Shrine of St. Patrick Announces 2011 Celebration Schedule

Shrine of St. Patrick Announces 2011 Celebration Schedule
A pictorial cancellation will be available at the St. Patrick, Missouri USA post office March 1-30, 2011. The date changes daily. A heart with Celtic design and Happy Saint Patrick’s Day Station March 1-30, 2011 St. Patrick, MO will be on the cancellation.
Stamped, self-addressed envelopes requesting the cancellation may be mailed to: Postmaster, St. Patrick, Missouri 63466 USA. There is no charge for the cancellation. Any day between March 1 and March 30 can be placed on the pictorial cancellation and your envelope will be mailed that day. Please specify your mailing date. Customers who want the postmarked envelope returned under protected cover should include a large, stamped, self-addressed envelope. If you want the shamrock cachet, designed by Father O’Duignan in 1936, on your envelope, please mail to: Shrine of St. Patrick, Attn: Pictorial Cancellation, box 34, St. Patrick, Missouri 63466 USA, and ask for the cachet. Shrine volunteers will hand stamp the shamrock cachet on your envelope and mail the envelope on your requested mailing date. The St. Patrick post office will be open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on March 17.
The Shrine of St. Patrick will sell a specially designed envelope with a greeting card inside. The commemorative envelope has a Celtic cross. The greeting card has a photo of St. Patrick and an Irish verse. The envelope sells for $1.00. The envelope price will include the envelope, first class postage, pictorial cancellation, shamrock cachet and a St. Patrick’s Day greeting card. Shrine volunteers will address the envelope, write the sender’s return address, sign the card for you and mail it on the day in March you specify, if you request it. The envelope can be mailed only on the day listed on the postmark, unless it is mailed under separate cover. Please include a stamped, self-addressed, large envelope if you want them un-addressed and mailed under separate cover. Please tell us your postmark mailing date. All checks and money orders are payable to the Shrine of St. Patrick, as all proceeds go to the Shrine. Envelope orders may be mailed to: Shrine of St. Patrick, Attn: Pictorial Cancellation, Box 34, St. Patrick, Missouri 63466 USA. A different card, envelope and postmark are offered each year.
Shrine postcards may be addressed, stamped, postmarked and mailed for you by Shrine volunteers for .50 cents each. An unstamped postcard sells for .25 cents each.
A limited supply of previous March 17 postmarked envelopes are available for $1.00 each. The 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1988 envelopes are sold out. These old envelopes must be mailed under separate cover, so a large self-addressed envelope should be included with your order. The envelopes, postcards and Shrine souvenirs will be sold all day March 17, in the Shrine basement.
The St. Patrick Novena will be March 9-17. Novenas are prayerful nine-day preparations for an important Feast Day. All Novena services will be held in the Shrine of St. Patrick at 8:30 a.m. on weekdays, 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, and 4:00 p.m. on March 17. Names to be included in the Novena will be placed on St. Patrick’s altar during the Novena. The Novena names maybe mailed to the Shrine address listed above.
Breakfast and lunch will be served from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Shrine basement on March 17.
Roger Watson and others will present a program and concert at 9:15 a.m. on March 17.”Traditional Irish – American Tunes – Together in Time”, a simple offering of traditional tunes, Irish and American, on guitar, after immigrating to America, traditional harp and fiddle tunes from the British Isles, were the source for the evolution of what is now considered traditional American fiddle tunes.
Colleen McNally-Harris, of Youngstown, Ohio, accompanied by Harper Kirk on Celtic Harp, will present a concert and CD signing 11:00 a.m. in the Shrine of St. Patrick. Harris is a well- known soprano soloist and sings in several groups, including the Youngstown Symphony Chorus. This will be her third performance at the Shrine of St. Patrick.
The Leprechauns, Vaughn, Edy and Rori Myers, will hand out 200 bags at 1:00 p.m. Each bag contains a gift – only one bag per person. If the gift is too large or too valuable for the bag, a number will be enclosed for you to exchange for a gift. Gifts will include Killarney Crystal, Belleek and Tara china from Ireland.
Free tours of the Shrine of St. Patrick and Museum will be conducted all day by tour guides. You may schedule a tour before March 17.
At 1:45 p.m. Jason Richmond will give program on the history of St. Patrick, Missouri. There will be Irish music from 3:30-3:55 p.m. with vocalist Jason Richmond.
Father Paul Hartley, pastor, will celebrate Mass and the conclusion of the Novena in the Shrine of St. Patrick at 4:00 p.m.
Dinner will be served in the Shrine basement from 5-7:30 p.m. Adult tickets are $8.00, children (6-12) are $4.00, and children under 6 EAT FREE.
All events for the day will be at the Shrine of St. Patrick, except for the pictorial cancellation and postal mailings at the St. Patrick post office.