The Allentown Guild of the Catholic Medical Association (CMA) invites all healthcare workers to the Diocesan White Mass on Sunday, Oct. 13 at 11 a.m. at St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield, with Bishop Alfred Schlert as celebrant and homilist.
The White Mass, named for the color worn by those in the healing profession of medicine, gathers health care professionals under the patronage of St. Luke to ask God’s blessing on the patient, doctor, nurse, and caregiver.
The tradition of the White Mass in the United States has origins in the development of the national CMA in the early 1930s. From its inception, the medical profession has been understood as a healing profession, a way in which Christ’s work continues on earth. Moreover, since the apparitions at Lourdes in the late 19th century, the plight of the infirm and those who care for them have taken on renewed appreciation in participating in the mysteries of Christ’s own life.
The Allentown Guild of CMA was chartered in 2009. Father John Krivak, Pastor, Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus Parish, Hellertown, is Guild Chaplain. Bishop John Barres, Fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Allentown, celebrated the guild’s first White Mass in September 2009.
CMA is a national, physician-led community of healthcare professionals that informs, organizes, and inspires its members, in steadfast fidelity to the teachings of the Catholic Church, to uphold the principles of the Catholic faith in the science and practice of medicine.
After the Mass, all are invited to the Glasbern Inn, Fogelsville for a brunch reception and presentation by guest speaker Deacon William V. Williams, M.D. on “The Decay of Trust in Medical Information: A Catholic Response.”
Deacon Williams is a graduate of MIT and Tufts Medical and is board certified in internal medicine and rheumatology. He was on faculty at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine 1988-98, where he was head of rheumatology research. He worked at SmithKline Beecham/GlaxoSmithKline 1998-2005, including being VP of Experimental Medicine. He was VP of Exploratory Development at Incyte Corporation 2005-16. Since 2016, he has been President and CEO of BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. He served as Editor-in-Chief, The Linacre Quarterly, the official journal of CMA 2008-16.
He has been responsible for dozens of investigational new drug applications and 11 successful new drug or biologics licensing applications to the FDA and other regulatory agencies. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed scientific papers and numerous patents, editorials, book chapters, and other media.
He was ordained a deacon in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 2013 and serves at Sacred Heart Parish, Havertown.
All healthcare workers are invited to bring their white coats to the Mass and to the Glasbern Inn, where CMA hopes to have an opportunity to take photographs.
Please RSVP to allentowncma@gmail.com.