The annual Blue Mass, set for Friday, May 5, has been postponed, the Diocese of Wilmington announced today. A new date has not been determined yet.
The postponement of the Mass at St. John the Beloved Church honoring police, firefighters and emergency workers was requested by the Wilmington Police Department on behalf of the area’s law enforcement communities, so more first responders will have the opportunity to attend the May 5 memorial service for Delaware State Police Corporal Stephen Ballard, who was killed in the line of duty April 26.
In addition to Corporal Ballard, Blue Mass organizers this year have planned to honor fallen Wilmington firefighters Captain Christopher Leach and Lieutenants Jerry Fickes and Ardythe Hope; Lewes firefighter Timothy McClanahan; Delaware Correctional Officer, Sergeant Steven Floyd; Dover Police Department’s Patrolman Robert DaFonte and Cadet James Watts; and Ocean City firefighter and paramedic, Howard Allen Schweitzer.
