BRAINTREE -- Blessed John Paul II biographer and noted author George Weigel will address Serra Boston at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross Oct. 22 following a Mass that recognizes the important role prayer plays in honoring and supporting our priests.

Oct. 22 is the day Pope Benedict XVI declared as the Feast Day for Blessed John Paul II. Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley will celebrate Mass at 10 a.m. in the upper church at the cathedral. Mr. Weigel's talk will take place immediately following in the lower church. The public is invited to attend the both the Mass and talk.

Serra is an international organization, founded in 1935. The Serra Club of Boston was founded in 2008 to assist the Vocations Office of the archdiocese to foster, promote and support vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, is a Catholic theologian and one of America's leading public intellectuals. From 1989 through June 1996, Weigel was president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where he led a wide-ranging, ecumenical and inter-religious program of research and publication on foreign and domestic policy issues. From June 1996, as a senior fellow of the center, Weigel prepared a major study of the life, thought, and action of Pope John Paul II. "Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II" was published to international acclaim in the Fall of 1999, in English, French, Italian, and Spanish editions.