Hundreds of people attended a June 22 Mass celebrated by Bishop Thomas John Paprocki at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield. The Mass liturgically began the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Fortnight for Freedom locally and celebrated the third anniversary of Bishop Paprocki's installation as Bishop of Springfield in Illinois.

This is the second-annual Fortnight for Freedom and it began on June 21, the Vigil of Ss. Thomas More and John Fisher and will culminate on July 4. The purpose of the effort, said Bishop Paprocki, is to issue a nationwide call to defend religious liberty and to urge the laity to work to protect the first freedom of the Bill of Rights.

Concelebrating with Bishop Paprocki were Father Zachary Edgar, parochial vicar at Cathedral Parish of the Immaculate Conception, and Father Charles Nelson, a retired priest of the diocese who now resides in Winchester. Father Daren Zehnle was master of ceremonies and Deacon Greg Parquette served as the deacon.

Three diocesan seminarians took part in the liturgy: Rob Johnson was the cross bearer; Braden Maher was the thurifer, or incense bearer; and Cody Sandschafer was an acolyte. Nick Sunder and Sasha Millard were the vimps, or attendants for the bishop.

In his homily, Bishop Paprocki said that June 22 marks the memorial of two British martyrs, Bishop John Fisher and Sir Thomas More. He said that other martyrs have their feast days during the Fortnight period: St. John the Baptist on June 24; St. Irenaeus on June 28; Ss. Peter and Paul on June 29; the memorial of the first martyrs of the Church of Rome on June 30; and St. Thomas the Apostle on July 3.

Other saints that have their feast days during that period are St. Aloysius Gonzaga on June 21; St. Josemaria Escriva on June 26; and St. Cyril of Alexandria on June 27.

"All of these commemorations of courageous witnesses of faith will culminate on the Fourth of July, which of course is not an ecclesiastical holyday, but a civic holiday," he said.

During his homily, Bishop Paprocki spoke on the importance of prayer, noting that "often we approach prayer as a last resort. ... But that is to misunderstand prayer."

Prayer should be frequent, he noted. "Certainly the Lord never grows tired of our petitions," Bishop Paprocki said, adding that the ability to pray is a gift from God and the beneficial effects of our prayer should go beyond the walls of our churches.

Events such as the Fortnight for Freedom remind us that there are threats to religious freedom. "In the face of these serious threats, the church cannot be silent," said Bishop Paprocki, who originally came up with the idea for Fortnight for Freedom and suggested it to his fellow bishops.

On July 3, a Fortnight for Freedom prayer rally, led by Bishop Paprocki, will be held at noon at the Lincoln Capitol Statue at South Second Street and East Capitol Avenue in downtown Springfield. In case of rain the prayer rally will be held in the Hall of Flags Auditorium in the Centennial Building, just south of the Capitol's front lawn.