At the annual Rose Mass on March 30 at the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda and at the luncheon that followed, health workers were honored and thanked for following the example of Jesus by bringing healing to people, and they were also encouraged to seek Christ’s healing in their own lives.
Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, the new archbishop of Washington, was the main celebrant at the 33rd annual Rose Mass sponsored by the John Carroll Society of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington that seeks God’s blessings on medical, dental, nursing and allied health care workers and institutions. He thanked health workers for serving “men, women and children in their need, to bring them healing in every dimension of their lives.”
At the luncheon afterward, Cardinal McElroy noted how bringing healing to people was central to Jesus’s public ministry from the start, and he thanked health care workers, noting their technical skill and the spiritual dimension of their work as they serve patients.
“God blesses that work, especially when it is most difficult and trying, God is standing with you, at your side, as you are standing at the side of your patients and their families,” the cardinal said.
The Rose Mass gets its name from the rose-colored vestments that priests wear on Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent, and also from the rose symbolizing life whose care is entrusted to the healing professions.
The John Carroll Society, founded in 1951, includes nearly 900 Catholics in the Archdiocese of Washington who work in legal, medical and other professions and businesses in the metropolitan area and assist the archbishop of Washington in charitable and community projects, and they also participate in spiritual, intellectual and social activities together. The society is named for Archbishop John Carroll, who in 1789 was named as the first bishop in the new United States. Then-Bishop Carroll was consecrated as a bishop in 1790, leading the Diocese of Baltimore, which then included the territory of all 13 original states.
The concelebrants at the Rose Mass included 13 local priests involved with health care, parish and archdiocesan ministry, and Washington Auxiliary Bishops Roy Campbell Jr. and Juan Esposito. Msgr. Peter Vaghi, the longtime chaplain of the John Carroll Society and the pastor emeritus of the Church of the Little Flower, welcomed people at the beginning of the Mass and was greeted with applause by the congregation. The concelebrants included Father Mark Smith, the administrator pro-tempore of Little Flower Parish, and several priest chaplains who serve at hospitals and health care institutions in the archdiocese.
In his homily at the Rose Mass, Jesuit Father Myles N. Sheehan – a priest and medical doctor who serves as the director of the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University, where he is also a professor of medicine – reflected on the Parable of the Prodigal Son from that day’s Gospel reading from Luke 15:1-3, 11-32.
That parable, he said, is a story of being welcomed home, of being lost and found, and reflects the love and mercy of God the Father, and how when people make mistakes in their lives, “Jesus wants to bring you home… and to know your hurts and your wounds can be healed and forgiven,” like the father in the parable did as he ran out to embrace the prodigal son.
Father Sheehan said that those in the health professions who care for the sick may sometimes need care themselves, and may feel like the elder son in the parable, who was resentful when the father held a banquet for the wayward son after he returned home.
“We work hard. We put up with a lot. We can end up feeling burned out. We can be angry about our profession, and we can be disappointed that we’ve given up so much,” he said.
But the priest added that Jesus, who is known as the Divine Physician, has a prescription, a suggested treatment, an intervention and a plan of care for people in the healing professions.
“What is the medicine Jesus is giving us here (in this parable)?” Father Sheehan asked, and then said, “He’s offering us the Father’s love, whether we really messed up in extraordinary ways, or whether we tried really hard and feel deeply overburdened, turning bitter and questioning our commitments… Today Jesus is offering you the Father’s love. He’s inviting you to a celebration that will last forever.”
Concluding his homily, the priest said, “Jesus knows you through and through, and let today’s Mass be healing for the healers. He forgives your wrongdoing. He knows the ways you hurt… Jesus has a clear prescription for us today. Accept the invitation to come to this party of divine love.”
The guests at the Rose Mass and luncheon included medical students from Georgetown University and nursing students from the Conway School of Nursing at The Catholic University of America.
At the Rose Mass luncheon, the John Carroll Society presented 2025 Pro Bono Health Care Awards to four health professionals who volunteer with the Catholic Charities Health Care Network, and to a priest who serves in health care ministry.
The Catholic Charities Health Care Network was founded in 1984 by Cardinal James Hickey, then the archbishop of Washington, who commissioned three physicians – Dr. Thomas Curtin, Dr. Edmund Pellegrino and Dr. John Harvey – to develop a health care network to serve those in need in the Washington area. Today the network includes more than 270 volunteer physicians, dentists, physical therapists and other health care professionals working in private practice, hospitals and clinics who last year provided pro-bono specialized care in more than 2,575 patient visits, procedures and surgeries worth $10.6 million for uninsured and low-income residents of the Archdiocese of Washington.
The recipients of the John Carroll Society’s 2025 Pro Bono Health Care Awards included:
- Joanne Assarsson, who works as a licensed clinical social worker at Georgetown University Hospital’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. The luncheon program noted that throughout her career, she “has played a key role in supporting cancer patients and their families by identifying obstacles to care, advocating for essential resources, and connecting them to services, including the Catholic Charities Health Care Network.
- Dr. Kevin Collier, a gastroenterologist who has volunteered with the Catholic Charities Health Care Network since the early 2000s.
- Dr. Mariam Mathai, an ophthalmologist with a specialization in vitreoretinal surgery at the Retina Group of Washington who cares for patients suffering from reduced vision. She is very active in providing care to underserved populations, both in her clinic and through her volunteer work with the Prevention of Blindness Society in Washington.
Dr. Mark R. Abbruzzese, an infectious disease physician, received the 2025 James Cardinal Hickey Lifetime Service Award. A longtime volunteer with the Catholic Charities Health Care Network, Dr. Abbruzzese has practiced medicine for nearly 50 years in the Washington area, including at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and Sibley Memorial Hospital. In recent years, he has been busy helping patients recovering from COVID-19.
Also at the luncheon, the Msgr. Harry A. Echle Award for Outstanding Service in Health Care Ministry, named for a longtime archdiocesan priest known for that outreach, was presented to Father Casmir Onyegwara, who for the past nine years has served as the manager of the Spiritual Care Department for Holy Cross Health, where he manages a team of 10 chaplains serving patients and staff for Holy Cross Hospital at its Silver Spring and Germantown locations.
In an interview after the luncheon, Father Onyegwara, a priest of the Diocese of Orlu, Nigeria, said his ministry involves bringing hope to patients during their suffering and illnesses, and helping them know that they are loved and bringing them “the peace that only God can bring. Love is the universal language,” he said.
Dr. Mariam Mathai said it is rewarding and very fulfilling to help patients navigate the health care system “and get them the care they need.”
Also interviewed was Dr. Kevin Collier, who said his volunteer medical care to people in need reflects what charity is all about. “Bottom line, it’s just coming from the heart… It’s very fulfilling,” he said. “It’s nice when you get patients feeling better and see the smile on their faces, and they’re very thankful.”
Dr. Mark R. Abbruzzese said the uninsured and low-income patients referred to his office by the Catholic Charities Health Care Network are treated like any other patients there, as they receive help with medical conditions like pneumonia, urinary tract infections or COVID-19.
“They all are so appreciative of what we do. We take care of their health needs,” he said.
The infectious disease physician, who is a member of St. John the Baptist Parish in Silver Spring, was asked if his Catholic faith shapes his work. “Sure, that’s where your faith begins, to help others,” he said, adding, “It’s a privilege to do what I do.”
(For more information on the Catholic Charities Health Care Network, contact Esperanza Abarca, the program manager, at 202-519-3566 or email esperanza.abarca@cc-dc.org.)
Link to livestream of 2025 Rose Mass:
https://www.youtube.com/live/uXNvDncqWmQ
