Diocese to honor law enforcement personnel at 19th annual Blue Mass

Nearly two years after the last diocesan Blue Mass was celebrated at the Cathedral of St. Francis in Metuchen, hundreds of law enforcement personnel of all faiths will again file into the cathedral, where Bishop James F. Checchio will celebrate the 19th annual Blue Mass at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 29.

All are welcome to attend the Mass, aptly scheduled on the feast of St. Michael the Archangel, patron saint of police officers. The Mass will recognize those in local, county, state and federal law enforcement, who live and work in the counties served by the diocese — Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren — and honor the lives and service of fallen officers.

The Edison Police Department, under the leadership of Chief Thomas Bryan and with the support of Blue Mass committee member Edison Police Captain Dominick Masi, will serve as the host agency for the Mass this year. As the host, the Edison Police Department will take on significant roles during the liturgy and its officers will be invited to serve as readers and gift bearers.

In a more somber, albeit inspiriting role, the host department will also lead the remembrance of fallen officers, which this year will include four officers who died in the line of duty. Keeping with tradition of years past, the names of all those who have died in the line of duty since the inception of the Blue Mass will be read aloud as a bell tolls to commemorate their memory and sacrifice.

Having previously served as the host agency years ago, before the annual Mass was moved to the cathedral, the department is well-informed of the significance the liturgy holds for those in law enforcement, but even more so this year as uniformed men and women serve on the frontlines and continue to contend with the fallout of the COVID-19 or coronavirus pandemic.

Curbed by gathering restrictions because of the pandemic, the diocesan Blue Mass was not held at the cathedral last year, though many parishes in the diocese responded to the bishop’s call asking that they pray for and recognize law enforcement personnel at a locally held parish Masses. Members of the law enforcement community were also remembered in prayer with the advent of the Blue Rosary Guild, a group of volunteers who make pocket rosaries, consisting of a single decade, small enough for the officers to easily carry. The ongoing Blue Rosary Guild continues to make rosaries available to those in law enforcement.

While the prayers and support from the diocesan community have been appreciated and the pocket rosaries well-received, for many in the law enforcement community, including those who work in law enforcement or have loved ones who serve, the diocesan Blue Mass will be a welcomed return.

For more information about the 19th Annual Blue Mass, visit www.diometuchen.org/bluemass or email [email protected].

To volunteer to make a rosary, to send in a donation, or to request free rosaries for those in law enforcement, send an email to Cristina D’Averso-Collins, director, diocesan Office of Family Life at: [email protected].