1,000 fill St. Columba Cathedral for Mass of Chrism
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - About 1,000 people filled the St. Columba Cathedral in Youngstown for Holy Tuesday.
The Mass of Holy Chrism is held annually during the last days of Lent.
Priests from the diocese across the region gather together to renew their vows of service to God's people. The Oil of the Sick, the oil of Catechumens and the Sacred Chrism were blessed during the mass.
"We bless all the oils that we'll use during the year for anointing people for baptism, for confirmation, for those who are preparing for death, so those oils are extremely important to people as they make their journey of faith," Bishop George Murry said.
More than 80 parishes were represented by banners presented at the start of the mass.
Bishop Murry reminded those who filled the cathedral that living by the Catholic faith is a way of life.
"What Jesus asked us to do was follow him down the road, was to live the same life that he lived and that calls us to be more loving, more forgiving and more in service to each other," Bishop Murry said.
