A Christmas Eve Mass from St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Gibbsboro, N.J., will be available to U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan on Philadelphia NBC Channel 10. The Mass will be seen via the station’s digital channel as well as via nbcphiladelphia.com. at 2 p.m., Eastern time Dec. 24. (NBC Philadelphia Nonstop can be found on Comcast 248, Verizon 460 and over-the-air at 10.2).
The parishioners of St. Andrew’s recently adopted a unit of soldiers in an isolated region of Afghanistan. With no military chaplain available to celebrate Christmas Mass, Catholic soldiers reached out to St. Andrew’s. Kathy Emrich, a St. Andrew’s parishioner and Pastoral Coordinator of Public Relations, contacted NBC 10.
The time difference between the U. S. and Afghanistan presented a challenge. According to Church rules, Christmas Eve Mass cannot be celebrated before 4 p.m., which would have required the service members to stay up until 1:30 a.m. Msgr. Louis A. Marucci, St. Andrew’s pastor, requested and received special permission from Bishop Joseph Galante of Camden to celebrate a special Christmas Eve Mass at 2 p.m. Eastern time to accommodate the time difference.
“NBC 10 should be commended for their immediate response and their ongoing support of our troops,” said Msgr. Marucci. “In addition, they should be commended for their support of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish efforts to provide for the spiritual and physical needs of our soldiers.”