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December 1, 2025By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press
Want to keep Christ in Christmas?
One way you might do that is to buy religious gifts and gifts that support the work of the Lord.
“Christmas revolves around the Holy Family,” noted Michael Russo, whose son Sebastian “Sebby” Russo, 8, is the inspiration for Holy Family Candles in East Haddam, Connecticut.
“Holy Family Candles is a small Catholic family run business that specializes in making pure beeswax prayer candles,” says its website, holyfamilycandles.net. “We hope these candles bless you and your family and bring you closer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
To raise money to go on a pilgrimage to sites in Italy associated with St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), Sebby, with help from his family, hand pours candles of the Holy Family and several saints at home, with molds they made.
You might have purchased one at the Worcester diocesan men’s or women’s conferences and now you can see and order them on the website.
Sebby is offering an Advent special: Buy any four of the six-inch, cream-colored saints candles, and you get a free candle shaped like a Christmas tree, said Mr. Russo. They also sell votive-like tapers adorned with bees.
Other places to look for unique, handmade gifts are parish bazaars or fairs at churches around the diocese. Parishioners are known for knitting and baking, vendors often sell their crafts, and you just might win a theme basket, through a raffle or silent auction. In the process, you’re supporting the parish. (See the calendar on page 7 for details.)
In addition, The Catholic Free Press asked people with religious shops in the diocese what’s popular, and got a small sampling of the many items for sale.
“I think they should buy more of the kids’ books about what Christmas really is – about the birth of Jesus,” said Patricia Quintiliani, owner of A Shower of Roses Religious Shop in West Boylston.
“We sell a lot of Christmas books, especially for children,” including some in Spanish, said Denise Boucher-Garofoli, owner of Boucher’s Good Books & Gifts in Worcester.
“This year I just started selling more kneeling Santas,” which were popular years ago, she said.
She said people sometimes give Nativity scenes as gifts for new babies and newlywed couples.
“So then every year you know what to give them – another piece to the nativity set,” she said. Her main set is the Fontanini one.
Mrs. Quintiliani also finds Fontanini creches popular; she said she sells figures every year; customers buy the new ones for their sets. She also has a one-piece, olive wood creche made in the Holy Land.
Patricia Beu, manager of St. Anne Shrine Gift Shop in Sturbridge, said she has nativity sets, including tiny ones from Colombian women who lost their “significant others,” and make a living selling the nativities and statues.
Mrs. Beu said she has religious Christmas ornaments, and zinc ornaments with various sayings.
Some of A Shower of Roses’ ornaments are not religious, but have a Christian saying, like snowmen that proclaim, “Jesus is the Reason for the Season,” Mrs. Quintiliani said.
Mrs. Boucher-Garofoli said she has ornaments for specific family members and people in various professions, and “a whole section with cardinal things.”
“People are crazy about cardinals,” to remember the deceased, Mrs. Quintiliani said, so she has those red birds in ornament and window-hanging form.
“I sell a lot of the 15-hour votive lights,” she commented. “People put them in paper bags and line their driveways with them for Christmas.”
She said she has a large selection of boxed Christmas cards, but what sells the most are individual cards for priests.
“At Christmas time, I sell crucifixes a lot,” she said. Customers give them, and medals of saints, as gifts.
Mrs. Beu said she has visor clips for cars; “St. Christopher is generally the one people like.” She also has tokens with “lovely little sayings” that people carry in their pockets.
“People love them,” she said. “You can pick one that suits the person you’re buying for.”
The women also highlighted Advent merchandise.
“Right now, Advent calendars are doing well,” Mrs. Beu said. She and Mrs. Quintiliani also mentioned Advent candles and Advent wreaths.
“We sell a lot of the ... daily devotionals for Advent,” Mrs. Boucher-Garofoli said.
Sister Katherine Maria Mueller, superior of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of the St. Benedict Center in Still River, said their True Devotionals Monastery Gift Shop also has “pocket Advent calendars” for keeping a record of one’s Advent sacrifices.
She highlighted some “witness” merchandise unique to them, including winter scarves the sisters designed, which say “Hail Mary” or “Viva Cristo Rey.” These can spark conversations about religion, she said. So can aprons or tote bags depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe or Mary and the Child Jesus.
There are also CDs with the sisters and the religious brothers in the community singing Christmas carols.
Mrs. Quintiliani showed off some gifts for “all year round.” She also has jewelry she makes.
“I can make rosaries, bracelets to order,” and repair broken rosaries, she said.
“We actually have some
beautiful bracelets for
ladies,” and sterling silver
jewelry with religious
symbols, Mrs. Beu said.
And, “we just got in a lot of
rosaries.”
Sister Katherine Maria
said the sisters try to offer
“dignified” products, since
what they sell is “supposed
to lift you up and draw
you closer” to God and the
Blessed Mother.
That’s who Christmas is
about, after all.
A Shower of Roses
Religious Shop
360 West Boylston St., Suite 102, West Boylston 508-835-2828 ashowersofroses.com Open: Tues.–Sat. noon-5 p.m.
Boucher’s Good Books & Gifts
254 Lake Ave., Worcester
508-755-4516
Open: Tues. and Sat. 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; Wed.–Fri. 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Holy Family Candles
holyfamilycandles.net
St. Anne Shrine Gift Shop
16 Church St., Fiskdale/ Sturbridge 508-347-7461
Open: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., daily
St. Joseph’s Abbey Gift Shop
167 North Spencer Road, Spencer 508-885-8720 spencerabbey.org/abbey-gift-shop Open: Thurs.-Sat. 10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
True Devotionals Monastery Gift Shop
271 Still River Rd., P.O. Box 1000, Harvard 978-456-8296 ext. 101 sisters.saintbenedict.com/true-devotionals-gift-shop Open: Tues.-Wed. 10 a.m.- 3 p.m.; Thurs. noon-3 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m.-noon