The Pan African Catholic Community of Atlanta (PACOA) is sponsoring a Mass to celebrate its second anniversary. The Eucharistic celebration will be held on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. at Corpus Christi Church. This year’s celebrant will be Bishop Joseph N. Perry, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago. All are invited.

The purpose of PACOA is to provide spiritual and social support to Catholic immigrants from the different countries on the African continent, including Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Togo. Its ultimate goal is to facilitate the inculturation into the life of newly adopted parishes whose parishioners are, in most cases, themselves representatives of diverse cultures.

The Mass will recognize the welcome and blessings the group has received from pastoral staff and parishioners in the archdiocese, who have brought some spiritual stability to the lives of these immigrants. The integration of PACOA into communities in the archdiocese has allowed its members to become intimately involved with parishes and find their own spiritual home in the U.S. Following the Mass will be a reception. The community hopes many will attend.

“We are pleased with our reception in the Catholic Church of North Georgia and we want to share our gratitude and introduce ourselves to as many members of the archdiocesan family as possible,” the group wrote in a recent press release.