Blessed Father Seelos Day in Louisiana

>>>Across all of Louisiana next Tuesday we will be celebrating Father Seelos Day. The 19th century Priest who was declared "blessed" by Pope John Paul II based on the miracle of my aunt, Angela Boudreaux, is just one affirmed miracle away from canonization. Saw this at the blog Opinionated Catholic:

Official Publication of the Diocese of Shreveport HomeArchives
It is not every day that a government leader declares a proclamation for a Louisiana priest. That’s exactly what Govenor Bobby Jindal did in 2008, proclaiming October 5 “Father Seelos Day in Louisiana,” attesting that “Father Seelos worked tirelessly to comfort those afflicted by the New Orleans yellow fever epidemic of 1867, until he himself was struck down by the disease and died on October 4, 1867.” It further notes that the sacred remains of this revered Redemptorist missionary “rest in the national shrine of St. Mary’s Assumption Church.”

Suggestions for celebrating Father Seelos Day:
1. Priests and deacons can discuss Father Seelos’ traits in a homily and how people have sought his intercession. Priests can download the Mass Proper for his Feast day by visiting the website www.seelos.org or by viewing the Official Seelos Feast Day Liturgical Texts online at http://www.seelos.org/seelos_liturgy.html

2. Include a history lesson on how yellow fever attacked the population and what good people did to help the sick and dying.

3. Religious education teachers can make available Father Seelos’ 10 practical steps to holiness (found on the home page of http://www.seelos.org/) or http://www.seelos.org/lifeSayings.html, and invite students to draw Father Seelos and explain the picture.

4. Show the movie Seelos, Tireless Intercessor. Make the DVD available in your library.

5. Inform parishioners of the Seelos feast day Mass on Sunday, October 3, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. at St. Mary’s Assumption Church in New Orleans through bulletin inserts and flyers or print from this link: http://www.seelos.org/2010_10_03_Seelos_Mass.pdf. Visitors from across the country attend this annual event.
6. Encourage families or groups to make a pilgrimage to the National Shrine in New Orleans. Visit the new Seelos “Walk of Life” Interactive Exhibit in the Seelos Welcome Center and Gift Shop that opened a year ago at 919 Josephine Street in New Orleans. To arrange a group tour, contact Joyce Bourgeois at 504-525-2499.

The official Seelos website www.seelos.org offers a wealth of information on his life, beatification, sayings, prayers, etc., including videos and publications. For questions, call: 504-525-2495 or email: Father Byron Miller, C.Ss.R. bmiller@seelos.org