I was very happy to celebrate the Mass 4 Life on the first day of the Weekend 4 Life last Thursday at Sacred Heart Church in Quincy.

The Weekend 4 Life is an annual two-day event organized by Mother Olga and the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth and the Men of Divine Mercy prayer group in Quincy. We were joined by many local parishioners, including Quincy Mayor Tom Koch and several priests.

During the evening, we were edified to hear the powerful story of Angletta Georges. She is a young woman from Haiti who found herself in a crisis pregnancy because of a rape. She came to the U.S. and, when she arrived, was very much helped by Friends of the Unborn and the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth.

The following day, they held their Youth 4 Life event at the Quincy Marriott, where they had Mass, adoration, and confessions. They also heard talks by Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America and Arryn Vogan, a young mother of four who chose a less-aggressive treatment for her cancer to protect her unborn child.



Boston Marathon bombings anniversary

Saturday was, of course, the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15, 2013. So, that morning, I went to the Boston Public Library for a small ceremony hosted by U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins to recognize law enforcement, public officials, and first responders for their roles in responding to the bombings and the hunt for the perpetrators.

I was invited to begin the gathering with a prayer and some opening remarks.

We were joined by a number of current public officials, including Mayor Wu, City Council President Ed Flynn, and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox; and many former officials who were involved in the response to the bombings, such as former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, FBI Boston Special Agent in Charge Rick DesLauriers, and Governor Deval Patrick.

Then, they presented American flags to people for their service to the community through that very trying time.



Inauguration Day Mass

From there, I went to Emmanuel College to celebrate an Inauguration Day Mass for their new president, Dr. Mary Boyd.

The Mass was held in the college's beautiful chapel. There, Dr. Boyd and her family gathered with many students, faculty, and a very large contingent of Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, including their Superior General Sister Mary Johnson and President Emerita Sister Janet Eisner.

They had a wonderful choir of students who sang for the Mass, which was concelebrated by campus chaplain Father Federico Cinocca and Father Oscar Pratt. At the end of the Mass, Father Oscar imparted a special blessing on the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

We are so grateful for the presence of our Catholic colleges in the archdiocese, and for over a century, Emmanuel has played an important role in Catholic higher education in our area. It was the first Catholic women's college in New England and has made such an impact in the lives of the many generations of students who have received their academic and spiritual formation there.