Upcoming Events and Opportunities

This page lists upcoming events taking place in the St. Monica Church Community and around the Archdiocese of Seattle. For information on additional Catholics events, retreats, and programs in the greater Seattle area, we recommend checking out the Archdiocese of Seattle event webpage (archseattle.org/eventslist) and the Catholic event page on the Sacred Heart Radio website (sacredheartradio.org/catholic-events-page). Towards the bottom of this page, we've listed some of our parish's weekly and monthly groups and events. Click here to jump to the recurring events section.

Veneration of the Relics of St. Charbel and St. Rafqa

Monsignor Samer NASSIF will be visiting the Seattle area and will bring with him First Class Relics of St. Charbel and St. Rafqa.

There will be two evening celebration which will include: Eucharistic Adoration, Recitation of the Holy Rosary (with meditation guided by readings from the writings of St. Charbel), Celebration of a Holy Mass in honor of St. Charbel, Anointing with the Oil of St. Charbel, and Veneration of the Relics of St. Charbel and St. Rafqa.

• Thursday, August 7 - St. Monica Catholic Church 
• Friday, August 8 - Holy Family Catholic Church

Each evening’s celebration will begin at 5:00PM, and will likely last 3 hours or longer.

With any questions, please email communication@stmonicami.org.

Who is St. Charbel?

Saint Charbel Makhlouf was born on May 8, 1828, in Bkaakafra, a village of Northern Lebanon. From a young age he felt called to become a monk. In 1851, he joined the Lebanese Maronite Order, and in 1859 was ordained to the priesthood. After living in monastic community for 16 years, he requested permission from his superiors to become a hermit and live an ascetic life of prayer, worship, and physical labor. He died on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1898. His body was later exhumed from his tomb and found to be incorruptible. He was declared Blessed on January 5, 1965, and a Saint on October 9, 1977, by Pope Paul VI.

Who is St. Rafqa?

Saint Rafqa was born on June 29, 1832 in Himlaya, a village of Northern Metn (in Lebanon). She began religious life in the Congregation of the Mariamettes and later became a nun in the Lebanese Maronite Order. Sister Rafqa was a virtuous role model to the other nuns. After praying to experience some of the suffering which Christ endured during His Passion, Rafqa was given a life of intense physical pain. She faithfully united these sufferings to Christ's own and bore these trials for 29 years. She died on March 23, 1914. She declared Venerable on February 11, 1982, Blessed on November 17, 1985, and a Saint on June 10, 2001, by Pope Saint John Paul II.

Upcoming Funeral

The Funeral Mass for Carol Appel will be on Thursday, August 28, at 11AM, at St. Monica Church.

Register for CYO Cross Country!

Registration is also now open for Fall Cross Country. The registration deadline for XC is September 1. Cross country practices will be on Wednesdays starting in September.

CYO sports are open to all parish and school children. Registration for all CYO sports can be found at teamsideline.com/seattlecyo.

Next Step Pregnancy Services 2025 Gala

Early bird tickets for Next Step’s annual gala are on sale until August 15th! Register and learn more about this event by visiting nssuport.org/gala2025.

Vincentian Golf Fundraiser

St Vincent de Paul of Seattle | King County will hold their 2nd Annual Vincentian Charity Golf Classic on Friday, September 26 at Washington National Golf Club.

Visit svdpseattle.org/golf to find out more and to register.

Eritrean Catholic’s Annual Fundraising Dinner

Fr. Negusse’s Eritrean Catholic Community will be holding their annual fundraising dinner on Saturday, October 18. Please save the date, if you’d like to attend. More information will be shared closer to the event.

Friday Evening Adoration

Don’t forget Friday Eucharistic Adoration and Confessions are offered every Friday, 6PM-7PM in the church. End your work week and start off your weekend right by spending some time in the church adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament!

Feeling too ill for Mass?

The general obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation is excused for those who are ill or are homebound. If you are unable to attend Mass for valid reason, we encourage you to make use of our Mass Livestream which can be accessed at stmonicami.org/livestream.

It’s much more than just Coffee & Donuts!

Don’t pass on the opportunity to join us every Sunday after Mass for an hour of Coffee & Donuts. More than simply an opportunity for a sugary treat and a cup of coffee, this time is an important chance for each of us to form deeper connections with the other members of our parish community. We encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and introduce yourself to someone you don’t know.

Want to help host Coffee and Donuts? Volunteers set-up, facilitate, and clean-up each Coffee & Donuts hour to cultivate an environment where our faith can grow in relationship with each other. If you’d like to help, please contact Gloria Hardy at the parish office at gloria@stmonicami.org or simply talk to one of the volunteers hosting coffee and donuts on a given Sunday.

