaching: 'Ongoing formation is an indispensable requirement in the life of every priest and in his exercise of the priestly ministry' (The Gift of the Priestly Vocation, IV.56).

I consider it an honor as your Pastor to be spiritually and intellectually prepared to shepherd our Parish through my second term. This sabbatical will recharge both of those batteries in the very heart of Christendom."

As we enter the season of Advent and prepare for the Birth of Our Lord, Fr. André recommends the book Bringing Forth Christ: Five Feasts of the Child Jesus by St. Bonaventure.

The book can be ordered from Tau Publishing in Phoenix, AZ. It can be purchased online HERE or by contacting:

Tau Publishing
PO Box 20804
Phoenix, AZ 85036

Due to the lack of volunteers for the positions of Catechists, Aides, and Monitors, ICA’s 2021-2022 Religious Education Program has been modified to combine at-home study for non-Sacramental grades & in-person classes for Sacramental grades.

Sacramental Grades

Grades 1 & 2 (required preparation grades for First Holy Communion) and Grades 7 & 8 (required preparation grades for Confirmation) will return to in-person classes in the school building. There is no remote option for these Sacramental grades.

Three Sessions Available

Non-Sacramental Grades

Grades 3, 4, 5, & 6 will participate in a Family Home Faith Formation program. This involves both home study & participation of children & parents in occasional Zoom sessions with the Director of Religious Education. There is no in-person option for these grades.

PREP Office: (914) 961-1076
Email the PREP Office HERE

Please visit the PREP Webpage for more information.

Loosening of Pandemic Protocols
Beginning the Weekend of May 29-30

On May 19, some careful loosening of the COVID-19 Protocols for Churches in New York State went into effect, approved by the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of New York in his newsletter to the clergy.

What does this mean for our Parish?

1. All doors will be open (the sanitizing stations will remain).
2. Masks must be worn by those who are NOT fully vaccinated, until further changes.
3. The Cardinal has asked us to continue to receive Holy Communion only by the host and in the hand.
4. Much of the tape that has been guiding us during this past year will be removed. We rely on you to keep a comfortable level of social distance.
5. Ministries will once again be activated (i.e. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and Altar Servers).
6. Entrance and Recessional Processions will return as well as the Presentation of the Gifts of Bread and Wine by anyone who has been fully vaccinated.
7. Our Missalettes will return to the Pews for use during Mass. Please do not remove the Missalettes or the covers from the churches. 

We appreciate your cooperation as we move ever closer to a full reopening of our Parish.

You are invited to join Fr. Novio on a 10-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land! The pilgrimage will begin on December 26, 2021, and conclude on January 4, 2022. There will be stops in Nazareth, Cana, Galilee, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Ein Karem, and Emmaus. The enrollment deadline is June 30, 2021. Please click HERE for the full brochure of information.

You are invited to join Fr. Sorgie on the rescheduled pilgrimage to the Passion Play in Oberammergau. The itinerary is the same as the 2020 program. The pilgrimage will begin on September 14, 2022, and conclude on September 23, 2022. Please click HERE for the full brochure of information.

It has come to our attention that the names of the pastors of our three local parishes (IHM, St. Joseph's, and ICA) are being used in an email scam. We would like to officially state that Fr. Sorgie would NEVER ask for gift cards or anything of the sort through email. If you have any doubts about the veracity of an email, please call the parish office - (914) 961-3643 - and speak to a staff member before responding.

If Fr. Sorgie were to ask for assistance, he would reach out through more personal means, such as a phone call or speaking in person. Thank you for your assistance in stopping this cyber-crime.

The image below provides an example of where to find the information detailed underneath. It is not an actual Scam email.

• When receiving an email of uncertain origin, look at the sender's email address (black arrow in image above) at the top of the email.
  • Our parish emails will always have an "@icaparish.org" or "@flocknote.com" address.
• If you receive a scam email, please report it, within your email provider, as "phishing," "spam," or a similar type of description (blue arrow in image above) so that these thieves cannot take advantage of anyone.
  • Within Gmail, the menu to report an email can be found by clicking the vertical ellipsis (blue star in image above).

The 2022 Mass Book is ready and will record all Mass Intentions for the living and deceased in 2022. You may come by the office in the new Parish Center to reserve a Mass. Daily Mass Intentions which appear in the bulletin are $20 and Unannounced Mass Intentions are $15.

Please note: At any given time, no more than five Mass intentions will be taken.

Follow the construction of the New Holy Mount Terraced Gardens and Columbarium with pictures and regular updates from the construction team:
HERE

The opening of our long-awaited, new Parish Center began with the move of all Parish Offices out of the Rectory. The Parish Center can be entered from the original entrance to the school building. There is a handicap ramp between the Church and School and a new sign to lead you directly to the new center.

For all Parish business, please visit our new offices and see the center as we prepare for its complete opening.

Due to the construction of the New Columbarium at Holy Mount Cemetery, the cemetery will be closed periodically to allow the construction equipment to be operated safely. These periodic closures will only be temporary. For updates, please call the parish office or check here.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.