2024 Year in Review
Today we draw 2024 to a close, and as we rest and celebrate with family and friends, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate and acknowledge all we’ve achieved this year. 2024, like many of the previous years, saw us connecting as a parish community through various liturgies, social events and outreach opportunities.
To help bring this into perspective, we though we’d wrap up 2024 with some numbers!
13 Social Events enjoyed – We had over 12 social events this year – from Morning Teas to BBQ’s and even a bus trip to St. Mary’s Cathedral for the Christmas light show! These events were filled with much food and connection with parishioners, allowing the creation of new friendships. A particular highlight for 2024 was the volunteer appreciation dinner! Our volunteers were able to come together for a beautiful meal catered by the Nguyen family and enjoy catching up with one another.
696 Masses were offered – Whether daily Mass, Sunday Mass or Masses for particular occasions, such as Red Wednesday, the sacrifice of the Mass remained at the centre of all the parish works throughout the year. Our Masses were made all the more beautiful and solemn with the support of our musicians, singers, servers and readers.
70+ Hampers Packed – 2024 also saw us support – both in prayer and good works – those beyond the boundaries of our church walls. We donated and packed over 70 hampers of food and household items through the St. Josephs Table initiative. We also prayed and blessed the graves of the priests who have served at Granville in Rookwood Cemetery. For the first time – we lit Holy Family Church red, making a bold and public stance in support of persecuted Christians around the world.
10 KMs walked – We made our faith public, walking 10KMs across the year through processions. The streets of Granville witnessed the beauty of the Catholic faith with our Cross Walk procession, Corpus Christi Procession and the Assumption Procession. Our processions have come to be known for the solemnity and beauty, with many visitors joining us.
46 Christmas Trees & 230 candles – Our beautifully adorned churches are highly anticipated come Christmas and Easter! The talent and hard work of our volunteers help make this possible. The beautiful scenes we witnessed this year are the fruits of many hours of hard work and creative thinking. On Holy Thursday especially, we welcome bus loads of pilgrims who come to pray before the Blessed Sacrament, in the beautiful sanctuaries we create. For those that love a little trivia, our altar of repose across Holy Trinity and Holy Family Churches saw the use of over 230 candles and our churches have been decorated with a total of 46 Christmas trees
Let’s take a moment to celebrate all that 2024 has brought us. These are large feats to achieve and only made possible thanks to the many volunteers who support parish initiatives. There are so many that work tirelessly and behind the scenes to make all of this possible. Every effort counts – from those that serve at liturgies, processions and events to those that spare a few moments a weekend with the collection. No effort goes unnoticed and every effort has helped us achieve another successful year. We sincerely appreciate all those who selflessly collaborate with the Parish and Fr. Andrew, showing their unwavering dedication to Holy Cross Granville. We truly hope you’re taking a well-deserved break over the coming days. We cannot wait to do it all again in 2025!
Head over to our Flikr site to see the highlights of 2024 captured! Holy Cross Granville Flikr