Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:17-23; Matthew 28: 16-20. In the first reading, Jesus tells his Apostles that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and then he ascends into heaven. In his Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul affirms the hope enjoyed by all who believe in the promise and power of Christ. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus commissions the Apostles to make disciples of all nations, and assures them that he will be with them, always, until the end of the age.

Ascensione del Signore

L’Ascensione inaugural la missione della Chiesa. Il Signore Gesù, accolto nella Gloria del padre, ma nascosto alla nostra vista sensibile, abita in noi spiritualmente e continua con noi l’opera di salvezza, dichiarando che siamo destinati all vita eternal.

耶穌升天節

今天是耶穌升天節，可是今天的福音（瑪竇28：16-20）並沒有提及穌升天的事。但由於其他福音說記述了耶穌被接升天，可以知道祂的確升天了。耶穌復活後四十天和門徒們吃喝談話，祂的光榮隱藏在人性的形象中。直到祂升天之時，祂的光榮才完全顯示出來。現在耶穌再不與自己的信徒以形體同在，卻以精神的方式時常與祂的教會結合，不斷教化指引她，直到世界終窮之日。

臨別之時，他們交給了門徒治理教會的權柄，給他們施洗和赦罪的權柄。祂說：「天上地下的一切權柄都交給了我，所以你們要去使萬民成為門徒，因父、及子及聖神之名給他們授洗。」這一句話說明了天主三位一體的道理，也說明天教會是由宗徒一脈相承地傳下來的。領了洗的人是屬於天主的，和天主有特殊關係。

天主聖父是一切救恩之本，聖子把領了洗的人加入在祂的教會裏，聖神默導教友，使他們明白並有恆地做到耶穌所要求的。

耶穌既然把治理教會的權交給宗徒和他們繼承人，當然也默導他們，使他們代表祂善盡職青，我們服從教會的訓導，就是服從天主。

From the Pastor’s Desk

Standing: Brother Joseph Oreni & Brother Nick Imielinski. Seated: Fr. Raphael Piperni, Fr. Valentine Cassini Seated Center: Blessed Michael Rua, Salesian Rector Major.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We are preparing to celebrate 100 years of our Saints Peter and Paul Church building. Please mark your calendars for November 8-10, 2024! In the next few letters, I will share with you the story of Saints Peter and Paul, and the Salesian pioneers.

With the wave of Italian immigrants who arrived in San Francisco during the end of the nineteenth century, an ethnic enclave, known as “Little Italy,” took root in what is known today as North Beach. It was so named because a finger of the bay came inland between Telegraph and Russian Hills and created a narrow inlet that would form the beach north of San Francisco.

To care for the continuing influx of Italian immigrants, the church of Saints Peter and Paul was established at the northeast corner of Filbert Street and Grant Avenue (then called Dupont Street). The first Mass in this modest wooden structure was celebrated on the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul, June 29, 1884.

Although about 5,000 Italians lived in the area, few attended Mass regularly. Anticlericalism, the legacy of the struggle between the Catholic Church and the newly unified state of Italy, was alive and well in the city of Saint Francis. Prejudice and resistance directed against the parish church in the shadow of Telegraph Hill were rampart. Efforts to create an active and viable parish for the Italian immigrants met constant frustration.

In 1896, the then archbishop of San Francisco, Patrick W. Riordan, invited the Salesian Society, founded by St. John Bosco, to administer the parish of Saints Peter and Paul. In March of the following year, Father Raphael Piperni, SDB, the newly appointed pastor, arrived with three other Salesians in tow: Father Valentino Cassini, SDB, seminarian Joseph Oreni, SDB, and Lay brother Nicholas Imielinski, SDB. The latter would spend the next 50 years of his life as the sexton of the parish church he so deeply loved. (to be continued).

Have a blessed Feast of the Ascension of the Lord!

–Fr. Tho Bui, SDB, Pastor

Mass Intentions For The Week Sunday May 21, 2023 8:45 Luigi & Giulian Marciano + 10:15 Joseph Leo Torre & Family + 12:00 For the People of Saints Peter and Paul + – Lorenzo Simi + 5:00 The Pierini & Spes Families +

Monday May 22, 2023 7:00 Fortunato D’Ascoli + 9:00 Intention of the Wildland Firefighters – Roberta Renzi +

Tuesday May 23, 2023 7:00 Marco & Sabina Zolezzi + 9:00 Joseph Maggiora & the Maggiora Family + – Lucy Pang Chan +

Wednesday May 24, 2023 7:00 Bernard Quinteros + 9:00 Joan Coker + – Mike Baglin +

Thursday May 25, 2023 7:00 Edward Sabini + 9:00 Frank Sanguinetti + – Intention Sr. Beatriz Madelano

Friday May 26, 2023 7:00 Lorenzo & Angela Lazio & Family + 9:00 Intention Jerry Ortega Bini – Intention Leslie Sugimoto

Saturday May 27, 2023 7:30 The Giurlani Family + 9:00 Fr. Austin Conterno, SDB + 5:00 Giulio Guidi +

Baptisms Dylan White – Morgan Galaviz Louise Lorraine Davis

Marriages Jesse Augustine & Bryn Robicheaux

Rest in Peace Frank Brucia - Andrea Olcomendy - Josephine Mallia

Particular Items

St. Augustine on the meaning of the Ascension: “Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him. Listen to the words of the Apostle: If you have risen with Christ, set your hearts on the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; seek the things that are above, not the things that are on earth. For just as he remained with us even after his ascension, so we too are already in heaven with him, even though what is promised us has not yet been fulfilled in our bodies.”

Second Collection: Today there will be a second collection for the Catholic Communications Campaign. Please be generous!

THANK YOU & MILLE GRAZIE: To all parishioners who contributed to helping the Sisters get a new furnace! And special thanks to school dad Vince Vigil of V3 Mechanical, and his dad, Leroy, who installed it. Please consider Vince and V3 Mechanical the next time you need similar work!

Eucharistic Adoration & Confession/ Anointing of the Sick: We have Adoration & Confession every Friday, following the 7:00 AM Mass. And on the first Friday of the month we have the Anointing following the 7:00 AM Mass.

May Crowning! As we all know, May is the month of Mary. On Thursday, May 24, the Feast of Mary Help of Christians, our students will present our Blessed Mother with a crown of beautiful flowers at the 9:00AM Mass. We all know how much she will love that! Everyone is invited!

The Salesian Cooperators (the Salesian Lay Ministry) will start regular monthly formation classes for those who have made their Cooperators promise already. The next meeting, via Zoom, is Thursday, May 25 at 7pm. Visit ‘Events’ on our website for the ZOOM login info.

June 10, 2023 Eucharistic Congress: The Eucharistic Congress will take place at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. on June 10, 2023, with 5:30 p.m. Mass celebrated by Most Rev. Salvatore J. Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco, and Most Rev. J. Peter Sartain, Archbishop Emeritus of Seattle. The Congress will include English, Spanish, and Youth track options.The Congress will also include a Eucharistic Miracles exhibit, time for Eucharistic Adoration and Sacrament of Reconciliation. Registration is now open for the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Eucharistic Congress! Flyers are on the tables and go here to register: sfarch.org/registration-eucharistic-congress/

Corpus Christi Procession: Join us, Sunday, June 11 (Corpus Christi Sunday), following the noon Mass as we honor our Risen Lord and bring him to North Beach in our annual Corpus Christi procession. We will process with the Blessed Sacrament from Saints Peter and Paul to the National Shrine of St. Francis. Bring flower petals to scatter and rosaries to pray! Children are especially welcome! “We bring Christ, present under the sign of bread, onto the streets of our city. We entrust these streets, these homes, our daily life, to his goodness. May our streets be streets of Jesus! May our houses be homes for him and with him! May our life of every day be penetrated by his presence.”- Pope Benedict XVI.

