SHANNON—The story behind the annual Blue Mass here is one of humble beginnings.
It began in 2002 when Laverne Kappen, a Knights of Columbus Grand Knight approached Father Michael Bolger, pastor of St. Wendelin Parish, here, with the idea of reviving the Blue Mass traditon.
He wanted to honor not only the area’s police, fire fighters and emergency personnel, but those brave souls who had given everything the previous year in the terrorist attacks now known as 9/11.
“The Roman Catholic Church has a tradition of praying for, blessing and invoking the strength and wisdom of the Holy Spirit at special Masses for those who are involved in vital public services,” said Father Bolger. “I agreed with Laverne and we decided to hold a Blue Mass.”
The history of the Blue Mass dates back to 1934, when a Catholic priest from the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Maryland, organized the Catholic Police and Firemen’s Society while stationed at St. Patrick Church in Washington, D.C. More than 1,000 police and firemen appeared at the church dressed in their blue uniforms for the first Blue Mass.
Only seven people attended the first Blue Mass in Shannon in 2002, but the event has grown steadily over the years and in 2014, nearly 400 attended the ceremonies, which have outgrown the church and are now held in the town’s fire station.
“The Blue Mass was celebrated regularly in America until the 1960s when it seemed to slowly fall off the calendar,” said Father Bolger. “It was revived after the horrific terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when America was once again reminded of the vital importance of first responders in our nation.”
He cautioned that the events of 9/11 were acts of evil and warned against turning away from God when evil is encountered.
“We may ask ourselves how God can exist if he lets such terrible things happen to innocent people,” Father Bolger said. “And yet, on the other hand, when we see the varieties of evil in our world our response might be the opposite. We may come to realize that God is our only hope. We may come to realize that faith in God alone helps us to make sense of our world.”
Shannon resident Bill Spoerlein undertook organization of the event when Kappen died last year.
Spoerlein arranged with Freeport Fire Inspector Robert Bush for a visit of a memorial float created in 2002 by a group of Milwaukee area firefighters honoring the firefighters, police and first responders killed on Sept 11, 2001.
“The float was in Freeport over Memorial Day this year,” Bush said. “We arranged to bring it to Shannon because the main thing we want to accomplish is to keep the memory of 9/11 alive. I think this memorial will continue to grow and people will understand the importance of what happened on that day.”
Eastland High School juniors Allen Kriegr and Gavin Carter were at the Shannon fire station with their trumpets to sound taps. Kriegr said 2014 was his second year performing at the event.
“I used to have horrible stage fright, but this is the only event where I could convince myself that there are so many better reasons to not have stage fright that I actually played properly,” Kriegr said. “I keep thinking how important it is to honor those people that gave their lives for us and those that work every day to keep us safe and that helps me get it right.”
Spoerlein said St. Wendelin would continue holding the Blue Mass.
“Everybody asks how we are going to top this year’s memorial, but I don’t look at it like that,” he said. “Next year it will be whatever it’s meant to be and something to look forward to. We’ll address (change) when it gets here.”