Photo Caption: A scene from a previous “A Call to Catholic Men of Faith.”

Saying that Catholics are being called to take a stand for the faith “more than ever in recent history,” Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, has invited all Catholic men to participate in the 10th annual “A Call to Catholic Men of Faith.”

Commonly known as the men’s march and Mass, this year’s gathering — which comes as the church observes a special Year of Faith — is scheduled for Saturday morning, May 11, in Peoria.

All participants will receive a commemorative Year of Faith medallion.
Men are invited to begin gathering at Liberty Park on Peoria’s riverfront around 9 a.m. Refreshments will be provided and the sacrament of reconciliation available. Father Jerry Logan, parochial vicar of St. Pius X Parish in Rock Island, will lead an opening prayer at 9:45 a.m.

Peoria Notre Dame High School, which this year is celebrating two special anniversaries, will play a significant role in this year’s gathering. Before the men begin a milelong walk from the riverfront to St. Mary’s Cathedral for Mass with Bishop Jenky, they will hear a brief presentation by Father Adam Stimpson, chaplain of Peoria Notre Dame.

Students from the high school will lead the walk, carrying identifying banners and statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph the Worker, patron of the event. While in past years the march has been silent, the hundreds of participants will be led in the recitation of the rosary.

The Mass with Bishop Jenky begins at 11:15 a.m., and the event concludes with fellowship and food at the Spalding Pastoral Center. Meal tickets will be sold for $7 each.

FOR FAITH, FREEDOM, FAMILY, PRIESTHOOD
“I would be honored if you and the men of your parish would support and attend this march and Mass,” wrote Bishop Jenky in a recent letter to all priests, deacons, brothers, and lay men of the diocese.

The bishop said that “rapidly expanding secularism” has made witnessing to Christ more imperative. Government actions such as the HHS mandate have “placed a particularly heavy burden and challenge upon the Catholic Church in the United States.”

He said the Year of Faith provides a timely opportunity for Catholic men to “rise up in defense of faith, freedom, family and the priesthood.”

“The men’s march is a unique opportunity for men to specifically reflect upon their accomplishments as fathers, husbands, priests, religious and single men dedicated to faithfully living the Gospel,” said Craig Dyke, director of the Office of Evangelization and Family Life.

Because this year’s gathering takes place on the same day as the Komen Peoria Race for the Cure, which draws thousands of women to another part of the city earlier in the morning, some activities have a later start. As a result, confessions will not be heard in the cathedral prior to Mass.

For those wishing to park at the cathedral, shuttle buses will be available to Liberty Park from 8:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Rides will also be available from the riverfront to the cathedral for those unable to participate in the march.

For more information on the march, call (309) 671-1550 or click the banner at cdop.org.