USA: Memorial Mass for journalist James Foley
More than 900 people attended a 'Mass of Healing, Hope and Peace' at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary parish in Rochester, New Hampshire in memory of journalist James Foley who was killed in the Middle East last week after being held captive for nearly two years. The evening before, hundreds of people had taken part in a candlelit vigil.
Photos of James were placed around the church and a handwritten sign, 'Pray for James Foley & His Family' was placed in the garden outside. The Foley family filled four pews at the front. A message from Pope Francis to the Bishop of Rockeville Centre, William Francis Murphy, was read out. It said:
"The Holy Father, deeply saddened by the death of James Wright Foley, asks you kindly to convey his personal condolences and the assurance of his closeness in prayer to James' loved ones. He commends James to the loving mercy of God our Father, and joins all who mourn him in praying for an end to senseless violence and the dawn of reconciliation and peace among all the members of the human family. Upon the Foley family, and upon his friends and colleagues, he invokes the consolation and strength borne of our hope in Christ's Resurrection."
James' parents, John and Diane received a standing ovation after they expressed their gratitude for the support they have received from the community. The Foley family have established a scholarship in James Foley's name, saying they want to bring his "empathy, humanity and courage" to the fields of education and journalism.
A Requiem Mass is planned for October 18, the day which would have been James Foley's 41st birthday.
See also: ICN 22 August 2014 Pope Francis calls parents of slain Catholic journalist, James Foley www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=25409