This week, I participated in two events as part of Faith and Blue Weekend 2022. Faith and Blue is a national initiative that seeks to build ties between law enforcement, faith leaders, and the community.

Various community-building events were held in different areas of the city throughout the weekend, and Friday, there was a gathering at Via Victoria, which is just down the street from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

On Monday, a citywide event was also held at the Lawn on D in South Boston. Several local ministers were in attendance, and I came accompanied by several of our priests, including Father Jack Ahern and Father "Doc" Conway.

I was very proud that some of our youngsters from St. John Paul II Academy were invited to recite an opening prayer for the people of Boston at the event. They did a wonderful job, and it was very moving.



Catholic Charities food pantry

Thursday afternoon, I attended the dedication of a new Catholic Charities food pantry in downtown Lynn. This project has been several months in the making and is a result of collaboration with Lynn's Food Security Task Force, Greater Lynn Senior Services, and a number of other community organizations.

There was a huge crowd present for the ribbon-cutting. In addition to Kevin MacKenzie and Beth Chambers from Catholic Charities, we were also joined by Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson, representatives from the police department, and other organizations.

The food pantry is very impressive. It's set up like a store -- when people go in, they have a basket and can choose the things they need for their family.

They have a lot of fresh produce, meats, and dairy products besides the traditional packaged and canned goods you would expect at a food pantry.

This new pantry comes to fill a very important need. At the event, we noted that one in five residents of Lynn is experiencing food insecurity. In its first year, the new pantry is expected to provide 217,000 meals for about 10,400 people.



Madonna Queen Shrine

Saturday, I went to the Madonna Queen Shrine in East Boston for our annual Hispanic Youth Encuentro, which brings together the Spanish youth from the different parishes. It started at about 4:00 in the afternoon and ended at 10:00 at night with Mass.

This is the first time we have been able to hold this yearly event in person since the pandemic, and it was very encouraging to see several hundred youths there with us.

The view of Boston from the shrine at night is absolutely spectacular!



Feast of Our Lady of Aparecida

Oct. 12 was the feast of Our Lady of Aparecida, the patroness of Brazil. So, the Brazilian Embassy in Washington and the Catholic University of America invited me to celebrate a Mass in Washington as a kickoff of the campaign to enthrone Our Lady of Aparecida at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Afterward, we viewed the site where the image will be installed.

It's very close to the front door of the basilica, directly across from the shrine to Our Lady of Fatima. So, as one CUA professor said, it will be a great spot for speakers of Portuguese because you have Our Lady of Fatima on one side and Our Lady of Aparecida on the other!