NATIONAL PARK – Bishop Dennis Sullivan visited the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Fort Mercer Club, Jan. 30 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday with prayers and Mass.
He said it was “important to remember the atrocities” that occurred on Jan. 30, 1972, when British soldiers killed 13 unarmed civilians – all Catholics – during a protest against internment without trial in Londonderry, or Derry, Northern Ireland. A 14th man died months later.
PHOTO GALLERY: Mass with Ancient Order of Hibernians
Bishop Sullivan, a Hibernian himself, recalled learning of the event five decades ago as a priest serving in the Washington Heights section of New York, and marching through the city streets in protest of the killings.
“We will never forget,” he said, praising the order’s members for always “standing tall when justice cries out.”
Father Peter Gallagher, parochial vicar in Holy Angels Parish, Woodbury Heights, celebrated Mass, with Bishop Sullivan presiding in choir. Father Gallagher urged the dozens of Hibernians in attendance to “remember the lives lost and those affected by the Bloody Sunday tragedy.”
After the Mass, which included the playing of bagpipes and Bishop Sullivan singing the Irish folk song “Four Green Fields,” AOH members and guests mingled to the sounds of Irish singer Billy McGovern.
Gerald Logan, president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians Gloucester County Division 1, said all were “inspired by the presence of our brother [Bishop Sullivan].”
“It’s good to show solidarity across borders, with those who we are connected with, if not blood, in faith,” he said.
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