Prayers collected for bishops who opposed Obama invitation

Jun 2, 2009 / 01:18 am

The Cardinal Newman Society has announced that it has begun sending “Spiritual Bouquet Certificates” of hundreds of thousands of prayers to the 83 bishops who publicly opposed the University of Notre Dame’s commencement invitation to President Barack Obama.

The “bouquets” consists of hundreds of thousands of prayers, primarily from people who had signed the Cardinal Newman Society’s (CNS) petition opposing the invitation. They include over 116,000 Mass intentions, 74,900 Divine Mercy chaplets, 146,000 Rosaries and 28,000 Days of Fasting.

Certificates for the bouquet read “On behalf of the members and staff of The Cardinal Newman Society and the more than 367,000 faithful who signed the petition at NotreDameScandal.com, this spiritual bouquet is made on the twenty-ninth day of May Anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi two thousand and nine in grateful appreciation to the Church’s shepherds who prayerfully provided witness for a strong Catholic identity on Catholic campuses.”

Priests reportedly offered 2,272 Masses for the bishops.

A CNS press release said the prayers were offered in thanksgiving for the bishops’ “inspiring witness to the importance of Catholic Identity.” The society had requested the prayers on Ascension Thursday, May 21 and sent them to the bishops on Friday, May 29 before Pentecost Sunday.

“Our bishops deserve our support and prayers for their defense of Catholic identity, and as the battle for the soul of Catholic campuses continues, the bishops will need them more than ever,” remarked CNS president Patrick J. Reilly.