Bishop Alberto Rojas to honor police, firefighters at Blue Mass
GRAND TERRACE, Calif. – The Diocese of San Bernardino will continue Wednesday its more than two-decade tradition of honoring police, firefighters, and other public safety professionals each year with a Blue Mass.
Bishop Alberto Rojas will celebrate the Blue Mass at Christ the Redeemer Church in Grand Terrace (12745 Oriole Avenue) on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 6 pm. All public safety personnel in San Bernardino and Riverside counties are invited to attend.
“I always look forward to this opportunity to say thank you to those who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe,” Bishop Rojas said of the Blue Mass.
Some hallmarks of the Blue Mass include the posting of the colors, the blessing of the badges and the ringing of the Last Alarm, a tribute to those public safety members killed in the line of duty during the past years. This year Riverside County Deputy David Calhoun, Riverside County Deputy Isaiah Cordero, Riverside County Lieutenant Steve M. Taylor, Rialto Fire Battalion Chief Michael J. Peel and Barstow Fire Department Engineer David Allen Spink.
Also at the Blue Mass, the Chief Patrick G. Crowe Public Safety Award is given each year to a public safety member who exhibits exceptional service to the community, department, or Church in some way. This year the awardee is Gloria Huerta, Public Information Officer for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Huerta has served the Department in several community relations roles over the past 24 years. She is also the English language Confirmation Coordinator at her parish, Our Lady of Guadalupe in San Bernardino. Huerta, who prays the Rosary daily, is said to put her faith in God at the forefront of her work in public safety.
The Blue Mass first began in 1934, when Rev. Thomas Dade, a priest from the Archdiocese of Baltimore, initiated the Catholic Police and Fireman’s Society while assigned to St. Patrick Catholic Church in Washington D.C. On September 29, 1934, about 1,100 police officers and firemen, dressed in blue uniforms, celebrated the first Blue Mass in St. Patrick Catholic Church.
Bishop Gerald Barnes brought the northeastern U.S. tradition to the Diocese in 2002. Each year the Mass alternates between the two counties that comprise the Diocese of San Bernardino.
The media is invited to attend.
