Parish of the Assumption

09/06/2026

We are thrilled to welcome Fr. Alan Tremblay as our new school chaplain!

After nearly nine years serving as pastor of the Parish of the Holy Spirit in Keene, Fr. Alan has recently moved to Dover to serve as pastor of the Parish of the Assumption. We are grateful that his work in Dover also brings him to St. Thomas Aquinas, and we are confident that he will quickly become an integral part of our school community, enhancing the lives of our students. 

This year, our theme, “Hope Begins Here,” calls us to recognize the ways hope is lived out in our community—in the faith we share, the relationships we build, and the ways we encourage one another to be who God created us to be. We look forward to the ways Fr. Alan will join us in that mission and to the blessings he will bring to our school community.

Welcome to STA, Fr. Alan! We are blessed to have you with us and look forward to all that God has in store.

09/06/2026

09/06/2026

09/05/2026

St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta 🤍💙
Patron Saint of: Missionaries of Charity, the poor, the unwanted, volunteers, and World Youth Day
Saint of the Day

St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910–1997), known simply as Mother Teresa, was born to a family of Albanian descent in what is now Macedonia. As a young girl Mother Teresa was fascinated by stories she heard of missionaries serving in India. By age 12 she discerned a vocation to the religious life, and at the age of 18 joined the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary to India. She chose her religious name after St. Therese of Lisieux, the patron saint of missionaries. She arrived in Calcutta, India in 1929 and taught at a schoolhouse for wealthy children, eventually becoming head mistress. She enjoyed her work, but became increasingly disturbed by the extreme poverty and societal unrest she observed around her. In 1946 she received a "call within a call" and began her own religious order in Calcutta dedicated to ministering to, in her words, "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." This order was established in 1950 with 12 sisters and named the Missionaries of Charity. By the time of her death on September 5, 1997, the Missionaries of Charity had grown to 4,000 sisters operating 610 missions in 123 countries. She received the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize and the Nobel Peace Prize for her inspiring work with social outcasts. Mother Teresa was canonized by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016. Her feast day is September 5th.

09/04/2026

Reminder, the last Chapel of the Nativity Mass of the season is this weekend, Saturday, Sept. 5, at 6:00pm. We look forward to seeing many there!
The 5:00pm Mass at St. Joseph Church will resume next Sunday, September 13th, with the Blue Mass.

09/03/2026

Pope St. Gregory the Great 🎶
SAINT OF THE DAY

Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604 A.D.) was the son of a wealthy Roman senator. His mother and two of his aunts are also saints, which provided him with a strong and devout religious upbringing. His skill in grammar and rhetoric were exceptional, and he followed in his father’s political footsteps by serving in public office as the prefect of Rome. Discerning a call to the religious life, he sold all of his possessions and converted his home into a Benedictine monastery. He used his liquidated assets to build six other monasteries. Because of his talent and intelligence he was unanimously chosen to become the Roman Pontiff, the first monk to become Pope. During his lifetime Rome was sacked by invading barbarian hordes, and the city also suffered severe damage from floods and pestilence, causing his pontificate to be an important one. He brought stability and order to the Church in a time of great societal and cultural upheaval. His profound influence on the doctrine, organization, and discipline of the Church cannot be underestimated, thus earning him the title “The Great” which he shares with only two other popes. For his abundant doctrinal and spiritual writings he is also considered to be one of the four great Doctors of the Latin Church. He is most commonly known for promoting and standardizing the sacred music of liturgical worship, now called “Gregorian Chant.” Pope St. Gregory the Great is the patron of popes, masons, choir boys, singers, teachers, and musicians. His feast day is September 3rd.

09/01/2026

Month of the Our Lady of Sorrows (Mater Dolorosa)💘
Devotion of the Month

The Church dedicates the month of September to Our Lady of Sorrows, also known as Mater Dolorosa (Mother of Sorrows). This devotion recalls the Blessed Virgin Mary’s spiritual martyrdom in virtue of her perfect union with the Passion of Christ. This was her role in salvation history, and what merited her place as the spiritual Mother of all Christians. This is symbolized by a single sword, or seven swords, piercing Mary's suffering heart, as foretold in Simeon's prophecy. Traditionally the Church meditates on the "Seven Sorrows" of our Blessed Mother: the prophecy of Simeon; the Holy Family's flight into Egypt; the loss of the Child Jesus for three days; the meeting of Mary and Jesus as he carried his cross; Jesus' crucifixion and death; Jesus' sacred body taken down from the cross; and Jesus' burial. The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows (Mater Dolorosa) is September 15th.