Nine churches across the Diocese of Cleveland will host the ninth – and final – session of Nine Nights of Night Prayer May 23-31.
The faithful are invited to visit one or more of the host churches for the ancient tradition of night prayer. People can pray at the same church each night or travel to multiple locations. Doors open at 8 p.m. and prayer, which lasts about 15 minutes, begins at 8:15.
Host churches are:
Mother of Sorrows, 6034 Locust St., Peninsula
St. Agnes, 541 Spring St., Orville
St. Anthony of Padua, 83 Mosser Place, Akron
St. Anthony of Padua, 6750 State Road, Parma
St. Colette, 330 W. 130thSt., Brunswick
St. James, 17514 Detroit Ave., Lakewood
Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 1007 Superior Ave., Cleveland
St. Mary, 242 N. State St., Painesville (prayer in Spanish)
St. Vincent de Paul, 41295 North Ridge Road, Elyria
As has become the tradition, an ice cream social will take place on the final night, May 31. Father Damian Ference, vicar for evangelization, said the ice cream for this round of night prayer will be called “Friendship” because Mary and Elizabeth were not only cousins, but also good friends. The main ingredients are strawberries and cream, which are nutritious and symbolic of the two women who are about to become mothers. The pink color symbolizes their femininity, he added.
Once again, the ice cream was created by Country Parlour Ice Cream.
Although Nine Nights of Night Prayer has been a popular event and some have said they would like to see it continue, Father Ference said the ministry has run its course through 81 sessions at 81 churches across the eight-county diocese.
“It’s time to try something new,” he added.