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:
The Girl Next
Door
katienholmes.com
Katie Holmes: What She Could Expect at New Church
PEOPLE
By Mike
Fleeman
7/13/12
Have the Catholics rolled out the welcome
mat for Katie
Holmes?
Judging by a carefully crafted statement from
the Church of St. Francis Xavier in New York, issued after Holmes settled her
divorce from Scientologist Tom Cruise, it sure seems like
it.
Raised in a Catholic family before she embraced Cruise's
Scientology faith, the actress, 33, has reportedly registered as a parishioner
at the progressive church located near her new
Manhattan apartment
she shares with daughter Suri,
6.
Although neither the church nor Holmes's rep
have commented on the matter, the church posted this statement on its website
Thursday:
"Various media sources have recently reported that Katie
Holmes has become a member of the Church of St. Francis Xavier. While we cannot
comment on Ms. Holmes in particular, St. Francis Xavier is a church that strives
to carry out the mission of the Gospels by creating a safe, warm, welcoming, and
friendly environment for people from all walks of life to practice their
Catholic faith."
The statement adds that the church offers a
"vibrant, parishioner-driven community in which the Sacraments are celebrated
with joyful reverence, along with an active outreach ministry to those in
need."
The church's charitable programs include a a weekly "Welcome
Table" serving more than 1,000 meals, a men's shelter, a food pantry, a weekly
clothing room and life-skills training program for the
homeless.
"Those who attend St. Francis Xavier call this their
'spiritual
home,'" says
the statement, "where all are
welcome."