Five First Saturdays Devotion
First Saturday devotion is like a monthly personal retreat designed and requested by Our Blessed Mother
herself 100 years ago! To prepare and renew the hearts of the faithful each and every month, Our Lady
prescribed :
- praying the Rosary
- a good confession (can be done within 9 days)
- a 15-minute meditation of the mysteries
- the reception of the Holy Eucharist
- on five consecutive First Saturdays and offer the above as a reparation for offenses made against Her Immaculate Heart.
Unbeknownst to many, First Saturday devotion is a crucial part of the message that Our Lady at Fatima
(Fatima 13 July 1917; Pontevedra Dec 1925). The world was erupting in wars at that time and still
continues to this day - both physical and spiritual wars. Our Lady of Fatima's PEACE PLAN included
penance & reparation, daily rosary, Five First Saturday devotion, and consecration to her Immaculate
Heart. Our Mother knows best.
The Vatican has declared Dec 2025-2026 as the Jubilee Year for the First Saturdays devotion.
First Saturdays at St. Thomas -doors open early for meditations, 7:35 am Rosary, 8 am Mass, and
confessions follows after Mass. Rosaries, rosary guides and prayer cards are available at no cost and can be found on the tables by the narthex.
Morning Rosary (Weekdays 7:35 am)
The Angelic Psalter, commonly known as the Holy Rosary, is a powerful contemplative prayer, both
mental and vocal, which draws one to meditate on the chief mysteries of the life, death, and glory of our
Jesus Christ and of His Blessed Mother.
Praying the Rosary allows each and every faithful to lift their minds, hearts and intentions to Jesus
through Mary - for peace, for our family and our special intentions, for the Church and the Holy Father,
and in reparation for the offenses made against the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
Communal recitation of the Rosary in a church is granted a plenary indulgence, under the usual
conditions, which can then be offered to oneself or for the souls in purgatory.
Pope John Paul II Apostolic Letter on the Holy Rosary (2002)
Millions of Monicas
Millions of Monicas is a group for women to pray together for their children who have left the faith. This is not a support group or a self-help group. We simply meet once a month and pray together for each other's loved ones in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
Join with other mothers, grandmothers, step-mothers, aunts, Godmothers, etc., as we pray to grow in holiness and humility, and for our children's faithful return to the Catholic Church.
Meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 7:00pm in the chapel
Contact: Chris at j.clemons@sbcglobal.net(opens in new tab) 309-369-2339
Prayer Chain
The St. Thomas Prayer Chain shares requests for prayers with other individuals. Each person is also asked to pray for the needs of people who request our prayers.
All members of our St. Thomas community are invited to join our Prayer Chain. This is a great service for parishioners who want to serve others, but do not necessarily have the time for scheduled activities. You can send an email to prayerchain@stthomas-church.net to join/ ask for specific prayer requests.
Contact the Parish Office if you have any questions.
Rosary for Peace
The Rosary is prayed for peace throughout the world on Tuesday mornings at 10 AM in the daily Mass chapel. Honey Jacob leads this effort. All are welcome to attend.
Rosary Project (rescue, restoration, devotion and mission)
Evolved out of necessity to fill the rosary basket, this project started in 2025 alongside the First Saturday
devotion. To help spread the devotion to Our Blessed Mother, handmade rosaries were made and offered free of charge a week before the First Saturday. As Fr. Leo was gearing up to leave, he asked if he can take some rosaries back to Africa. Thus, the project evolved yet again and made 300 mission rosaries with the help of 2 other parishioners to send home with Fr. Leo.
This year, efforts have expanded to rescuing and restoring old, new, unused, or broken rosaries back to
praying hands, offering rosary making sessions and training new makers, helping students make their
own rosaries, providing rosaries at no cost for the parish home bound, in-hospitals, CCD, & OCIA,
participating in the World Mission Rosary Drive for Fulton Sheen, and continually making mission
Rosaries for our African priests in the diocese
to take back to their hometowns and help us pray for more vocations.
If you love to Our Blessed Mother and have a desire to spread the devotion to others through various
means, the Rosary Project welcomes you and your ideas.
The Rosary Project is evolving! If you wish to learn how to make rosaries for missions, want to partner with the project, or request free rosaries, please contact Mets Ginoli at m_ravago@yahoo.com , text at 773-517-7851 or drop a note in the rosary basket by the narthex.