By Gia Myers • Posted September 18, 2024

Father James DeGrassa, the new pastor of Queen of Peace Parish in Ardsley, Montgomery County, blessed more than 200 cars after the parish’s first annual Blessing of the Cars Mass held Sunday, Sept. 8.

 “We spend half of our life in the car,” said Father DeGrassa. “It’s important to invite God into your time in the car.”

The priest came to Queen of Peace Parish last June after serving as the pastor of Resurrection of Our Lord Parish in Northeast Philadelphia’s Rhawnhurst section since 2017. That same year he started the Blessing of the Cars Mass at that parish, continuing it annually.

Blessing cars was something Father DeGrassa was often asked to do by individual parishioners. It occurred to him that there would be benefit in doing the blessings as a group so that people could join in prayer for one another.

The car blessing was included in a Mass at Resurrection Parish every year in the fall “when people are driving kids back to school and driving more again after summer vacations,” he said.

Part of the Blessing of the Cars includes calling forward all new drivers so that Father DeGrassa can bless them and pray that they drive with safety and good decision making. Fellow parishioners pray along and congratulate the new drivers.

At the Sept. 8 Mass, 20 new drivers came forward for this blessing, and each received a holy card with a prayer for safe driving.

“Parents are happy to bring their young people for this blessing,” said Father DeGrassa, as it provides parents and their new drivers with feelings of comfort and support from the whole parish community.

Parishioners line up to have their cars blessed during the parish’s first annual Blessing of the Cars Mass.

After the Mass, parishioners who wished to have their cars blessed lined up in the parish parking lot, and Fr. DeGrassa blessed each car and its driver.

“The line wrapped all around the parking lot,” he said.

Each driver also received a keychain with the parish’s name and logo on it.

The keychains recall how at Resurrection each year, those drivers received gifts that included parish magnets, ice scrapers, St. Christopher medals, and statues of the Blessed Mother for the dashboard.

After all the cars were blessed, Father DeGrassa and a group of parish volunteers awarded humorous prizes, including awards for cleanest car, oldest car, and car most likely to need last rites.

Some parishioners even took the opportunity to bring their classic cars from the 1950s to share with fellow parishioners, making the event almost like a car show.

“Some of the older parishioners have pretty cool cars,” said Father DeGrassa.

The pastor said he enjoys fostering spiritual growth through social and entertainment programs, something he was able to do at his previous parish, and he’s bringing this same spirit to his new parish.

The next social event planned at the parish is the Blessing of the Animals in celebration of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi on Sunday, Oct. 6, starting at 12:15 p.m. It’s a free community event, and Father DeGrassa has involved the parish’s teenagers as event volunteers.

In addition to the pet blessing will be a St. Francis look-a-like, pet costume contest, free pet portrait studio, free homemade pet treats, prizes and giveaways, and music with all animal-themed songs.

“It’s good evangelization,” said Father DeGrassa. “It’s good to have a variety of things.  Different things strike different people. They’re not big things, but impactful to certain people.”