Our parish has several opportunities to give gifts to children this upcoming Christmas season:

Toy Drive: In what has been a strong eleven-year tradition, we are partnering with the Custom House, to support the Catholic Charities toy drive. The toys and baby items collected will be brought together in a “toy store” for parents to choose which toys they think best for their children. Please place your toys in the rear of the Church.

Gift Cards: For the fifth year, we are working with HeartShare St. Vincent’s Services to provide gift cards for young people leaving foster care. This is especially important for those who have children themselves. You can give online or drop off a check in the collection box or with the rectory.

Fr. John Gribowich (now known as Fr. Philip Neri), who was in residence at St. Charles Borromeo for several years, is now a Trappist monk. His abbey’s specialty is bread and baked goods.

If you are interested in ordering any of their gift boxes for Christmas, Fr. Philip passed on a tip that their annual sale will be on “Cyber Monday” (the Monday after Thanksgiving). Please note you will need to sign up for their special offer emails in advance as the deals will available exclusively by email (you can do so by entering your email address in the Special Offer Emails sign-up on the bottom-right of monksbread.com).

Monks’ Bread and Monks’ Specialty Bakery are works of the Trappist monks of the Abbey of the Genesee in Western New York. Manual work is an integral part of Trappist life. The bakery supports the monastery’s primary mission of prayer.

Monks’ offers a wide assortment of delicacies, including hand-baked Biscotti and Biscottini, rich Fruitcakes, savory Cheese Crisps, wholesome Fruit & Nut bars, Jams and Preserves, premium Nut Butters, and of course their famous Monks’ Bread.