A Mass of Thanksgiving for the Canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and the Jubilee for Workers and Volunteers of Mercy Volunteers will be celebrated by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano this Sunday, September 4, 2:00 pm at St. Peter Church, 695 Colorado Avenue, Bridgeport. The Mass is open to all.
“While we celebrate here in Fairfield County, Pope Francis will be doing the same in Rome,” said Fr. Joseph Marcello, Pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Nichols and coordinator of the Diocesan Year of Mercy.
In addition to celebrating the canonization Mass in St. Peters Square, the Holy Father has declared September 2-4 as a time of Jubilee for Workers of Mercy and invited volunteers and charitable workers to come to the Vatican.
Fr. Marcello said the two events are connected because Mother Teresa is also referred to by many as the Saint of Mercy who worked among the poorest of the poor. “The Pope has reminded us that we are all called to be workers of Mercy,” Fr. Marcello said.
Fr. Marecello said St. Peter Church in Bridgeport is a fitting place for the Mass because the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa, have a convent there and have done much good work in the Bridgeport area.
The Jubilee of Mercy was formally declared by Pope Francis on April 11, 2015, to emphasize the importance of mercy and to keep alive the spirit of openness of the Second Vatican Council.
Pope Francis proclaimed the Year of Mercy through the opening of a Holy Door at the Vatican and in Churches throughout the world. He said, ″the Holy Door will become a Door of Mercy through which anyone who enters will experience the love of God who consoles, pardons, and instills hope.″
In response to the Holy Father’s call, the diocese of Bridgeport opened twelve Centers of Mercy, which have provided special hours for Confession throughout the year.
The Centers of Mercy in the diocese that provide the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Tuesday evenings, from 7-8:30 pm, are Holy Spirit, Stamford; St. Matthew, Norwalk; Our Lady of the Assumption, Fairfield; St. Catherine of Siena, Trumbull; St. Joseph, Brookfield; St. Augustine Cathedral, Bridgeport
Centers of Mercy offering Confession on Thursday evenings, from 7-8:30 pm are St. Thomas More, Darien; Assumption, Westport; St. Pius X, Fairfield; St. Theresa, Trumbull; Sacred Heart, Danbury; St. Charles Borromeo, Bridgeport
The Diocese will formally close it’s Holy Door on the Jubilee Year of Mercy on Sunday, November 19, during a Mass celebrated by Bishop Caggiano at St. Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport.
Fr. Marcello said that plans call for the diocesan Centers of Mercy to “continue beyond Jubilee Year of Mercy and make it a permanent addition to the life of the Diocese of Bridgeport.”
