Prayerful driving is key tenet of Sacred Heart Auto League

Published: 2004-01-08

DETROIT (CNS) -- As car companies start showing off their new vehicles at auto shows across the country in 2004, Americans are going to be checking out a lot of new, stylish rides. And, as they do, some priests are issuing a reminder: No matter what size a car or truck is, Jesus can always fit. Today, more than 800,000 Catholics around the country are members of the Sacred Heart Auto League, a popular organization of the Sacred Heart League in northern Mississippi that promotes careful and prayerful driving. And countless more Catholics bring Christ to mind while driving by getting their vehicles blessed. "We ask people to submit themselves to careful driving, and make it an act of prayer," said Father Charles Yost, spiritual director for the Sacred Heart Auto League. "It does make people conscious of being polite and careful drivers." The auto league -- which in the 1960s made famous the plastic Jesus statue that could be attached to a car's instrument panel -- was founded in 1955 by Sacred Heart Father Gregory Bezy, whose niece and nephew were killed in a car crash.

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