Event aims to renew local Catholic divorce ministry
* Featured Image: Donna Haas Nathanson, pictured in the pews of St. Mary’s Cathedral, has organized an Oct. 18 Healing Mass for separated and divorced Catholics after going through a divorce herself this year. (Photo by Christina Gray/Catholic San Francisco)
St. Pius Parish in Redwood City will host a Mass of Healing and Hope for Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of San Francisco who are separated or divorced.
Father Tom Martin, pastor, will celebrate the Oct. 18 Mass at 11 a.m. in support of organizer Donna Haas Nathanson and others like her who have experienced the painful disenfranchisement of divorce. The Mass will be followed by a guest speaker and free luncheon in the parish hall.
Nathanson, a St. Gabriel parishioner, turned to Ed Hopfner, director of the archdiocesan Office of Marriage and Family Life after an unexpected and tumultuous divorce this year. Her own parish did not offer a ministry of support to divorced or separated Catholics, and she discovered that neither did many other parishes. With Hopfner’s support, Nathanson is offering herself as the face of divorced or separated Catholics with the idea of increasing outreach. After much prayer, she is taking the lead by bringing together what she calls a largely overlooked group for a day of prayer and presence.
“I spend a lot of time praying, and I ask others to pray for me too,” said Nathanson. She said she needs “strength, courage and grace” to cope with the sudden end of her 28-year marriage.
“The journey through separation or divorce can be filled with grief, change and a longing for peace,” she said. “No one should walk this road alone.”
Nathanson and Hopfner hope the Healing Mass will also serve as a “new beginning” for a much-needed ministry to divorced or separated Catholics in the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
“I’m delighted to support Donna’s efforts to bring healing to a large segment of our Catholic population and grateful for all her efforts,” said Hopfner. “I’m hopeful it will help us build a supportive ministry in the archdiocese for those who have suffered the pain of divorce.”
Contact Donna Nathanson to RSVP for the Mass and luncheon at dhaasnathan97@gmail.com, or text, 415-205-5998.
