St. Laurence Parish and Catholic School have been serving the Upper Darby community since being founded in 1917.  We are a multi-ethnic parish with representation from many different nationalities.  Sunday Masses are celebrated in English and Spanish.  There is also a Sunday Mass celebrated in Vietnamese at the old St. Alice Church at Copley Road and Walnut Street.

The spiritual needs of our Catholic community are met through the graces found in the sacraments.  In addition to daily and Sunday Masses offering the Holy Eucharist, the sacrament of reconciliation is available Saturdays 3:15-4:15PM or by appointment.  Pre-Jordan classes for parents and/or godparents preparing to have a child baptized are held in the rectory at 7:00PM on the second Monday of the month. The pre-Jordan classes in Spanish are held on the third Thursday of the month at 6:30PM. Children are taught the faith and prepared for First Holy Communion and First Penance either in St. Laurence School or through the Parish Religious Education Program. And if someone you know is hospitalized or scheduled for surgery, please call the office to arrange for the Anointing of the Sick.

Couples preparing for marriage are encouraged to contact the Parish Office before setting the date of the wedding to be sure the church is available.  Please allow at least six months for pre-marriage preparation. 

I invite persons thinking about joining the Catholic faith or those looking for a deeper understanding of their Catholic faith, to call the office to register for RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) classes. 

I also invite any couples who were not married in the Church to come speak with me and see how we can work together to regularize your marriage.

I encourage parents to consider sending their children to St. Laurence Catholic School, where they will receive a complete education that partners with you to instill not only information, but also a formation of the human person in virtue to lay a foundation for your children to be truly, fully human, and ready to flourish despite the changing circumstances of the modern world and all its entanglements, temptations, and shortcomings.  You can discover more about the school by visiting its website at www.saintlaurence.org

As always, I encourage you to support the parish through your prayers and gifts of time and talent.  Please pray for the priests, deacons, sisters, catechists, and those on our prayer list. Pray that we always strive to follow God’s will in all that we do.  Then consider how you can use your God-given gifts or talents to build up the Body of Christ.  Reading at Mass, singing in a choir, cleaning the altar linens or the church, sharing your faith by teaching a religious Ed class, and serving as an usher at Mass is just some of the possibilities. Please give serious thought to how you can become a more active member of St. Laurence parish.  The opportunities are endless! 

And finally, I humbly invite you to continue to support the parish as well as the school financially. The parish depends on your offertory gifts, online giving as well as your prayers.  I would like to be able to offer tuition support/scholarships to students in need without any strings attached or hoops to jump through! This will only be made possible through the generosity of those able to help.

Know that you are in my prayers.
 
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Tom Whittingham
St. Laurence Parish
Upper Darby, PA