GIBBSBORO — In response to a special request from U.S. military serving in Afghanistan, NBC 10 Philadelphia will live stream a Christmas Eve Mass from St. Andrew the Apostle Church here on nbcphiladelphia.com at 2 p.m. Saturday.
The parishioners of St. Andrew's recently adopted a unit of soldiers based in an isolated area of Afghanistan. With no military chaplain to celebrate Christmas Mass, the service men and women reached out to St. Andrews for guidance. Kathy Emrich, a St. Andrew's parishioner and pastoral coordinator of public relations, contacted NBC 10 to see if the station could assist.
NBC 10 will broadcast the Mass live from St. Andrews with the use of five cameras and three production trucks. The Mass will be simulcast live on nbcphiladelphia.com and NBC Philadelphia Nonstop.
The time difference between the U. S. and Afghanistan presented a unique challenge for St. Andrews. In the Catholic faith, Christmas Eve Mass cannot be celebrated before 4 p.m., which would have required the service members to stay up until the late hour of 1:30 a.m. St. Andrew's Reverend Monsignor Louis A. Marucci requested and received special permission from Camden Diocese Bishop Joseph Galante to celebrate a special Christmas Eve Mass at 2 p.m. to accommodate the time difference. This earlier time will allow troops in Afghanistan to enjoy an 11:30 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass.
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