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In the early 1970s, an Italian priest named Rev. Stefano Gobbi said he had received messages from the Virgin Mary while at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal. For decades, he recorded the messages, later publishing a book of them titled, "To the Priests, Our Lady's Beloved Sons."

That book is now used to lead the Marian Movement of Priests Cenacle, a prayer group dedicated to praying for the wellbeing of priests around the world. Annunciation parish in Ilion just started its own cenacle.

"I'm doing this for the priests and for the kingdom of God," said Karen Slocum, who organizes the group at Annunciation parish.

"We pray for the invocation of the Holy Spirit," she said, by reading from Father Gobbi's book, reciting the Rosary and praying for Pope Francis and for priests.

The new group has been active for about a month. There was a Marian Movement of Priests Cenacle a number of years ago at a different parish in the area, said Ms. Slocum; in addition, a cenacle has been meeting at St. Francis Chapel in Colonie since the mid-70s.

Priests "need our prayers so desperately," explained Lena Zullo of St. Vincent de Paul parish in Albany. The 87-year-old has been involved in the group since its inception.

Mrs. Zullo noted that being involved in the cenacle -- a word referring to the upper room where Jesus' disciples received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost -- gives people a great devotion to Mary.

"If you have a friend, you want to get to know her mother," Mrs. Zullo said. "You can get closer to Jesus through His mother."

Prayers for priests are a major objective of the cenacle, since priests are needed to celebrate the Eucharist and other sacraments.

"Keeping the priests healthy and keeping them focused in their ministry is a good thing," Ms. Slocum stated.

While the group in Ilion is just getting established, with a few people attending every week, the cenacle in Colonie has existed for years. Mrs. Zullo reported that about a dozen people attend each gathering there, though many more participants have passed on or fallen away from attendance over the years.[[In-content Ad]]

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