PEORIA, Ill. – The Diocese of Peoria provided an aerial blessing on Good Friday.
Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, of Peoria took to the skies via an OSF Life Flight helicopter and offered blessing to the entire Diocese of Peoria, as well as to pray for all suffering from or helping to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
The flight originated from the Gen. Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport.
During the 12-minute flight to downtown Peoria and back, Bishop Jenky offered a prayer composed by the Vatican for a “Mass in Time of Pandemic.”
“I was happy to do something that may give some comfort to people, especially those folks who, on this Good Friday, are scared about their relatives in the hospital,” said Bishop Jenky.
The bishop was accompanied by Msgr. Philip Halfacre, vicar general; Ryan Webb, pilot; and Kylie Ervin, flight nurse.
The aerial blessing was first proposed midweek by OSF Life Flight pilot Tomas Wojtowicz and then proposed to the Diocese of Peoria by Steve Mattern, vice president of mission services for OSF HealthCare.
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