Holy Spirit Catholic Church

Funeral Arrangements

We anticipate that many mourners, both from the Diocese of Duluth and from outside of our diocese, will wish to attend our beloved Bishop Paul Sirba’s funeral Friday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, and that the resulting crowd may well far exceed the available seating at the Cathedral. Therefore we are grateful to announce that WDIO-TV has graciously offered to have the liturgy livestreamed on the Internet, making it accessible to all across the region and beyond who wish to see it. The stream will be available on WDIO.com. We hope this will enable as many people as possible to be united in prayer for the repose of Bishop Sirba’s soul and for his family and our local church and all who mourn.

Visitation will be on Thursday, December 5, 2019 from 3:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary located at 2801 East Fourth Street in Duluth, MN, with the praying of the Rosary to take place at 6:00 p.m. and Vigil prayers at 7:00 p.m. Visitation will continue at the Cathedral on Friday, December 6, 2019 from 8:00 a.m. until the Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. Following the funeral Mass, burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in Duluth. Requiescat in Pace. 

Media released statements:

Father James Bissonette, who served as vicar general under the late Bishop Paul Sirba, offered the following statement today as the faithful of the diocese and Catholics around the region and the country continue to mourn the sudden death of Bishop Sirba:

Our faithful are in shock and they’re grieving, and rightly so, because they loved Bishop Sirba, and he was a very kind, gentle, faithful shepherd. A lot of people felt that and understood that and now are showing appreciation for that. I myself am grieving not only because like the other priests of the diocese I lost a good shepherd, but he was also a good friend, and he will be missed greatly.

Our first priority is to pray for and say goodbye to Bishop Sirba until we see him again on the day of resurrection, because we are people of hope, and we believe in the fullness of eternal life in our Lord Jesus Christ.

The news of the bishop’s death was announced to the faithful Dec. 1 in a message from Father Bissonette. Bishop Sirba suffered cardiac arrest that morning at St. Rose Church in Proctor, where he had been living at the rectory, on his way to celebrate Sunday Mass at the parish. He was rushed to Essentia Health St. Mary’s Medical Center where life-saving efforts were unsuccessful. He received the last rites from Father John Petrich and died shortly after 9 a.m.

Bishop Sirba was ordained the ninth bishop of Duluth on Dec. 14, 2009 and was anticipating celebrating his 10th anniversary at the time of his death.

Plans are for a vigil to be held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary in Duluth Thursday, Dec. 5, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and then continuing from 8 a.m. Friday until the funeral at 11 a.m. His surviving family includes his mother, Helen, and his siblings, Father Joe, Kathy, and John, and their families.

Under church law, within the next several days a group of diocesan priests called the College of Consultors will convene to choose a diocesan administrator. The priest chosen for this role will take care of the diocese until a new bishop is appointed by Pope Francis. The length of that process is uncertain, but it typically takes about a year.

Statements from those who new him:

The outpouring of grief has been felt within the Diocese of Duluth and beyond in thousands of social media reactions and other communications. Archbishop Bernard Hebda, of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, who will be the principal celebrant of Bishop Sirba’s funeral, shared his condolences on Twitter: “The Archdiocese of St Paul & Minneapolis grieves with the Diocese of Duluth over the passing of their beloved shepherd, Bishop Paul Sirba, recalling his many years of joyful service as a son of this local Church. May he rest in peace.”

Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland announced the news on his Facebook page, saying, “Bishop Sirba was one of my closest bishop friends and a member of my bishop fraternity group. Our group just spent time together at the November USCCB meeting in prayer, mutual support and fellowship. He was a great consolation to me personally. I had know Bishop Sirba for 34 years, and was present at his priestly and episcopal ordinations. He was a great inspiration to me as a young man discerning my own priestly vocation at the time. The Diocese of Duluth has lost a very holy and loving shepherd.”

“He passed away on this First Sunday of Advent on his way to church for Holy Mass,” he continued. “As we await the Lord’s coming, this is a powerful reminder that we know not the day or hour of His coming.”

Bishop Donald Kettler of St. Cloud posted to his faithful on Twitter: “I was shocked and deeply saddened yesterday when I learned about the death of Bishop Paul Sirba of Duluth. He was a kind and gentle leader who served the people of God with great joy & dedication. Please pray for him, his family & the people of his diocese. May he rest in peace.”

Other Christians in the area also expressed their shock and sorrow. ELCA Bishop Thomas Aitken shared the news with area Lutherans and wrote on Twitter: “Bishop Sirba’s sudden death is a great sorrow to me. We were more than colleagues, we were friends! Soft spoken, thoughtful and thoroughly kind person! I am appreciative of the work we were able to do together in our Ecumenical world. I thank God for his life and witness!”

There will be no Confession, Mass, or Adoration on Friday, Dec. 6th.

Weekend Masses: Saturday - 4:30 p.m.        Sunday - 11:00 a.m.       Weekday Mass: Monday - Check bulletin
                              Tuesday - 5:30 p.m.
                              Thursday - 8:15 a.m.
                              Friday - 8:15 a.m.

Rosary: 30 minutes prior to each Mass.

Adoration with Benediction: Friday, 9:00 a.m. till noon.

Reconcilliation: Friday - 7:30 a.m.
                              Saturday - 3:30 p.m. Or by appointment.

Click on calendar to enlarge.

/documents/2019/10/November%202019.pdf

Learn more about our building project & capital campaign here:

Phase I is complete! See more photos here.

Link to St. Mary's Website
Link to St. Mary's Bulletin

Parish Office: (218) 834-4659
Email: hspirit@outlook.com
Rectory: (218) 834-4313
Email:slaflamme@dioceseduluth.org

Safe Environment training

https://duluth.cmgconnect.org/