Archbishop Kurtz to offer new blessing for ‘child in the womb’

By MARNIE McALLISTER
Record Assistant Editor

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz has invited expectant mothers to attend the monthly Helpers of God’s Precious Infants Mass on Sept. 8 to receive a special blessing for their babies.

The “Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb,” the first blessing of its kind in the United States, was written by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2008. The Vatican approved it in March.

Mary Kenney, a young mother who is expecting her second child in February, said she plans to receive the blessing.

“When you’re pregnant and expecting a baby, every blessing is appreciated,” she said during a phone interview last week. “All kinds of crazy stuff can happen during pregnancy.”

Kenney said such a blessing is important to her as a mother because “it’s saying even before it’s born (that) a baby deserves a blessing just like any other person.”

She added that receiving the blessing from Archbishop Kurtz “will be really neat because of the influence he had on the blessing in the first place.”

Archbishop Kurtz suggested the bishops write this blessing after a retired priest of the Diocese of Knoxville asked him if such a blessing existed.

The monthly Mass is held at the Cathedral of the Assumption, 433 S. Fifth St. It begins at 7 a.m. and is followed by a rosary procession to a downtown Louisville clinic where abortions are done. Mass-goers also have the option of remaining at the cathedral for adoration. The service closes with Benediction at the cathedral.

For more information, call Patti at 253-0034 or Bob at 968-0985 or visit www.helperslouisville.org.

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