Ecumenical Blue Mass to send out county’s first responders with prayers, blessings

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story had an incorrect date for the Blue Mass.

Fallen Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Wallace will be recalled during a traditional blessing for the county’s first responders, an annual rite that sends them out to begin a new year of serving and protecting the region.

The Blue Mass returns to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Modesto on Saturday, Jan. 14; the public is invited.

The Knights of Columbus at St. Joseph’s organizes the Mass, which features prayers, speakers and a luncheon. The service and lunch is open to all first responders and to all faiths. It’s become a “beloved tradition,” according to the church’s pastor, Father Mark Wagner.

“Much of the ceremony is the same every year because the event is all about tradition,” Wagner said in an email interview. “The participants will all be dressed in their traditional uniforms and regalia: the Peace Officers in their uniforms, the Knights of Columbus with their feathers and swords, and the clergy in their liturgical garb.

“The processions and the symbolic gestures will be the same, including the ceremonial ringing of the ‘last bell,’ which recalls the firefighters who have lost their lives responding to the call of duty. However, this year’s ceremony will be particularly moving as we will recall the sacrifice of … Dennis Wallace.”

Wallace, 53, a 20-year veteran with the Sheriff’s Department, was killed in the line of duty in November after he spotted a stolen van near Hughson.

“The Catholic Mass is always a recalling of the supreme sacrifice of Christ and so it is the ideal context for remembering the self-sacrifice of sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Wallace,” Wagner said.

The 15th Blue Mass will be celebrated in honor of all police, fire, sheriff, FBI, California Highway Patrol, emergency medical technicians and other emergency personnel across the region. It’s a way to offer thanks to the men and women who serve Stanislaus County as well as to their families.

Several other priests and deacons will preside along with Wagner. Speakers will include Modesto police Chief Galen Carroll, Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson and Modesto Fire Chief Sean Slamon, Knights of Columbus spokesman Michael Glendon said in an email interview.

A procession to open the Mass will begin at the St. Joseph’s Father O’Hare Hall and will proceed through the parking lot and into the church, Glendon said. Mass will be followed by the speakers, then the last call bell-ringing ceremony to close.

The annual blessing of the responder vehicles will take place in the parking lot immediately after the service and a free lunch follows back at the hall.

The first Blue Mass was held in St. Patrick’s Church in Washington, D.C., in 1934, and has blossomed into a nationwide event with Masses generally held in conjunction with National Police Week in May.

But Glendon said the Knights in Modesto chose January when beginning the tradition here, following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. There was a one-year lapse in services, making this its 15th year.

“My hope for this event is that the residents of our county can take a couple of hours out of their busy schedules to honor our local heroes,” Glendon said, “and show some appreciation to our local first responders who selflessly protect and serve us 24/7.”

This story was originally published December 30, 2016 at 11:53 AM with the headline "Ecumenical Blue Mass to send out county’s first responders with prayers, blessings."