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Candles were lit, carols were sung, projects were completed, and gifts were collected for families in need. The season of Advent prepares local parishioners for the celebration of the Savior’s birth on Dec. 25.

A young parishioner is assisted by Msgr. Christopher Connelly, rector, in lighting the Advent candle at St. Michael's Cathedral in Springfield.

Students at St. Joan of Arc School in Chicopee pose with Bennett Walsh of the Holyoke Soldiers Home. Walsh presented a talk on the Pearl Harbor attack.

Eighth-grade students at St. Joan of Arc School were visited by U.S. Congressman Richard Neal.

Junior high students at St. Joan of Arc School presented their special Monument Projects.

More than 20 parish religious educators gathered at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish Center in Springfield to hear local counselor John Martin speak about the catechetical needs of youth.

The Mt. Carmel Bell Choir performed during the annual Christmas Carol Festival at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Springfield.

At Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Springfield, families filled more than 100 shoe boxes of gifts for children. Seventy-one boxes were shipped overseas and 45 went to local client families of the Catholic Charities Agency.

At the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Christmas Carol Festival, parishioners illustrate the theme "What Do You Want for Christmas?"

"What Do You Want for Christmas?" was the theme of the annual Christmas Carol Festival at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Springfield.

Stigmatine Father Robert White, pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Springfield, blesses parishioners' infant Jesus figures on Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent. Known as the Bambinelli blessing, this is a papal custom introduced by Pope St. John Paul II.

A parishioner brings an infant Jesus figure to be blessed on Gaudete Sunday at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, Springfield. Parish children also received the gift of a pop-up Nativity scene.

The Giving Tree and the Peter Claver Hats and Mittens Box were Advent outreach projects at St. Michael's Cathedral Parish in Springfield.