Archdiocese of Newark Celebrates Annual Blue Mass Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick will be the principal celebrant at the Annual Blue Mass honoring police officers killed in the line of duty. The Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m., Thursday, November 9, 2000 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Newark, at the corner of Clifton and Victoria Avenues. The Mass will honor federal, state, county, city, local and institutional law enforcement officers throughout the state. Last year, some 2,000 police officers, their friends and families attended the Mass. Archbishop McCarrick has stated that he is delighted to welcome law enforcement officers to Newark's Cathedral Basilica. "It is with great joy that we honor the work of police officers in our Archdiocese," he commented. "Law enforcement is a vitally important vocation where good people are willing to risk their lives to protect and serve every citizen. It is with a great sense of loss that we remember those men and women who gave their lives in fulfilling their oath." Msgr. Louis Fimiani, Vicar for Pastoral Life and an organizer of the Mass, said that a major purpose of the Mass is to remember those officers killed in the line of duty. "It is a show of our support and gratitude to the many men and women who have dedicated their lives for the safety of all." This year, Sgt. Michael W. Price of the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in Yardville will be honored for giving his life valiantly in the line of duty on Wednesday, April 19, 2000. Sgt. Price, 44 years of age at the time of death, suffered a fatal heart attack while attempting to subdue an inmate. He was a Corrections Sergeant at the Garden State facility for ten years. Sgt. Price was a member of the 1978 graduating class of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and went on to reach the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer and an Airborne Ranger. He was promoted to Major in the Army Reserve. Officer Price was a member of the Policeman's Benevolent Association 105, the N.J. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 68, the N.J. Law Enforcement Supervisors Association and the American Legion Post 294, as well as being an avid motorcyclist. He is survived by his wife of twelve years, Cynthia Beatty Price, and his son, Daniel, 22. (His daughter, Adrea, died in a traffic accident last year at the age of 17.) He is also survived by two brothers, Brian and Alan, who reside in Chester, NY, near to where Officer Price was born. He is remembered for his boundless devotion to family life and law enforcement. The Mass will be followed by a luncheon at the Rink in Branch Brook Park. For more information contact Rev. John McCrone, Archdiocesan Police Chapalin, at (201) 261-6322, or by e-mail at bluemass@rcan.org.
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