Here’s something new and, I think, remarkable.
My longtime Facebook friend Josh Mansfield has created this website: Perpetual Novena for Vacant U.S. Dioceses. As far as I know, it’s the first online resource of its kind, anywhere.
Read all about it:
We are a group of devoted Catholics, united in our faith in Christ the Good Shepherd who never deserts the flock, who pray for the Church in our nation, especially those dioceses who currently are vacant and without an Ordinary.
Founded originally, as a Facebook group, in May of 2019 as a result of the prayers of many for the Catholic Church in our nation, following the McCarrick scandal, our goal is to pray for a restoration of trust between the flock and its shepherds, that the shepherds be not hired hands who run at the first sight of danger, nor wolves in shepherd’s clothing who bring harm to the sheep, but good and holy men who will inspire the obedience and love of the flock in unity with each other towards the ultimate goal of eternal salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of God.
As the trust in the nations bishops has waned, we see it our mission to pray for all those who are without a bishop, that a good and holy successor to the Apostles will be appointed to them so that healing and trust may begin to be fostered and nurtured in each local church. For each Diocese whose Ordinary has reached the age at which he must retire, we pray too for those Dioceses as they prepare for that time of transition from one shepherd to the next.
Our goal, through our continual daily prayers, is to help restore unity, trust, and hope, in our bishops and our Church so that the teaching of Saint Ignatius of Antioch may continue to ring true, “Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church”.
What you will find at the site: a series of novena prayers that can be said anytime; a continually updated list of vacant Sees in the United States; plus news items about appointments and profiles of new bishops. This is a terrific resource.
Check it out — and pray for good shepherds to guide our church!
