SHRINE LOCATIONS
Saint John
Guardian of Our Lady Parish
Clinton, MA
Our Lady of the Assumption
and St. Gregory
Warwick, London
Church of Saint Michael
New York, NY
Akalla Church
Stockholm, Sweden
ABOUT THE ICON PROJECT
At the heart of Nasarean’s mission is prayer for our persecuted brethren throughout the world. Without that focus, we are just another NGO. Believers are called to echo the commitment described in the Acts of the Apostles, where the Church prayed “constantly” when St. Peter was imprisoned.
Our Icon project, ‘Mary, Mother of Persecuted Christians,’ is a positive response to that need for constant prayer. Using an icon of the Blessed Virgin, painted in Iraq or Lebanon, since 2018 we have established shrines internationally in London and Stockholm and locally in New York City, NY and Clinton, MA. These are places of prayer and pilgrimage, where all can pray for those suffering for their faith. Established with the blessing and support of the local Bishop (necessary for their installation), we hope to have many such shrines over the next few years, in the United States and Europe. If you would like to support this project, please mark your donation “shrine.”
EXPERIENCE A SUNG MASS FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS
The Mass for Persecuted Christians, composed by the renowned Catholic composer, Paul Jernberg, was premiered at the blessing of the Shrine for Persecuted Christians by Bishop Robert McManus, in Clinton, MA, on October 21, 2022. The Mass is the first ever composed specifically to pray for persecuted Christians. With beautiful melodies and an Eastern quality, Paul offered to create this Mass after meeting Fr. Ben and his personal desire to help the persecuted. We hope this Mass will be sung, not only at future Shrine blessings, but will become part of the repertoire of parishes and Cathedrals.