Visit a Blue Mass in West Harrison tomorrow to pray for cops, firefighters
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- April
- 23
When Father Christopher Monturo first organized a Blue Mass last year at St. Anthony of Padua Church in West Harrison, he got some surprised reactions.
Someone asked him if there would be rhythm and blues. Some else joked about the Blue Man Group.
But no, a Blue Mass is a Mass for police, firefighters, EMS workers and others who put themselves in harm’s way. It’s an opportunity to pray for their well being.
The church will hold its second annual Blue Mass at 7 p.m. tomorrow (April 24). About 200 men and women in uniform are expected, including representatives from some 20 fire departments in central and southern Westchester.
“Many dioceses and parishes around the country celebrate a Blue Mass to honor and pray for our police, firefighters, EMS workers and other uniformed officials,” Monturo told me. “This is an opportunity to honor the good guys—for lack of a better term—and to ask for God’s blessing, to keep them safe and guide them in their duties.”
The first Blue Mass is believed to have been celebrated in Boston during the 1930s, Monturo told me.
“They went through a difficult year of fires and crimes and so forth,” he said.
After Monturo was assigned to St. Anthony of Padua in 2007 and became chaplain of the West Harrison Volunteer Fire Department, he got the idea of starting a Blue Mass.
“It’s a wonderful way to bring the community together and give spiritual support to those who support us—and are usually unsung and unrecognized,” he said.
The picture is of Monturo in 2003, when he was a seminarian at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 at 10:38 am by Gary Stern.
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The world of religion, we don't have to tell you, is vast. The purpose of this blog is for Stern to note, flag and comment on some of the more interesting religious developments on the scene – weighty and quirky, somber and laughable, far away and just down the road. He won't interpret Scripture, take sides in conflicts or judge anyone. But he will take advantage of the journalist's license to observe.
