For Immediate Release:
Contact: Christian Kendzierski
Tel. 410-547-5378
christian.kendzierski@archbalt.org
Prayer walk by candlelight to remember 2023 homicide victims
One-hour vigil is an extension of the Archdiocese’s Grief Ministry
(Baltimore, MD) – A coalition of public, private and faith-based partners will gather together for a one-hour evening prayer vigil on Wednesday, Dec. 27 to remember the lives lost to homicide this year and plead for an end to violence.
The group will meet at 5:30 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Monastery Parish at 3801 Old Frederick Road in the Irvington neighborhood, and then walk in prayer by candlelight to My Brother’s Keeper, less than half a mile away. The names of the 2023 homicide victims will be read along the 10- to 15-minute walk followed by hot chocolate and fellowship at the Catholic Charities resource center.
The prayer walk is an extension of the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Grief Ministry that serves the families of homicide victims in the city through partnerships with the Baltimore Police Department and Roberta’s House, a nonprofit family grief support center. During 2023, a network of volunteers through the Catholic Church provided care packages filled with fresh groceries and non-perishable food to more than 200 families in the immediate aftermath of their loved one’s murder. The ministry also helped cover burial costs and relocation fees and helped meet to a variety of needs of the Brooklyn Homes shooting victims.
Wednesday’s walk is also part of the ongoing efforts of Health By Southwest to improve and reform the social drivers of health through a partnership with St. Joseph’s Monastery, Catholic Charities, My Brother’s Keeper, Mount Saint Joseph High School and Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital. It follows the coalition’s Community Peacebuilding and Resource Fair in August featuring a gun buyback that infused the neighborhood with resources and got 362 firearms off the streets – including semi-automatic guns and a handful of stolen weapons.
WHAT: One-hour prayer walk by candlelight to remember 2023 homicide victims
WHEN: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023
Read more about this event at https://catholicreview.org/prayer-vigil-puts-spotlight-on-those-mourning-during-season-of-joy/