Press Release 

Father Steve Angi, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and police chaplain, will be the principal celebrant at the tenth annual Blue Mass for Greater Cincinnati police, fire and safety personnel to be held at 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 14, at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains, 325 W. Eighth Street, in downtown Cincinnati.

Attendees should consider coming early (about 10:30 a.m.) to see area fire trucks set up with flags hung from their extended ladders, and to see officers on horseback.

“Blue Mass celebrations are held throughout the United States, usually in a cathedral setting, to honor the men and women who serve our communities as police, fire and safety personnel,” said Captain Rick Ransick of the Cincinnati Fire Department, a member of the organizing committee. “The homily contains a message of appreciation, encouragement and solidarity with the safety personnel as keepers of order in our civil society.”

A blessing ceremony will begin at 10:45 a.m. for the attending members of police and fire departments, and on the equipment they use in the line of duty. The equipment will be located just outside the Cathedral’s plaza on Plum Street.

Following the blessing, officers, family members and community members will process into the cathedral behind a bagpiper and color guard. At the end of the Mass, the names of safety personnel who have died this past year will be read aloud. Fellowship and refreshments on the plaza will follow the service.

Although the celebration takes place within the context of a Catholic Mass, individuals of all faiths are welcome to attend and encouraged to participate with their families. For more information on the Blue Mass, visit the cathedral’s website at www.stpeterinchainscathedral.org.