Beginning Monday, May 4, 2026 all Masses, Baptisms, and Funerals will take place in the Stations of the Cross Garden next to the Grotto. There is indoor air-conditioned space for those who need it. Please bring an umbrella if it looks like rain.

Dear Basilica family,

May is indeed, “Mary’s Month”, as this excerpt from the great Jesuit poet describes, and has been celebrated as such by the Catholic Church from our earliest of days. May is a wonderful time to reconnect with Our Mother through Marian devotions, celebrations and a greater awareness of her motherly love and protective care of all and of each. From the first day of May till the last day of May, Holy Mother Church puts before us feasts days to honor Our Lady:

• May 1:Our Lady, Queen of May.
• May 13:Our Lady of Fatima.
• May 24:Mary, Help of Christians.
• May 31:The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

 For much of May, since we are still in the Easter Season, we pray together each day, the Regina Caeli (Queen of Heaven, Rejoice, Alleluia) as a Church and School Community. At The Basilica School our children will gather this month of May to crown the Image of Our Lady within our School Courtyard as has been done on these grounds since the 1860’s. May is a good time to dust off our Marian statues, locate and pick up our Rosary Beads again, make a visit to The Grotto and do some “spring cleaning” of our souls with Mary’s gentle guidance. As a good Mother, she will nudge us to the Confessional where the Mercy of Mary’s Son is to be found in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

May is also the month of First Holy Communion when the children of The Basilica Parish of St. Mary Star of the Sea receive the Sacrament of The Most Holy Eucharist, and a few Brides and Grooms will receive the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony as they begin their new families at the Altar of The Basilica. May is a celebration of our Mothers: living and deceased, natural, adoptive and spiritual. May is also the time of Conclusions and Commencements for County and Catholic Schools here in Key West. It is with pride, joy and gratitude that we celebrate the FIRST graduation class of The Basilica High School in 40 years!

As a Basilica, “the Pope’s Church”, we have a special privilege and obligation to celebrate the Feasts of the Office of Peter with great devotion and solemnity. These are the Feast Day of the Chair of Peter (February 22), The Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul (June 29) and the Anniversary of the Election Day of the current Pope. By the Grace of God, Pope Leo XIV was elected as Successor of St. Peter the Apostle, on May 8, 2025. Therefore, May 8^th is a day of particular celebration for our Basilica Church and School Community as we celebrate the 1^st Anniversary of our Holy Father as Pastor of the Universal Church.

 This May will also mark the beginning of Phase 3 of the Restoration of The Basilica: Renewing the Light of Hope. From the first Monday of May until Advent of 2026, we will celebrate all Masses, Liturgies and Events in the Stations of the Cross Garden. The Lord was merciful to us during Phase1, when we were out of The Basilica from August through October and we pray the same good weather for this Phase. Though we will have some tents and shade covering, please bring your umbrellas just in case. The Garden View Room is air conditioned and has 100 seats for those in need of such. Please consider registering for ONLINE DONATION at this time, so that we can be faithful to supporting the Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea even when we are not physically present for the collection. Summer is a difficult time for us due to the decline in visitors and the possibility of inclement weather. One of the “goals” of the Capital Campaign is to not only cover restoration costs but to move to an “endowment” that will support us and carry us through the “lean times” of summer and storms. Please continue to give generously, and if your means allow, please consider gifts of appreciated stock and remembrance in wills and estates. The Basilica Office will assist you in this form of giving.

 Thanks to the great generosity of so many benefactors from Key West and beyond, within the last 12 months we have been able to expand the scope of work considerably. In March of 2025 we announced a 6-million-dollar budget for the restoration of the interior of The Basilica. That initial project included a magnificent new hybrid organ, new pews, terrazzo restoration, new insulated windows along the sides, new hand-carved statues of The Sacred Heart and St. Joseph, a new marble altar and ambo, a new wrought iron tabernacle canopy and reredos, newly painted and gold-leafed ceiling, sanctuary and clerestory and considerable and significant infrastructure work. This infrastructure work originally included a new air-condition system and duct-work, new electrical system, new lighting system, new sound system, new fire-safety sprinkler system, new choir flooring, safety enhancements, spalling and spire repairs, an extra handicap ramp and a renovated bathroom and confessional. Thanks to so many of you, and hopeful for more of you, we are now able to include some unexpected and long-range projects during this present Phase 3.

 We are now including many important additions to the Phase 3 scope of work, such as an upgraded AC system that will allow us to keep the Basilica cool on the inside and still allow us to keep the side doors open for overflowing crowds and capitalize upon the beauty and uniqueness of the architecture, a sacristy with storage and meeting space at the back of the existing building, a newly configured and upgraded Rosary Walk Garden to counter-act the sinking of the present space, Grotto repairs and enhancements, an upgraded outdoor gathering space at the entrance of the Basilica (the piazza), new landscaping along Windsor Lane, exterior painting and repairs, an extra bathroom and a designated confessional/bride’s room opposite the existing bathroom. Thus far we are on target to cover the expenses for the initial scope of work and are coming close to the added items. Please continue to contribute and if possible, increase your gift or pledge.

 May Mary, Star of the Sea, lead us and guide to the safe harbor of Jesus Christ her Son, in this her month of May, and beyond.

Peace and Mercy,

Father Marino

A sample of the new pews.

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