Twice a year Oklahoma priest blesses teenage drivers and their cars

Published: 2007-10-29

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (CNS) -- About six years ago the mother of a teenage driver asked her parish priest what he thought parents prayed about most. The answer was their children's safety, especially when driving, and Father Joe Townsend, pastor of St. Benedict Church in Broken Arrow, knew immediately he would join in those prayers. "For me, it's good to pray for what my people are praying for. It's like I'm saying, 'I hear you,'" he said. So that year he held a special blessing for young drivers and their cars. Now the blessing usually occurs twice a year, at the beginning of the new year and at the beginning of the school year. The priest figures he has blessed about 250 teenagers. "When I started doing this, I heard a loud, heartfelt thank you from the parents," he told the Eastern Oklahoma Catholic, newspaper of the Tulsa Diocese. The most recent blessing was Oct. 14 when Father Townsend blessed 43 new drivers at the parish.

Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .