Jacksonville, Fla. – Bishop Felipe J. Estévez will be the chief celebrant along with priests of the Diocese of St. Augustine at a memorial Mass for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, on Saturday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m., at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, 1649 Kingsley Ave., Orange Park.

St. Catherine Parish, who has a large Filipino congregation many of whom have family affected by the massive devastation – particularly in the Samar and Leyte provinces – has  partnered with the Catholic Diocese of Borongan in the Philippines, whose churches were destroyed or heavily damaged. 

“The Mass is one way the Filipino community of our parish can reach out and help the churches in these two provinces, who were greatly affected by the typhoon,” said Father Rafael Lavilla, associate pastor at St. Catherine’s and originally from the Philippines. “The collection from the memorial Mass and the Simbang Gabi Masses [a traditional Filipino 9-day personal and spiritual journey for Advent that begins on Dec. 15] will be sent to help the relief efforts at the diocese in the Philippines.”

Bishop Felipe Estévez called for a diocesan-wide special collection the weekends of Nov. 16-17 and Nov. 23-24 for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. The money collected in parishes on these two weekends will be used to support the efforts of Catholic Relief Services – the official international humanitarian agency representing the U.S. Catholic Church. Funds collected will also be used to assist with long-term recovery from the disaster, and the long-term need to rebuild the church after widespread destruction.

For more information about the memorial Mass, call the parish office at (904) 264-0577.