Now that St. Mary only has one collection, if you participate in online giving you will need to go online and select to give to the periodic special second collections when
they occur; this will no longer happen automatically. This is the list of special second collections for this year:
1/26– Church in Latin America
2/23– Support of the Church around the World
3/5– Catholic Charities (Ash Wednesday)
4/18– Holy Land Shrines (Good Friday)
4/20– Easter Sunday Collection: Clergy Trust
6/8– Seminarians (Pentecost)
6/15– Promoting the Gospel
9/21– Clergy Trust
10/5– Holy Father & Apostolic Works
10/19– World Mission Sunday
11/23– Collection for Retired Religious Sisters
12/25– Christmas Collection: Clergy Trust
The following glossary is intended to nurture a better understanding of our various contribution “baskets”, and to minimize any potential confusion as to where your donations go.
Parish Offertory and Offertory Pledge:
The regular parish collection; the pledge is an intentional decision of how much you plan to give to the Offertory over the calendar year (pledges do not include second collections).
Building Collection:
A frequent second collection to cover parish maintenance( St. Martha).
Parish Grand Annual:
A special collection near the end of the year to help the parish with special projects or shortfall revenue.
Boston Catholic Appeal:
Our regular support of the wider Church and its services to the parishes. The Catholic Appeal is to the Archdiocese as the Offertory Pledge is to the parish. This Appeal kicks off each Lent for pledges fulfilled over 10 months.
Catholic Charities:
An agency of the wider Church that helps those in need through basic necessities, counseling, and other services; a special collection for Catholic Charities happens each year on Ash Wednesday.
updated 1/2025
Special Note to St. Mary Parishioners: If you already give online, please see these changes in second collections and important steps St. Mary Parish needs you to take now that the parish building debt has been paid off! Please click to read the steps!
Online Giving makes it easy for you to manage your parish contributions, anytime, anywhere in a safe, secure and confidential electronic application. Either a credit card or direct bank withdrawal option can be used and you can start, stop and change your contributions at any time. You can also see your contribution history and generate year-end tax statements.
Do you feel funny about letting the basket pass you by on Sunday at Mass? No problem! Feel free to use our convenient notes that say “I gave in another way” at Mass. They are located by the entrances of the church and can be placed in the basket during the collections.
Sign up for Online Giving by clicking here: