Holy Week and Easter 2026 Schedule

Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday), March 29
Saturday Vigil: 5:15 PM Mass at Presentation BVM Church
Sunday: 8:30 AM and 11:30 AM Masses at Presentation BVM Church
Sunday: 10 AM Mass at St. Joseph Church

Monday of Holy Week, March 30
6:30 AM Mass at Presentation BVM Chapel
10 AM Mass at St. Joseph Church
Eucharistic Adoration at Presentation BVM Adoration Chapel
beginning with 2 PM Exposition and concluding with 5 PM Benediction

Tuesday of Holy Week, March 31
6:30 AM and 10 AM Masses at Presentation BVM Chapel
1 PM Living Stations of the Cross at Presentation BVM Church
(led by school children)

Wednesday of Holy Week, April 1
6:30 AM Mass at Presentation BVM Chapel
10 AM Mass at St. Joseph Church
Stations of the Cross following the 10 AM Mass at St. Joseph Church

Holy Thursday, April 2
No 6:30 AM or 10 AM Masses at Presentation BVM Church that day
6:30 AM Morning Prayer at Presentation BVM Adoration Chapel
10 AM Chrism Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
5 PM Mass of the Lord’s Supper at St. Joseph Church
(St. Joseph will remain open until 9 PM for private prayer)
7 PM Mass of the Lord’s Supper at Presentation BVM Church
(Presentation BVM Adoration Chapel
will remain open until 10 PM for private prayer)

Good Friday, April 3
6:30 AM Morning Prayer at Presentation BVM Adoration Chapel
St. Joseph Church will be open from noon until 4 PM for private prayer
3 PM Solemn Service of the Lord’s Passion at Presentation BVM Church
7 PM Solemn Service of the Lord’s Passion at St. Joseph Church
Holy Communion will be distributed only at these services.

Holy Saturday, April 4
8 AM Morning Prayer at Presentation BVM Adoration Chapel
1 PM to 2 PM Sacrament of Reconciliation at Presentation BVM Church
5 PM Blessing of Easter Food at Presentation BVM Church
7 PM Solemn Easter Vigil at Presentation BVM Church
(Both parishes will celebrate the Easter Vigil at Presentation BVM Church)

Easter Sunday, April 5
with Renewal of Baptismal Promises
and Sprinkling with Holy Water at all Masses
8:30 AM and 11:30 AM Masses at Presentation BVM Church
10 AM Mass at St. Joseph Church

*Please note: the Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday Masses from St. Joseph will be livestreamed on the parish’s website and Facebook page.

St. Joseph Parish Novena

This Monday, March 9 through Wednesday, March 18, 2026

In honor of our parish patron’s feast day on March 19th, we will be praying a St. Joseph Novena daily beginning on Monday, March 9 and concluding on Wednesday, March 18.  The Novena schedule is as follows:

Monday (3/9): 9:45am (prior to 10am Mass)
Tuesday (3/10): 6:30pm via Zoom*
Wednesday (3/11): 9:45am (prior to 10am Mass)
Thursday (3/12): 6:30pm via Zoom*
Friday (3/13): 9:45am (prior to 10am Mass)
Saturday (3/14): 6:30pm via Zoom*
Sunday (3/15): 9:45am (prior to 10am Mass)
Monday (3/16): 9:45am (prior to 10am Mass)
Tuesday (3/17): 6:30pm via Zoom*
Wednesday (3/18): 6pm at the Lenten Supper

* Here is the Zoom link for the 6:30pm prayers:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/75770967549?pwd=YkPCN9euMkf0AGlMRFhymZgvdrhWSn.1

Here is the link to the Novena Prayers:
https://josephites.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-30-Days-Prayer-Pamphlet_V2.pdf

Closures and cancellations

On Monday, February 23, 2026:

  • The 10am Mass at St. Joseph Church has been canceled.
  • Presentation BVM School is closed.  The day is being observed as a Flexible Learning Day.  Teachers have emailed assignments and instructions to the families of their students.
  • Presentation BVM Rectory will be closed.
  • Adoration, including Exposition and Benediction, in the Presentation BVM Chapel has been canceled.

Lent 2026 Begins Wednesday!

The penitential season of Lent begins this Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, February 18, 2026 and lasts until the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, April 2, 2026.

The bishops of the United States prescribe, as minimal obligation, that all persons over 14 years of age are gravely obliged to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays of Lent.  All persons over 18 years of age and up to the beginning of their 60th year are gravely obliged to fast by limiting themselves to a single full meal on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, while the other two meals are to be light.

All the faithful are encouraged at attend Mass and to receive the Most Holy Eucharist daily, to use frequently the Sacrament of Penance, to undertake spiritual reading, especially the study of the Sacred Scriptures, and to attend parish Lenten devotions and Lenten educational programs.

Ashes will be distributed on Ash Wednesday at the 10am Mass at St. Joseph Church, also, at the 6:30am, 1pm and 7pm Mass at Presentation BVM Church.

We will pray the Stations of the Cross at St. Joseph Church on Sundays at 9:30am and Wednesdays at the conclusion of the 10am Mass.  Stations of the Cross will be prayed at Presentation BVM Church on  Fridays at 1pm (not March 6).

The Blessed Sacrament is exposed in the Presentation BVM Adoration Chapel on Monday afternoons from 2pm until 5pm.

Bishop Barron’s video series, Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Lively Virtues, will be shown after the 10am Sunday Mass in the St. Joseph Parish Community Room.

All are encouraged to participate in the annual CRS Rice Bowl, which has aided countless hungry persons here in our Archdiocese and throughout the world.

You can sign up for FREE daily and weekly Lenten reflections at the following sites:

FORMED Daily Lenten Reflections

Dynamic Catholic’s Best Lent Ever!

Relevant Radio

EWTN

Word on Fire (Bishop Barron)

Pray More Retreat

Closures and cancellations

On Monday, January 26, 2026:

  • There will be a 6:30am Mass in the Presentation BVM Chapel.  Please use your best judgment when making your decision as to whether you should be venturing out.
  • The 10am Mass at St. Joseph Church has been canceled.
  • Presentation BVM School will be closed.  The day will be observed as a Flexible Learning Day.  Teachers will email assignments and instructions to the families of their students.
  • Presentation BVM Rectory will be closed.
  • Adoration, including Exposition and Benediction, in the Presentation BVM Chapel has been canceled.
  • Choir practice at St. Joseph Church on Monday evening has been canceled.

Yes, Mass will be celebrated at 10am today, Sunday, January 25, 2026.

In accordance with Archbishop Perez’s guidance, we plan on celebrating the 10am Mass at St. Joseph today, Sunday, January 25, 2026.

Archbishop Perez’s post stated, “Masses will not be cancelled to provide for those who can and will attend Holy Mass for Sunday.” He also stated, “While the obligation to attend Holy Mass on Sunday remains, if the weather impedes people from attending Mass safely, especially the elderly, then they should remain at home. … For those who cannot attend Mass, then time should be spent reading the Word of God or in prayer to mark the Lord’s Day. Masses will not be cancelled to provide for those who can and will attend Holy Mass for Sunday.”

We plan on livestreaming the Mass this morning on our website and Facebook page.

Plan ahead for your Sunday Obligation before the storm!

Archbishop Perez has issued guidance on the winter storm and the Sunday Mass obligation. You can read the Archbishop’s full statement here:
https://catholicphilly.com/2026/01/archbishop-perezs-messages/archbishop-perez-issues-guidance-on-winter-storm-and-sunday-mass-obligation/

In part it reads:

“While the obligation to attend Holy Mass on Sunday remains, if the weather impedes people from attending Mass safely, especially the elderly, then they should remain at home. A good alternative is to attend the Saturday evening Anticipated Mass ahead of the storm.”

Therefore, you are strongly encouraged to attend the 5:15pm Vigil Mass on Saturday at Presentation BVM Church before the storm starts.

Funeral Notice: Father John McFadden

Our beloved Father John McFadden, who ministered at St. Joseph while serving as Parochial Vicar at our twinned parish, Presentation BVM, entered eternal life on Friday, January 2, 2026.

Father McFadden’s funeral will take place at Presentation BVM Church, Cheltenham on Saturday, January 10, 2026.  The Reception of the Body will take place at 9am with a viewing until 10:45am.  Bishop Keith J. Chylinski, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, will be the main celebrant of Father McFadden’s funeral Mass at 11am.  Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery in West Conshohocken.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

2025 Christmas Celebration Schedule

Christmas 2019

The schedule of Masses on the weekend of December 20-21 and December 27-28 will be the regular schedule at both parishes.

CHRISTMAS MASSES AT SAINT JOSEPH CHURCH
December 24, 2025 – 5pm (Carols begin at 4:30pm) (Mass will also be livestreamed on our website and Facebook page)
December 25, 2025 – 10am

CHRISTMAS MASSES AT PRESENTATION B.V.M. CHURCH
December 24, 2025 – 7pm (Carols begin at 6:30pm)
December 25, 2025 – 8am

SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD – a Holy Day of Obligation
December 31, 2025 – 5pm Mass at Saint Joseph Church
January 1, 2026 – 10am Mass at Presentation B.V.M. Church

CONFESSIONS
Saturday, December 20, 2025, 4pm-5pm at Presentation B.V.M. Church
Tuesday, December 23, 2025,10:30am-11am at Presentation B.V.M. Church
Saturday, December 27, 2025, 4pm-4:45pm at Presentation B.V.M. Church

All Saints Day 2025

All Saints Day at Saint Joseph, Cheltenham, 1998

The Solemnity of All Saints, November 1, 2025, falls on a Saturday this year. Therefore, it is not a Holy Day of Obligation. There will be an 8am Mass on Saturday, November 1 at Presentation BVM Church for All Saints Day.  There will be no Vigil Mass on Halloween, Friday, October 31.