Archbishop Eamon Martin will celebrate Mass in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh as part of a ‘Eucharistic Chain’ joining the Church across Europe in prayer for the victims of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The ‘Eucharistic Chain’ initiative comes from the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences in Europe who have chosen to celebrate these Masses as part of a prayer network for the more than 770,000 people in Europe who have died from Covid-19. Each Bishops’ Conference has agreed to add one Mass to the prayer chain. The Irish Bishops’ Conference Mass will be celebrated by its President, Archbishop Eamon Martin, on Wednesday 3 March at 8.00am and will be streamed live on www.armaghparish.net.
Commenting on the ‘Eucharistic Chain’, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, President of the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe, said, “On many occasions, the bishops from all over Europe have joined their voice to that of Pope Francis to reiterate the Church’s closeness to all those struggling with the coronavirus: the victims and their families, the sick and the health workers, the volunteers and all those on the front line at this sensitive time.
“Together, we have assessed the need to remember in the Holy Mass in a particular way during this season of Lent, the victims, the numerous victims of the pandemic. It will be like creating a prayer chain, a Eucharistic chain in memory and in suffrage of so many people. In this prayer we also want to remember the bereaved families and all those who are still suffering from the virus and whose lives remain in uncertainty.
“The initiative, which will involve all the European Bishops’ Conferences, aims to offer a sign of communion and hope for the entire continent. We, the Bishops of Europe, are all united alongside our Christian communities and our priests. We are grateful to all those who continue to devote themselves to those most in need. We support them with our words, and above all, with our prayers so that their commitment and their hope that we must all have, maintain and increase can help us to look forward together to a better future”.
For more see www.ccee.eu.
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