Bishop seeks protection of Mary for Diocese

By Tanya Connor  | The Catholic Free Press

Praying at six churches in the diocese Wednesday, Bishop McManus led priests and seminarians in a response to the coronavirus – and a papal request.
For the solemnity of the Annunciation, the bishop traveled around the diocese, entrusting it to the Blessed Mother’s protection and leading the Our Father, as Pope Francis had asked Christian leaders to do that day.
“I think it’s just another way (of) my being visible in different parts of the diocese, and, by my presence there, encouraging people to pray for the end of this pandemic,” Bishop McManus told The Catholic Free Press Tuesday.
People are asked to approach the pandemic in a prayerful spirit, especially relying on Mary, whose titles include “Health of the Sick” and “Comforter of the Afflicted,” he said.
After praying with priests and seminarians on the porch of St. Paul Cathedral Wednesday, Bishop McManus repeated the “Rite for Seeking the Intercession of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary in this time of Pandemic” at other churches: St. Cecilia in Leominster, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Gardner, St. John the Evangelist in Clinton, St. Luke the Evangelist in Westborough and St. Joseph Basilica in Webster.
The bishop said he’d invited priests from the different areas to join him at the church closest to them, but did not want the invitation extended to more people because of governmental restrictions on the size of gatherings.
This would not be an official consecration of the diocese to the Blessed Mother, because that has already been done, he said. He consecrated the diocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 2017 in honor of the 100th anniversary of her apparitions at Fatima, Portugal.
For Wednesday’s brief rite, he prayed for the Blessed Mother’s intercession during this pandemic, sprinkled the area with holy water, led participants in the Hail Mary and gave them his blessing. He said Msgr. James P. Moroney, director of the Office for Divine Worship, put together the rite.
Bishop McManus also led those gathered in the Our Father, noting that Pope Francis had asked for that.
On Sunday the pope called for all Christians to respond to the coronavirus pandemic by joining together in prayer, Vatican News reported. He invited leaders of every Christian community to pray Jesus’ prayer with all Christians on Wednesday, when many celebrate the Annunciation.
“In these days we are all praying fervently that God deliver us from danger and watch over us in our need,” Bishop McManus told priests in a letter about Wednesday’s prayers at churches in the Worcester Diocese. “From the earliest days of the Church, we have trusted in the maternal assistance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of all who are in distress, especially the sick and those in danger of death. … As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation, the Church provides us with a special opportunity to call upon the help of the Mother of God.”
    
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