Forty Hours Devotion at St. Peter’s Cathedral to Feature Father Mitch Pacwa, S.J.
 

Jesuit Father Mitch Pacwa will be the guest preacher when St. Peter’s Cathedral conducts its annual Forty Hours Devotion Sept. 6, 7 and 8.

Father Pacwa, a popular author, lecturer and retreat master, is the host of “EWTN Live” and “Crossing the Threshold of Hope” on the Eternal Word Television Network, which airs locally on CTV: Catholic Television.

The preacher’s topic for the devotion will be “Mary and the Eucharist: She Gave Milk to Our Bread.”

During the Forty Hours, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed each day beginning at 8:30 a.m. Devotions will be conducted at 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday (Sept. 6-7) and conclude on Saturday (Sept. 8) at the 4 p.m. Mass. Bishop Joseph F. Martino will preside each evening and be principal celebrant of the closing Mass.

CTV will televise the 7 p.m. services on Sept. 6-7 and the 4 p.m. Mass on Sept. 8.

According to most accounts, the Forty Hours Devotion originated in the early part of the 16th century at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Milan, Italy. At the time, it recalled the 40 hours that Christ’s body lay in the tomb between his death and resurrection. A papal bull issued by Pope Paul IV in 1560 changed the purpose of the devotion to represent the 40 days of fasting by Jesus in the desert.

The devotion consists of a 40-hour period during which the parish conducts a celebration centering on the Word of God and preaching, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

St. John Neumann, the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia, was the first promoter of this devotion in the United States. He urged all Catholics to foster devotion to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, recognizing many special dimensions surrounding this devotion: protection from temptation, reparation for sin, and deliverance from political, material or spiritual calamities.

The Forty Hours Devotion was once common in many parishes, but the practice waned over time. In October 2005, Bishop Martino called for a renewal of the devotion as one way to continue the graces of the Year of the Eucharist that had been proclaimed by the late Pope John Paul II to emphasize the need for all to reflect upon the Eucharist as a vital source for nourishing their faith, and renewing their wonder and love for this most holy Sacrament.

At last year’s Forty Hours Devotion at the Cathedral, Bishop Martino dedicated a statue of St. John Neumann in the Cathedral courtyard. St. John Neumann was Bishop of Philadelphia from 1852 to 1860 when that diocese encompassed the churches of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Father Charles P. Connor, Ph.D., Cathedral rector, subsequently established a perpetual Novena to St. John Neumann with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament held each Friday at the Cathedral. St. John Neumann Novena prayers are recited after the 6:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. Masses and at noon immediately before Benediction and the 12:10 Mass.