Cardinal To Lead Prayers For India's Pandemic At Rockland Shrine

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, will visit Rockland County on Saturday for a special prayer service on behalf of the people of India who are suffering in the coronavirus pandemic.

Cardinal Dolan will visit the Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, at 174 Filors Lane in Stony Point at 11 a.m. Saturday.

He extended a special invitation to Indian-American Catholic priests and parishioners to join him in praying the Rosary for the people of India, where the coronavirus continues to have a devastating impact.

In announcing his visit to the Shrine, the cardinal said, "Thanks be to God, we seem to have turned a corner in our battle against this disease in our country, but we are also to care for those who are suffering elsewhere. Prayer is the most powerful weapon we have, and by praying the Rosary we will call upon our Blessed Mother Mary, to intercede with her Son, Jesus, on behalf of those who are still struggling to overcome the effects of the pandemic."

Cardinal Dolan has also asked the nearly 300 parishes of the Archdiocese of New York to consider raising funds to help alleviate the suffering in India, as they have generously done on many other occasions in the past to help people in need. Any funds raised will be sent to the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a papal humanitarian relief agency, which is working in India to assist the poor and suffering, regardless of their faith.

— submitted by thurman munson