Virginia parish to hold holy hour against planned black mass

Richmond, Va., Jan 22, 2020 / 15:00 pm

A parish in Chesapeake, Virginia will host a Holy Hour of Reparation on Saturday to spiritually combat a scheduled black mass to be held at a bar in nearby Norfolk. A separately organized rosary rally is planned for outside the bar at the time of the event. 

"We're holding the Holy Hour at our parish to combat the attacks on the Holy Mother Church and the Holy Mass," an employee of the parish of St. Benedict told CNA on Jan. 22. 

"This is our way of fighting back," she said. 

The counter-events were announced on the Facebook page for Eucharistia, a eucharistic procession through the Hampton Roads area of southern Virginia. 

The black mass is scheduled to occur at Pourhouse of Norfolk, located about eight miles from St. Benedict's church. 

The Diocese of Richmond told CNA they are encouraging everyone to pray for those who are involved in the black mass, and to stay vigilant at protecting the Eucharist. 

"We support the efforts of Father Eric Ayers, who is the dean of the Norfolk Deanery, and our other local pastors who are offering prayers, a Holy Hour(s) of Adoration and rosaries at our parishes as a result of this private, Norfolk business holding such an event," Deborah Cox, director of communications for the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, said to CNA in a statement. 

"We ask for all the faithful in the area to pray for the conversion of hearts of the individuals holding such an event and to continue to be attentive at safeguarding the Holy Eucharist."

On the Facebook page promoting the black mass, attendees are invited to join Satanic Norfolk to "boldly cast off lingering indoctrination of past religious beliefs."

"Consecrated communion wafers were kindly donated for this blasphemous event," the event adds. It is unclear if consecrated hosts will actually be used, and, if so, how they were obtained. On Twitter, event organizer Kate Cobas said that she fed "consecrated communion wafers" to her dog, who proceeded to spit them out.

Past black masses, which initially claimed to use consecrated hosts, later admitted the bread was purchased from a religious supplier and was not consecrated. 

On another event page, participants are told there will be an "un-baptism" after the black mass, which will then be followed by live performances from black metal bands. The Catholic Church teaches that baptism is permanent and can not be reversed.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte 'a new creature,' an adopted son of God, who has become a 'partaker of the divine nature,' member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit." 

The Pourhouse of Norfolk did not respond to CNA's request for a comment.