After exposing the Blessed Sacrament for adoration, Deacon Kevin Zeeb of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Morton leads the Holy Hour for Priests on Aug. 4. As they prayed, participants remembered Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, and many priests serving in the Diocese of Peoria by name. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)

Priests serving the Diocese of Peoria received prayerful encouragement Aug. 4 as the Bishop’s Commission on Women hosted a Holy Hour for Priests. Among those remembered by name was Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC.

Diane Intravartolo of St. Mary in Lewistown, vice chairman of the Bishop’s Commission on Women, leads one of the Glorious Mysteries during a Rosary for Priests on Aug. 4. Praying next to her is Sunita Kottoor of St. Vincent de Paul in Peoria, the commission’s treasurer. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)

About 50 women, children and men gathered in the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel at the Spalding Renewal Center in Peoria for the Holy Hour, which included eucharistic adoration, a Rosary for Priests, and specific “Prayer and Petition for Priests,” put together by Connie Ley of Historic St. Patrick Parish in Bloomington. Deacon Kevin Zeeb of Blessed Sacrament in Morton led the group in prayer.

Refreshments were available afterward and people were encouraged to stay and talk.

The Bishop’s Commission on Women started the Holy Hour for Priests five years ago, holding it on Aug. 4, the Feast of St. John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. The commission invited people to the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel for the first two years and then arranged for prayer services to be held in parishes around the diocese the last two years.

HOLY HOURS CONTINUE

Holy Hours for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life continue throughout the year, hosted by the diocesan Office of Priestly Vocations. Upcoming opportunities for prayer include:

• Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 6:30 p.m. in the chapel of the Brothers of St. John, 11223 Legion Hall Road, Princeville.
• Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 6:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral, 607 N.E. Madison Ave., Peoria. This is the Feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, patroness of vocations for the Diocese of Peoria.
• First Thursdays, following the 7 a.m. Mass at St. Matthew, 1303 Lincolnshire Drive, Champaign.
• Tuesdays at 6 p.m. at the Shrine of the Queen of the Holy Rosary, 529 Fourth St., LaSalle.
• First Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. at St. Patrick, 708 W. Main St., Urbana.
• Second Saturdays at 11 a.m. at Corpus Christi, 273 S. Prairie, Galesburg.