Knights of Columbus Meetings

No Summer KOC Meetings: In previous communications, we advertised that the Knights of Columbus would be having a council meeting in July. This was incorrect, as the Knights will have no general member meetings in the months of July and August. 

Knights of Columbus want to invite all men of the Parish to join them at their Council meetings held on the first Monday of every month. The meetings are held at 6:30PM in the Parish Office dining room (accessed via the front office entrance).

A life of faith in action, a life of boldness in brotherhood, a life worth living.

For more information, please contact:

Grand Knight Reed Nagel at jacknreed@hotmail.com.

Legion of Mary Meetings

The Legion of Mary group meets every Tuesday morning after the 7:45AM Mass in the St. Augustine Room. Legion of Mary is a world-wide movement of lay people, who propose making Faith the goal of their life in an effort to achieve personal sanctity. The virtue of Holiness in the life of the members of the Legion is promoted under the influence of Mary and the Holy Spirit. This becomes the source of inspiration for Legion work, which is under the direction of our Pastor, Fr. Nagel. He has asked the Legion to take Holy Communion to the homebound, providing the Real Presence of Jesus to them.

For more information, please contact:

Francis Chang (Parishioner) 425-442-3478

Helga Osborn (Parishioner) 206-232-2328

Cooking for the Homeless

Every Tuesday, volunteers of the Friends of the Needy ministry meet at St. Monica’s kitchen at 10:30AM to cook a four-course hot dinner for later delivery. Want to volunteer? Come for an hour or the afternoon, every Tuesday or as often as you like. Experience the joyful camaraderie in the kitchen from preparing the ingredients to washing the dishes. For more information, please contact:

Karen Zimmer (Head Cook) karenzimmer@comcast.net 253-273-6704

Rosary Makers

Rosary Makers is a wonderful group of people who get together every week on Wednesdays in the St. Augustine Room to make Rosaries for the Catholic missions. All are welcome to come and make rosaries or gather the materials to work at home. 

For more information, please contact:

Joyce Kaifer (Parishioner) 425-644-2518

Bringing Holy Communion to the Homebound

Every Wednesday morning immediately after the 7:45AM Mass, members of the Legion of Mary bring the Communion to homebound parishioners who are unable to attend Mass in person. If you or a loved one are physically unable to attend Mass and would like to receive Communion, please contact the parish office to receive more information on this ministry. 

Walking with Purpose

Calling all Women 18 and over! Women’s Group Bible Study - Walking with Purpose starts Thursday, September 26th at 8:30AM. Come on the first day and see if it’s for you! Sign up if you know it’s for you!

Join us as we grab our coffee, get real, lean into our relationships with Christ and transform our hearts…together!

Our Bible study combines personal study with small group discussion, linking everyday challenges to the solutions given to us through the teachings of Christ and the Catholic Church. If you desire to grow in your faith - in a supportive community of Catholic women - this group is for you! So much more than a Bible study! Our program runs weekly, September 26th - May 29th. Thursdays, 8:30-10:30am in the Family Center.

Click here to register. Questions? Contact Niki Baklinski 206-940-6453, vbaklinski@gmail.com

Monthly Chinese Family Rosary Meeting

Come join our monthly Chinese rosary zoom meeting hosted by the Seattle Chinese Catholic Community on the 4th Saturday of each month from 1:30pm to 2:30pm. We will recite the rosary in Mandarin and Cantonese. Please email us at info@seattlechinesecatholic.org or leave a message at 206-458‐1430 to get the zoom meeting information.

歡迎大家參加由西雅圖天主教華人團體舉辦的網上家庭玫瑰經聚會。聚會時間為每月第四個星期六下午1:30至2:30。有興趣參加的，請email info@seattlechinesecatholic.org 或致電206-458‐1430索取Zoom聚會資料。

Friends of the Needy Drivers Needed

Is there anyone who would not help their brother or sister? Christ has said, “the less fortunate are our bothers and sisters”. We are in need of 5 more drivers to help feed the 12 different shelter and food banks that we now deliver food to from our most generous donor Metropolitan Market!

If you could spare just 2 or 3 hours once a month that would fulfill our obligation to feed the hungry. If you volunteer you can choose the day of the month that you would drive each month. Please give this some thought and if you would like to just discuss the opportunity, please call me, Bob Kessler, at (206) 276-0515 or email rar811@me.com. Thank you!