Standing Room Only: MfL Requiem Mass for Nellie Gray, Robert Casey, and others

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by Paul S on January 26, 2013

If you were able to make it to January 25th’s Mass and/or social, please jump over to our Facebook photo album – tag yourself and your friends and encourage everyone to “like” our Juventutem Michigan page.

On Friday evening, January 25, 2013, more than 400 people packed Old St. Mary Catholic Church, Chinatown, DC, for a Requiem Mass celebrated by Chicago Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Perry and prayed for the repose of the souls of Nellie Gray, Robert Casey, and other prior leaders of the pro-life movement.  Commenting on the 40th sad anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision and the March for Life, Bishop Perry encouraged the hundreds of young adults in attendance in taking up the project of advancing the culture of life.  Afterward, more than 150 young adults gathered nearby at Casa Italiana Hall for a delightful reception and an introduction to the International Juventutem Federation, with a particular encouragement to start more American chapters and to participate in young adult pilgrimages in North America and beyond.  Copies of Laudamus Te were distributed to young adults in attendance.

A big Thank You to all of those who helped make the Mass possible: Fr. Alfred Harris, Pastor of Old St. Mary, who welcomed us to his parish; Fr. Gregory Pendergraft, FSSP, the Master of Ceremonies of the Mass, who brought in the team of clerics, trained the altar servers, and brought the beautiful vestments; Fr. Karl Marsolle, FSSP; Dcn. Joseph DeGuzman, FSSP; Fr. Benoit Guichard, FSSP; Msgr. Charles Pope, who sat in choir and read the translations of the epistle and gospel; Msgr. Francis Nave, who sat in choir and hopes to help young adults establish a Juventutem chapter near Bath, Pennsylvania; Canon Jean Marie Moreau, who sat in choir and has assisted Juventutem Boston in the past; Wassim Sarweh, the principle cantor and guest director of the schola; David Sullivan and the Schola of St. Mary; Michael Collins and Chorus Sine Nomine; Miss Eva Radel for tirelessly orchestrating every detail of the social and many of the Mass, including her five brother who served as altar boys.

Thanks also to the Paulus Institute, which organized a Mass of commemoration for Nellie Gray on the morning of the March for Life and helped promote the Requiem Mass, as well as Fr. Zuhlsdorf who helped get the word out and has published some pictures showing how packed the church was.

Thank you also to our photographers, Cristina Ryzyi, Roger Severino,  Andrew Fanco, and Holly K Photos.

 

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