Police, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, dispatchers and other first responders gathered at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist on Sept. 11 for the annual Blue Mass.
In the absence of Bishop Malesic – who was on retreat and visiting the diocesan mission in El Salvador – Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost celebrated the liturgy. Concelebrants included chaplains for several area law enforcement agencies. The Mass was sponsored by the Greater Cleveland Safety Forces Holy Name Society.
An honor guard from the police and firefighters led many of the uniformed first responders into the church. After the presentation of colors, the National Anthem was sung.
(See photo gallery above.)
“We gather tonight to remember the events of Sept. 11 as well as the police firefighters and other first responders who have died,” Bishop Woost said. “May God continue to guide us and bless the first responders as they seek to improve our communities. Let us ask God for the gifts of pardon and peace.”
Father Doug Brown, pastor of Mary Queen of Peace Parish in Cleveland and a Cleveland Police Department chaplain, was the homilist.
“The Blue Mass is significant because we gather with a mixture of emotions. We are grateful for the service of our first responders, and we have sadness for those we have lost,” Father Brown said, adding his thanks for the service of all first responders.
Reflecting on the events of Sept. 11, 2001 in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Father Brown said the world seemed to stop and there was silence. “That shared silence united us in our grief,” he said, adding today we still carry the silence of loss, but many may not understand.
The names of first responders who died in the past year would be read aloud after the homily, he said, adding, “Each loss is a wound to our community. Each carries a profound silence,”
Father Brown said he wrestles with the silence.
“I want to break the silence with strong words, to try and speak out to make sense of this,” he said, referring to the loss of first responders. However, in his preparation for the Mass, he said he realized that “God is found in the silence. To hear God, to be there for others, to say the right things you must be silent. Being silent doesn’t mean I’m being complicit. We, too, must seek that still voice in our lives. We are not alone in our silence. God is with us,” he added.
The names of nearly four dozen first responders who died in the past year, including Cleveland Patrolman Jamieson Ritter who died July 4 in the line of duty and Euclid Police Officer Jacob Derbin who died in the line of duty on May 11, were read by Marty McGinty, a retired member of the Cleveland Fire Department. Taps was played by Tim Leahy, a retired member of the Cleveland Police Department.
After Mass, all were invited to an informal gathering in the cathedral courtyard and to a social at the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association Hall in Cleveland.