On Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m., members of the combined choirs of two west side Catholic churches, Blessed Sacrament and Christ the King, will present a pre-service concert of sacred music at Sacred Heart Church, 730 S. 12th St. in Springfield. Musical selections include Mozart’s Ave Verum, Franck’s Panis Angelicus, and Palestrina’s Sicut Cervus, in addition to other works. The concert is a tribute to St. Cecilia, known as the patron saint of musicians and poets, whose feast day falls on the same date.

When Pope Francis declared 2016 the Jubilee Year of Mercy, he urged Catholic churches worldwide to keep their doors open to all.

The pope may not have envisioned how that would unfold at one church in particular in Springfield. The music ministry of Blessed Sacrament Church is keeping its doors open on a mission to unite, inspire, uplift, heal, comfort and challenge — by bringing people together in the creation and performance of time-honored works of music.

Young musicians and artists from Blessed Sacrament Parish in Springfield will present a combination concert and fine arts exhibit on Sunday, May 3 at 4 p.m. Under the direction of Blessed Sacrament's music director, Jody Kienzler and art teacher, Ruth Ficke, In Unison will benefit the construction of an outdoor prayer grotto in the parish of Ss. Peter and Paul in the Tamale archdiocese of Ghana, Africa. Tamale is Ghana's third largest city, located in the northern part of a country whose total population is 24.2 million, of which 13.1 percent are Catholics.

Members of the Blessed Sacrament Chorale find ministry in music

Jody Kienzler, music director and organist of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Springfield, patiently plunks out the melody on a piano. It’s a chilly Wednesday evening and 35 people have arranged themselves in metal folding chairs, binders open and eyes fixed upon her. The Mozart composition, Lacrimosa, is a difficult piece which will be sung at Sunday’s Mass, just four short days away. The Blessed Sacrament Chorale is up for the challenge.