Detroit — The Roman Catholic, Syriac, Maronite, Chaldean, Melkite and Armenian communities gathered together at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament to invoke Our Lady to alleviate the suffering of persecuted Christians in the Middle East.

On Nov. 21, Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron hosted Bishop Nicholas Samra of the Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Newton and Bishop Francis Y. Kalabat of the Southfield-based Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle of Detroit for an evening of prayer for the Christians suffering persecution.

“We pray to the Holy Mother of God for the protection of Christians in the region and for their eventual liberation,” Archbishop Vigneron said during the fifth annual prayer service.

Archbishop Vigneron led the group in the rosary, praying five mysteries he selected for the protection of Christians in the Middle East, offering a reflection before each decade began.

“The first mystery, the Nativity, lets us reflect on how Our Lord, though the service of Our Lady, was born our Prince of Peace,” Archbishop Vigneron said before beginning the first decade. “Let us pray this Prince of Peace be part of the lives of the Christians in the Middle East, who currently suffer violent repression in the region.”

The rosary continued with the mysteries of the Wedding Feast at Cana, the Crucifixion, the Descent of the Holy Spirit and the Coronation of Our Lady as Queen, each followed by hymnodies from the Syriac, Maronite, Chaldean, Melkite and Armenian traditions.

Following the rosary, Joe Balistreri, cathedral organist, led the congregation in the Litany of Loreto, invoking Mary’s intercession through all of her titles.

“There is this beautiful phrase in the Chaldean Church to Mary, ‘Mary, we pray under the protection of your prayer,’” Bishop Kalabat said following the litany. “We gather together to offer our prayers to Mary, just as Joachim and Anne brought Mary to the temple, so as we pray to Mary, let us also pray to Anne, protectoress of this archdiocese.”

The evening ended with Archbishop Vigneron incensing the Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, after which the faithful lined up to venerate the icon while the cathedral choir sang the Latin antiphon Salve Regina.

Fr. Tony Massad, pastor of St. Rafka Maronite Catholic Church in Livonia, said events like the prayer service draw attention to the suffering Christians are still facing in the turbulent region.

“It’s always important to pray, and this is time for us to stop and put the world on pause and reconnect with Our Lord,” Fr. Massad said. “We do pray for people inside the country, but it’s always good to take time to pray for the people suffering outside the country.”

While Americans have had their attention of the Christian genocide in the Middle East, Fr. Massad points out Christians there have faced persecution for many years.

“Sometimes when we hear things, we’re so excited or have the conviction to help, but then after some time of doing the work or whatever it may be, we lose that conviction,” Fr. Massad said. “This is a good time to refresh and remember who is in need of help and especially in this one place in the world, the Middle East, where Christ is from, where the disciples and Our Blessed Mother were born and raised.”