Knights of Columbus plan Feb. 15 Blue Mass to honor public safety personnel for their work

Friday, Jan. 30, 2015

DRAPER — Knights of Columbus Council No. 12181 will host a Blue Mass for law enforcement personnel and firefighters at Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church Feb. 15.

The celebration of the Blue Mass is a way to honor and bless the first responders. 

“Everyone is welcome,” said Karl Van Maren, Knights of Columbus Grand Knight. “It’s not about religion; it’s about the public service personnel and supporting our brothers and sisters in law enforcement.” 

The Blue Mass has been celebrated in the Diocese of Salt Lake City for more than five years. The first Blue Mass was held in the United States in the Archdiocese of Baltimore at Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 29, 1934. More than 1,000 police and firefighters dressed in uniform to express gratitude for the service and sacrifice of all emergency responders, their support personnel and for those who fell in the line of duty, said Mike Julian, Knight of Columbus and retired Salt Lake County sheriff’s deputy. Monsignor Thomas Dade from the Archdiocese of Baltimore organized the Catholic Police and Firemen’s Society in the 1930s; the Mass has grown to a nation-wide celebration.

Julian, who now works for the Salt Lake County Constable’s Office, comes from a three-generation law-enforcement family. His father was a law enforcement officer and his son is a West Jordan police officer. “I want to see that the Blue Mass continues, so last year I started networking with Robert Kirby, a Salt Lake Tribune columnist and former police officer, and B. L. Smith, a retired Salt Lake City police officer, who trains officers statewide,” Julian said. “We planned the Blue Mass and more than 300 officers participated with their families.” 

In 2008, the Saint John the Baptist Knights of Columbus sponsored the first Blue Mass in the diocese. The breakfast that followed began a tradition that has continued throughout the years; this year the proceeds from the freewill offering for the breakfast will go toward a plaque containing the names of fallen officers and firefighters at the Utah Law Enforcement Memorial, Julian said. 

The Blue Mass is important this year “because of the officer-involved shootings that have occurred and the way people are protesting and thinking the officers are just pulling their guns; it’s hard for people to understand what it’s like when an officer is facing that situation,” Julian said. “The police officers are being portrayed as being gun happy, but that’s not the case. I can speak from experience; I was shot. I can speak about how you deal with that situation. These guys put their lives on the line, and this is a way to honor the fallen officers.” 

More than 120 police officers and 87 firefighters were killed in the line of duty across the nation in 2014, Julian said. “I personally know officers nationally and internationally and every time we lose an acquaintance or a friend, it’s hard to deal with. Since 9/11, the Blue Mass has become more of a coast-to-coast occurrence, whereas before it was held mostly in the East. The officers appreciate the parishioners support.” 

 

What: The Blue Mass

When: Feb. 15, at 8:30 a.m.  

Where: Saint John the Baptist Parish, 300 East 11800 South, Draper   

A breakfast with a freewill offering will be held afterward, with profits going to the Utah Law Enforcement Memorial.