Fall River – Members of the Diocese of Fall River are invited to join Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., for the annual Procession and Mass for Peace on Monday, October 12, 2026, the Columbus Day holiday.

Statue of Our Lady of Fatima is carried into the Cathedral for the 2025 Mass for Peace

Participants in the procession should gather by 5:30 p.m. in the area of St. Anne’s Shrine, across from Kennedy Park on South Main Street in Fall River, for the approximately one-half mile walk to St. Mary’s Cathedral. The procession will begin at 6 p.m. Participants will carry candles, pray the Rosary, and sing Marian hymns.

At 7 p.m., Bishop da Cunha will celebrate the Mass for Peace at St. Mary’s Cathedral.

The Procession and Mass for Peace are a long-standing tradition in the Diocese of Fall River. The observance is held on the October holiday because it falls near, and occasionally on, the October 13 feast of Our Lady of Fatima, which commemorates the final apparition of the Blessed Mother to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. During those apparitions, Mary called for prayer, especially the Rosary, and urged the faithful to pray for peace and an end to war.

In his homily at last year’s Mass for Peace, Bishop da Cunha recalled Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” He encouraged all present to be “instruments of peace.” “In faith, we know He will bring us His peace,” the bishop said. “We, in turn, must help spread it to the world.”

The annual Procession and Mass for Peace serves as a visible witness of faith and a prayerful call for peace.

Diocese of Fall River
Diocese of Fall River
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