The Adorers of the Blood of Christ, U.S. Region, are joining faith leaders from throughout the country in a call for a national Day of Mourning and Lament on June 1 to mourn the nation’s dead of Covid-19.
The call aims to put a face on the worst pandemic in a century and provide an opportunity for the nation to grieve together.
This week, the number of Americans who died from Covid-19 reached 100,000, a chilling milestone that exceeds the combined number of U.S. deaths from the wars in Vietnam and Korea.
Unlike the sudden deaths of the terrorist bombings on September 11, 2001, the Oklahoma City bombing, or the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, the deaths from a disease unknown to any of us six months ago have been slow, grinding and private.
Organizers are asking people of all faiths to pause and ponder those deaths this weekend, and to mourn them in prayer, remembrances and actions. Individuals may mark the occasion by ringing a bell or pausing at noon June 1, by lowering a flag this weekend, and observing moments of silence, prayer and reflection.
The Adorers join this call with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (leaders of congregations of U.S. Catholic Sisters) and more than 100 other national faith leaders.
The United States Conference of Mayors, whose members are among the national leaders in fighting the pandemic, had invited faith leaders to join them in marking the solemn occasion.
For more information, contact the Adorers’ justice liaison, Sister Sara Dwyer, at dwyers@adorers.org or 314-616-7316.