AS THE FAITHFUL FLOWED into Christ Cathedral, volunteers from St. Juliana Falconieri parish busied themselves distributing blessed oils, medals, prayer cards and other sacramentals to those in attendance. The members of the Fullerton Catholic church were on hand for the St. Peregrine Mass being celebrated at the cathedral.
DURING HIS HOMILY, BISHOP TIMOTHY FREYER SPOKE ABOUT WATCHING BOTH OF HIS PARENTS ENDURE CANCER TREATMENT AND ULTIMATELY PASS FROM THE DISEASE. PHOTO BY IAN TRAN/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
Bishop Timothy Freyer was the main celebrant of the annual Mass honoring the patron saint of those suffering from cancer, AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses. Born Peregrine Laziosi, in 1260, in Italy and canonized in 1726, St. Peregrine was a Servite priest and famed healer during his life. Along with Archangel Raphael, he is among the saints associated with healing in the Catholic Church. For this reason, the Mass for St. Peregrine, whose feast day is traditionally on May 1, has become increasingly popular.
“It means an awful lot to us,” said Fr. Michael Pontacrelli, the Servite pastor of St. Juliana, of bringing the Mass to the cathedral. “It’s the only space that can handle the crowds, and the crowd keeps growing every year.”
A RELIC FROM ST. PEREGRINE, THE PATRON SAINT OF CANCER SUFFERERS, WAS ON DISPLAY DURING THE MAY 6 MASS CELEBRATED AT CHRIST CATHEDRAL.
This year’s Mass filled the ground floor of the cathedral and the largest of the balconies. Prior to the start of Mass and after the Mass concluded, lines of worshippers spread out from the nave to venerate relics of St. Peregrine, pray for intercession and be blessed by local Servite priests from St. Juliana, St. Philip Benizi and Servite High School.
As Fr. Michael prayed for worshippers, a woman with a tumor and another facing spinal surgery were among those seeking blessings.
During his homily, Bishop Freyer recounted seeing both his parents pass away from cancer. He shared that he was a teenager when he learned after school one day that his father, Jerry, had been stricken with lung cancer. Bishop Freyer said his father, who had been strong and athletic, suffered terribly from radiation and would become angry and irritable. But when Jerry was in the hospital around the priests, he would become joyful and at peace before he died in 1977. This was the beginning of his call to
the priesthood, said Bishop Freyer, who originally wanted to be a doctor.
Many years later, Patricia Freyer, would also become sick from lung cancer and endure chemotherapy.
Bishop Freyer said his mother, too, eventually found peace before death and when she was told she had two or three months, she replied “why not two or three weeks, or day?” She was ready and at peace.
“Death no longer had power over her,” he said.
“It was perfect,” said Fr. Michael, himself a cancer survivor, of the homily.
DISTINGUISHED VISITORS
In addition to the Servite priests, Fr. Michael also invited former Los Angeles Rams star and Hall of Famer, Jackie Slater and former NFL quarterback Vince Ferragamo to the Mass. Although Slater attends Calvary Chapel Church, he knows Fr. Michael through his son Matthew, a Servite High alumnus and former NFL standout. Ferragamo, who attends St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, also runs the Vince Ferragamo Foundation, which raises funds for children’s charities, health organizations and sports clinics. Many of those served are at-risk, to whom St. Peregrine is also patron saint.
Speaking of how sports can help transform lives of at-risk youth, Ferragamo told how football and his brother, Chris, a former coach at Banning High, helped transform a player who joined Banning as a gang member and later went onto be a police officer.
Tangentially, that story has a parallel to St. Peregrine, who was a troubled youth and among a group that assaulted and drove Fr. Philip Benizi from the city of Forzi. At the time, Fr. Benizi, who would become general superior of the Servites and canonized, was attempting to interdict with anti-papal groups. Later, filled with remorse, the future St. Peregrine devoted himself to prayer and good works, going on to join the Servites in Siena and become a priest. St. Peregrine is often depicted with an infection that developed on his right leg when he was 60 years old. The night before he faced amputation, St. Peregrine prayed and later said he saw Jesus descend from the cross to touch his leg. The next day he was proclaimed cured and would live another 24 years, a remarkable age at that time.
After his cure, large numbers of sick people came to the future saint seeking healing, which were attributed to his intercession.
Speaking about the large numbers who still come seeking intercession, Fr. Michael said, “The whole thing about prayer is it offers hope. We need to be guided by hope.”