SatanCon, which is billed as the largest gathering of Satanists ever, is set to begin tomorrow at the Copley Marriott in the Bay Bay neighborhood of Boston.
The convention is being run by The Satanic Temple, a group of nontheistic Satanists based in Salem.
The convention, which is scheduled to run Friday, April 28 through Sunday, April 30, has drawn the attention of many Christian communities in Massachusetts, some of whom have organized efforts in Boston or in their places of worship and have called on their members to pray during each of the days of the convention.
A group from the Sha’ar Hashamayim Messianic Congregation from Stoughton plans to evangelize and lead prayer efforts in Boston during the entire weekend.
In a written statement provided to NewBostonPost, Rabbi Henry Morse of the congregation said that when he first heard of the event he “knew we had to speak up on behalf of the Lord. We all understand the spiritual nature of this battle. Yet, we also grieve for these lost souls. These people coming to this event are poor lost souls. That must be our focus.”
“We are not going to protest but to attest on behalf of the Lord,” he continued.
Youth With a Mission Boston, a Christian ministries group based in Somerville, advertised an evangelization effort in Boston on Saturday, April 29 in a Facebook post.
“We have the amazing opportunity to gather and train up people to preach the gospel! The Lord is moving in the city of Boston and we can’t wait,” the post says. “We will have multiple sites across the city where we will be worshiping, setting up prayer stations, and sending people out two by two to evangelize. Join us and see Jesus magnified in our city!”
NewBostonPost asked the group by email and Facebook post if the event is a response to the satanic convention. A spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
America Needs Fatima, a Catholic organization that encourages people to pray the rosary, started a petition on April 2, asking the Marriott hotel not to host the convention. More 40,000 people have signed it as of Thursday, April 27.
Bishop Mark O’Connell, moderator of the curia of the Archdiocese of Boston, in a statement released April 3 on behalf of Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, urged Catholics not to protest the event on-site for fear of drawing attention to it. “Rather than protesting in person, we hope to storm the Heavens with prayer,” Bishop O’Connell wrote.
The bishop also asked that the faithful pray the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, written by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 as a prayer for protection against the devil.
The Archdiocese of Boston has provided a list of parishes, chapels, and shrines where various prayers and sacraments, including Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, the rosary,will be said, and confession offered.
Individual Catholic parishes have also organized people to pray the rosary and the St. Michael’s prayer, calling attention to the convention in bulletins throughout the month of April.
St. Thomas Aquinas parish in Bridgewater following the noon Mass on Sunday, April 29 “will provide an opportunity and an environment of prayer, reflection, and Eucharstic Adoration.” Renewal of Baptismal Promises will follow where “we renounce Satan and all his empty words and promises.”
St. Mary of the Nativity in Scituate is offering a weekend of scheduled prayer in the parish chapel beginning at noon on Friday and ending at 3 p.m. on Sunday, asking parishioners to come together for a weekend of “prayer, reparation, sanctification, and protection.”
To combat the “serious evil that will be invoked,” St. Mary’s “will be having opportunities for prayer and adoration during that weekend. If you can’t join us, please commit to saying the rosary and other prayers, and even fasting, if you can. We each are being called to take this seriously and stand for Christ and pray for His protection.”
St. Paul’s Church in Hingham plans to hold prayerful adoration following the 9 a.m Mass on Friday until 9 p.m. that same day.
Members of Corpus Christi Parish in Sandwich are holding a prayer vigil through the 72 hours the convention is happening.
St. Brendan’s in Bellingham is having 40 hours Adoration devotion over the weekend from 10 a.m. Friday, April 28, to 2 a.m. on Sunday, April 30.
St. Anthony of Padua in Cohasset and St. Mary of the Assumption in Hull have asked that parishioners pray the rosary and the St. Michael prayer.
St. Agatha’s in Milton has called on parish members to take part in the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Friday, April 28 after the 9 a.m. Mass.
St. Bernadette Church in Randolph is offering the 9 a.m. Mass on Friday, April 28 “for the souls of the people attending “Satancon” and those who are working at the convention in Boston this weekend.” The church will plans to host Adoration and the Rosary each of the three days of the convention.
St. Mary Queen of Martyrs Parish in Plymouth is asking parishioners to pray the rosary each of the three days of the conference.
St. James Church in Stoughton is having “forty hours with the Lord” from 5 p.m. Friday, April 28 to 9:30 a.m. Sunday, April 30.
The Satanic Temple’s homepage says its mission “is to encourage benevolence and empathy among all people, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense and justice, and be directed by the human conscience to undertake noble pursuits.”
The program schedule for the convention includes talks entitled “Sins of the Flesh: Satanism and Self-Pleasure,” “ De-constructing Your Religious Upbringing,” and “Re-Imagining Lilith as an Archetype for Reproductive Justice.”
Lilith is a female demon, appearing in Jewish and Babylonian folklore who seduces men and kills children. She has come to be seen by feminists as a symbol of independent women.
NewBostonPost requested an interview with one of the conference organizers earlier this week. A spokesman for The Satanic Temple could not be reached for comment.
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