October 29, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — A Catholic group that called for thousands of Masses to be celebrated for pro-life President Donald Trump’s “spiritual support” this election season has smashed its goal of reaching 5400 Mass pledges in less than two months.
“By the Grace of God, through the intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God and the wonderful response of Her children, on Monday, October 19th we achieved our 5,400 Holy Mass Novena being said for President Donald J. Trump, 2,700 Masses in petition and 2,700 Masses in thanksgiving,” said Richard Manougian, founder and coordinator of the group.
Manougian told LifeSiteNews via email that despite reaching their goal of 5,400 Masses ahead of schedule, they will continue accepting Mass pledges until the November 3 election on the official website.
“Rest assured, if you recently registered a Mass it will be posted in the coming days as we catch up with the backlog. If you haven’t yet registered a Holy Mass, now is the time,” he added. “Every Holy Mass pledged is of Infinite value in this epic battle for the very soul of our Nation.”
Manougian thanked LifeSiteNews and its readers for the overwhelming support which he credits in helping them achieve their goal.
“Thank You, to those who pledged one Holy Mass of infinite value, to those who were able to pledge 100 Holy Masses, and everyone in between, and especially those who spread the word far and wide, handing out cards, brochures, using email, text and social media,” he said, before talking about “the influential Catholic Media LifeSiteNews who answered our call and promoted this 5,400 Mass Novena in the USA and abroad, thank you to all LifeSiteNews followers who made this possible!”
As of this writing, a total of 5,714 Masses have been pledged in all 50 States, as well as U.S. territories Guam and Puerto Rico.
Internationally, Masses have been pledged in 17 countries, including African countries, Australia, Canada, China, France, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, and the United Kingdom.
In early September, the group had a total of just over 1,000 novena Masses pledged for Trump, and had completed 900 novena Masses in support of Trump on the feast of the Assumption (August 15).
On September 2, LifeSiteNews reported on the project, highlighting the initiative and the organizers’ call for an additional 5,400 Masses to be said “during this time of unprecedented evil.”
Soon after, the number of Masses pledged skyrocketed to over 3,400 Masses.
Manougian told LifeSiteNews on September 24 that the response to the novena Masses for Trump was “nothing short of miraculous,” and credited LifeSiteNews readers for the overwhelming response.
Now, Manougian mentioned he is also asking everyone to join in prayer and fasting “for the United States of America,” including Eucharistic adoration and reciting the rosary, on the first three days of November.
“Plan to pray and fast with church groups on November 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, as we come upon Election Day,” Manougian said. “Now is the time to put frivolity aside and get serious as a Catholic and US citizen and pray that the evil of a godless government will pass over our beloved nation.”
Manougian’s website lists in real-time the names and places of those who have registered Masses for Trump and also highlights supporters of the group.
Registrants have to provide their contact information, which includes where the Masses will be said, and are then asked to answer a question as to how they learned about the novena Masses for Trump campaign.
The group lists two ways to register a Mass: The first, recommended way is for individuals to have Mass for Trump said at their local church and then register that Mass online. Another option is to donate a $20 Mass stipend at the group’s GoFundMe page. The money is then used by the group to have a Mass said.