Religious Freedom Week Events: The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops designates June 22-29 Religious Freedom Week. This year there are offering several events in observance of the week:

On Thursday, June 22 at 6 p.m. Mater Dolorosa Church in South San Francisco will be hosting a talk on Parental Rights and Religious Freedom.

And on Friday, June 23, please join Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone and Father Armando Elkhoury, a Maronite priest, for Vespers at 6 p.m. This will be followed by a presentation on “The Maronite Church, the Heartbeat of the Christians in the Middle East: History and Importance” and a reception hosted by Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Community in Millbrae. Please pick up a flyer from the tables or visit sfarchdiocese.org/events/ to register

Sponsor a Student! Are you able to help a student receive a Catholic education? We are receiving more request for financial aid than ever before. The Salesians started by educating the children of the poor and w are not about to stop now—but like Don Bosco before us we need your help! We invite financially able parishioners to help with this ministry. Please call Dr. Lisa Harris at 421-5219 or Fr. Tho Bui at 421-0809.

Bella Health and Wellness offers healthcare in accordance with Catholic principles. They are located at 2000 Van Ness Avenue. “Bella is an answer to my prayers to bring an authentically Catholic woman-centered healthcare clinic to our people in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. I invite your collaboration and support so together we can make something beautiful for God. May God bless and reward you for doing so!”– Archbishop Cordileone. Give at www.bellahw.org.

Saints Peter and Paul Salesian School & Pre-K Accepting Applications: Our K-8 Salesian school is accepting applications for this year and next. Please email Dr. Lisa Harris at the school at lharris@sspeterpaulsf.org, sspeterpaulsf.org/ or Barbara Simons at the Pre-K at bsimons@sspeterpaulsf.org to learn more!

Salesian Young Adults: Want fun, friends, service and faith? Our Salesian Young Adults invite you to share all of the above as we serve our Church and get to know one another! Visit https://salesiansspp.org/salesian-young-adults

Catholic Legislative Advocacy: Join us in advocating for Catholic issues of life, justice and peace. The Archdiocesan Office of Human Life & Dignity is putting together a legislative advocacy team. You can be involved as much or as little as you choose-write an email, visit a lawmaker, make phone calls and more. This year, we will be working on four issues with the California Catholic Conference: protecting prolife pregnancy centers, gun violence, housing and teacher grants. To join our team, please go to this link to sign up: https://sfarchdiocese.org/legislative-advocacy-team-sign-up/ Questions: Valerie Schmalz, Director, Office of Human Life & Dignity, schmalzv@sfarch.org

Salesian Community Bingo: Support your Church, School, and Club and have a blast doing it! The next Salesian Community Bingo is on Thursday, June 15, 2023. Check in/registration at 6:00 PM, opening game at 6:30. Visit salesianclub.org/events or call 415-397-3068 for tickets and more info.

Archdiocesan Annual Appeal: Our assessment this year is $64,663. Your donations help support important things like St. Patrick’s Seminary! So far 37 families/parishioners have pledged or donated $22,085 leaving us with a balance of $42,578. If you, can, join the 1% club—give $647! But ALL Parishioners should give SOMETHING! Help us to meet this shared obligation!

Liturgical Calendar Sunday 21 The Ascension of the Lord Monday 22 Rita of Cascia; Religious Tuesday 23 Easter Weekday Wednesday 24 Mary Help of Christians Thursday 25 Bede the Venerable; Priest, Doctor, Gregory VII; Pope Mary Magdalene de’Pazzi; Virgin Friday 26 Philip Neri; Priest Saturday 27 Augustine of Canterbury; Bishop Sunday 28 Pentecost Sunday

Your gifts of May 13/14 will be published in next week’s bulletin. Thank you! Your parish needs and appreciates your continued support.