Cleveland Catholic Mass Mob II

April 27, 2014 at 11 AM

St Barbara’s Parish at 1505 Denison Ave


The first Catholic Mass Mob in Cleveland was a huge success. Typically the 11:30 AM Sunday Mass at St Casimir at 8223 Sowinski Avenue in Cleveland would attract about 100 people but over 700 attended Mass on March 23, 2014 for the first Mass Mob in Cleveland.

The second Mass Mob will be this Sunday and hosted by St Barbara’s Parish at 1505 Denison Ave. Cleveland 44109. It is located on Denison Ave. between West 16th St. and the southbound entrance to SR 176, in a part of the Brooklyn Centre neighborhood previously known in Polish as na Barbarowie.

The special bilingual (English and Polish) Mass will be concelebrated by Fr. Hilinski and Fr. Panek at 11AM. Along with the Mass, there will be a procession with parishioners dressed in Polish costumes carrying a picture of St. John Paul II, prayers and presentations in Polish and English, and a performance by Diakonia, a musical group from Columbus followed by a reception with refreshments in the Parish Hall.

Sunday is also the canonization of Blessed John Paul II and Blessed John XXIII. John XXIII served as pope from 1958 through 1963 and John Paul II served as pope from 1978 through 2005

At 4 o'clock a.m. Sunday morning, there will be a live broadcast from the Vatican in Rome. You can view the canonization ceremony at Saint Casimir, and St. Stanislaus in Cleveland, and SS. Peter and Paul in Garfield Heights. Each of these parishes will have light breakfasts available for this historic event. And morning Masses will be conducted with Divine Mercy Devotions after. For more information call the following numbers; St. Casimir and St. Stanislaus (341-9091) and SS. Peter & Paul (429-1515).

It is also Divine Mercy Sunday. Celebrating the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ, as revealed by Christ Himself to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, this feast was extended to the entire Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000, the day that he canonized Saint Faustina.

Social Media gets Religion

Social Media (Facebook, Twitter and others) has been used to create Flash Mobs for impromptu dance and other performances, Cash Mobs to help a small business get lots of customers and other "Mobs" to get a larger than usual group of people together for a common purpose.

In an attempt to increase awareness of, and attendance at, grand old parish churches a new series of mobs formed. A group of Catholic church enthusiasts wanted more people to experience, and re-experience, the beauty of Catholic community and parish life. They appropriated the idea of a "flash mob", and created the Catholic Mass Mob.

The first was the Buffalo Mass Mob. After the Associated Press wrote about the Second Buffalo Mass Mob, the idea spread to Rochester, Cleveland, New Orleans, Columbus, Wilmington, Covington, New York City, and Philadelphia.

Parishioner leaders from St Casimir Catholic Church in Cleveland have been active since the Church was originally closed down several years ago. Stanislav Zadnik, Joseph Feckanin, John Niadzialek, Wojtek Flezar and others organized weekly prayer vigils at the Church until it was reopened on July 15, 2012. Zadnik heard of the Mass Mob in Buffalo and spread the word to the others and, after discussing with pastor Rev. Eric Orzech, spread the news of a Catholic Mass Mob at St. Casimir Church at East 82nd and Sowinski.

Typically the 11:30 AM Sunday Mass at St Casimir would attract about 100 people but over 700 attended Mass on March 23, 2014 for the first Mass Mob in Cleveland.

Photos and videos from the Mass Mob