Dear Parishioners,
Happy Feast of St. Joseph!
It was wonderful to see people come be in the presence of our Lord in the Church yesterday. It was also a blessing to see that parishioners continued to seek out the Sacrament of Confession. We have experienced outdoor confessions at different events, but this was a unique first for us. We will continue to think this through so that we are able to serve you during this extraordinary time. I invite you to pray to St. Joseph today. Join the Holy Father at 4 PM in praying to St. Joseph. We will send you later today a link with this information as well as other information.
While more information will be forthcoming, I wanted to let you know right away that one of our staff members, after not feeling well, was asked to take the coronavirus test. The results are forthcoming. This staff member had no contact with our school students, so there is no concern in that regard. Thankfully, as of yesterday, this person was feeling better. We are praying that it is not coronavirus. That said, we are following diocesan guidelines, which means our parish office will be closed and our staff will self-quarantine until we get the test results. Because I had direct contact with this staff person, I, too, will have to self-quarantine. Do know that I am well, and that I have been recovering from my pneumonia. Fr. Javier and Fr. Jaime did not have direct contact, so they will continue to be available for confessions.
The Church will remain open from 6:00am-9:00pm for personal visits and devotions, and confessions will take place outdoors tonight as scheduled (7:30-8:30pm). Please continue to avoid groups of over 10 people. If you have any needs or questions, please contact office staff by calling (703) 354-8711, ext. 10, and leaving a message, or emailing at general@queenofapostles.org.
Thank you for your prayers, especially for the health of our staff member. Thank you for your understanding. We continue to maintain our peace and our faith in the Lord, who is with us!
Mary, Queen of Apostles, pray for us!
St. Joseph, pray for us!
In Christ,
Fr. Juan Espino, DCJM
