Events & Updates

From May 7th to May 10th, Fr. Larry Richards delivered inspirational stories of love,peace and holiness during a parish mission at Saint Joseph Parish, Baltimore, MD. For four nights and one very early Tuesday morning, Fr. Larry captivated hundreds with inspiring stories and struggles.

The Men of St. Joseph’s Fullerton, MD chapter sponsored the popular speaker. A DVD from Fr. Larry promoting the mission was shown at allof the masses the weekend before the mission. The parish mission drew between 400-500 people during each night of the mission. This represented a 100% increase in the attendance of other parish missions held at the parish. Due to turnover of people at eachnight of the mission, the MOSJ estimated that close to 1,000 people experience at leastone night of the mission.

Each night began at 7pm and ended about 9pm. This also included one very early morning talk for the MOSJ. Fr. Larry’s talks were based on several of his experiences that can be found in his book “Be a Man” and various media that he promoted at the event. A native of Pittsburgh and a priest of the diocese of Erie, Fr. Larry shared with us a treasure full of knowledge. He divided his talks each night with a different theme: Why do we need God? The Mass, Confession & The Eucharist.

Fr. Larry‘s early morning talk took place at the parish center, along with a free breakfast. His talk stressed on masculinity. Despite the early morning, a total of 50 men showed up on Tuesday May 8th at 6:00 a.m. The MOSJ also solicited donations from local businesses to sponsor the breakfast with Fr. Larry.

At the end of the early morning talk, the MOSJ encouraged those attending to join the weekly MOSJ meeting that is at 6am every Tuesday. The following Tuesday morning, the MOSJ experienced a 100% increase in the number of men who attended their weekly MOSJ meeting. Fr. Larry Richards selected St. Joseph Church to host his final parish mission for 2012 before going on sabbatical to Rome later this summer.

The Men of St. Joseph spent three years planning & scheduling the parish mission, which included:

• Promoting the Mission at the Catholic Men's Fellowship Conference in Baltimore in March,
• Soliciting captains from parishes throughout the Archdiocese to promote themission,
• Coordinating the publication of posters and postcards to promote the mission and
• Advertising the Mission in the Catholic Review.

There were over 38,000 postcards inviting households and businesses of all faiths in their community to attend the mission. Families poured in from West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland's Eastern Shore to attend the Mission and breakfast. Fr. Larry fulfilled both of his promises for those who attended the parish mission: 1.) you will never be bored and 2.) your life will be changed forever.