St. Ann?s Shrine and the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament invites all to join them for the celebration of St. Ann?s feast day July 24-26 at St. Paschal Baylon Church, 5384 Wilson Mills Road, Highland Heights. Parking is south of the church.
The triduum is the annual three days of prayer leading to the feast of St. Ann on July 26. Mass begins at 7 p.m. all three nights. A veneration of the relic of St. Ann is included.
Mass on July 24 will include a special blessing for children and sharing of medals. The July 25 liturgy will feature anointing of the sick and the July 26 Mass will have a special candlelight procession with the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament community.
A free reception in the St. Peter Julian Eymard Room in the St. Paschal Baylon Parish Center will follow Mass on July 26.
For more information or to RSVP, contact Scott Gongos, director of mission advancement, at sgongos@blessedsacrament.com or call 440-449-2700.
This is the 30th anniversary of the local triduum. The first celebration was conducted July 24-26, 1987 in Cleveland in honor of the feast day of St. Ann. The Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament had a shrine dedicated to St. Ann in New York City and they decided to open an extension of that shrine in Cleveland to serve those who could not travel to New York for the liturgies.
The Blessed Sacrament Fathers & Brothers of the U.S.A. are known as the Province of St. Ann, since she is their patroness.
Locally, St. Ann?s statue is open to the public for viewing and veneration. A portion of the relic of St. Ann of New York is now at the St. Ann?s Shrine in Cleveland.
The Blessed Sacrament congregation was founded in Paris in 1856 by St. Peter Julian Eymard. Throughout his life he searched for an answer to the deep spiritual hungers of his day, and he discovered it in the Eucharist. Inspired by this sacrament, he inaugurated a new way of life in the Church, one completely shaped by the Eucharist celebrated, contemplated and lived in communion. The congregation ministers around the world.
In the United States, the congregation?s ministry of Eucharistic evangelizing includes administering parishes, celebrating the sacraments, counseling, teaching, writing, serving the poor, working for justice and promoting Christian unity and dialogue.
For more information on the Blessed Sacrament fathers and brothers, visit blessedsacrament.com.
More details on the shrine can be found at st-ann-shrine.org. See the flier on the shrine website for additional information on the triduum celebration.
