Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone will celebrate a solemn new Requiem Mass for the Homeless at 10 a.m. Nov. 6 at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption.
“We gather together to pray for and with the homeless of San Francisco: We pay our respects to, and pray for the souls of, all our brothers and sisters who died on the streets this past year, in San Francisco and beyond: high and low, rich and poor, we gather to bow our heads in sorrow for the equal dignity of every human soul,” the Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Liturgy said in its announcement of the Mass.
The archbishop commissioned the new Requiem Mass for the Homeless in the high sacred music tradition from Benedict XVI Institute’s composer-in-residence Frank La Rocca. Richard Sparks will conduct the premier Benedict Sixteen Choir. The Mass will be livestreamed.
A new painting “The Patron Saints of the Homeless” by San Francisco native Bernadette Carstensen, Benedict XVI’s painter-in-residence, will be set up as a temporary shrine in the Cathedral of St. Mary to encourage devotion on behalf of the homeless.
Because of COVID-19 limitations, the institute requests attendees to register for Requiem Mass, which at this point will have a cap of 1,000. That may change depending on the City and County of San Francisco’s regulations. The overflow will be accommodated on the cathedral plaza. Seating is not guaranteed.
After the Mass, Archbishop Cordileone will lead a procession to St. Anthony’s Dining Room chanting the Litany to the Patron Saints of the Homeless, newly commissioned from Benedict XVI Institute’s poet-in-residence James Matthew Wilson. St. Anthony’s Foundation invites participants to join their guests in a meal at the free dining room in the Tenderloin.
Starting at 4 p.m. at St. Patrick Seminary & University in Menlo Park, the institute will host a conference. The conference will feature composer Frank La Rocca, Stanford music professor William P. Mahrt, and hear Tantum Ergos by three living Catholic composers.
Those wishing to register in advance to assure a space, limited to 1,000, should go here.
Full story at sfarchdiocese.org.
I hope they use lots of incense to cover up the smell of the vagrants
I know one homeless lady says that she has to stay really dirty to avoid sexual assault.
Steve Harvey is out there telling people not to give money to the homeless unless they are dirty. If they are not dirty, they are fake.
A lot of people, like Steve Harvey, are homeless for a while.
Most are homeless due to addiction and mental illness. They need to be taken into protective custody until they get clean or back on their meds.
Letting them live in squalor in public places helps no one. Time for the tough love approach.
Catholics who are homeless should be getting a Mass when they die.
Is the Mass for homeless of other religions?
Addiction and mental illness are major contributing factors. In addition to prayer, how might we help our neighbors with shelter, food, medical care, training, recovery and healing? Our Lord Jesus would have us do that. We should support such efforts. Yet, all of us have free wills, which should be respected, and are even respected by God. They, and we, can choose destructive lifestyles. That said, that doesn’t mean we should tolerate them trashing public places, committing crimes or have to subsidize/enable such. As for persons of able mind and body without dependents, it seems 2 Thessalonians 3:10 would apply, “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.’”
As a young child, my mother lived with her widowed mother in poverty. But, she was taught that being poor was no excuse for being dirty, let alone committing crime. And, as poor as they were, my grandmother left some food out for the vagabundos who lived along the railroad tracks near them.
And, I was taught that, while our liturgical prayers are primarily for deceased of the faithful, we should pray for all who have died. In charity and prayer, for us humans, with our limited knowledge, it’s better to err on the side of mercy than what we perceive to be justice. It’s very good that the Archbishop is doing this.
Interesting comments from folks…
A fine point on a requiem Mass including non Catholics. A local parish precovid had meals for homeless every month that my wife and I made meals and served. There is some / alot of truth to the comments about drugs and addiction too. But, I guess when it comes down to it, I’m ok with this Mass. I recognized that I need all the help I can get so I almost always pray my rosary intentions for the holy souls in purgatory. I hope they remember me when they are in heaven and can pray for my soul. You never know where your prayer help is going to come from. Maybe the homeless folks will get to heaven and pray for us. Ratio away….
“That tower of strength in San Francisco” just bailed out of leading the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage to Rome.
Because Summorum Pontificum has been abrogated. So there’s no reason for such a pilgrimage anymore. Stay up to date.