ATLANTA—Each year at the beginning of December, the Archdiocese of Atlanta joins the world in marking World AIDS Day. The archdiocese holds an annual Mass as a chance for people to gather as a community, remembering and praying for those who died due to HIV/AIDS and those currently living with HIV/AIDS; their families, friends and caretakers; those who work to find a cure; and those who work to bring about just programs and systems associated with HIV/AIDS.

All are welcome to attend the World AIDS Day Masses to be celebrated on Dec. 1-2.

The World AIDS Day Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m., at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 2855 Briarcliff Road, NE, Atlanta.

The next day, on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m., a World AIDS Day Mass will be celebrated at St. Philip Benizi Church, located at 591 Flint River Road, Jonesboro. Father Santo Cricchio will be the celebrant of the Mass, which is organized by the parish’s AIDS ministry.

The Archdiocese of Atlanta sits in the middle of a public health crisis surrounding HIV/AIDS, although the disease has faded somewhat from the headlines.

The federal agency released its 2013 statistics in October. The South—the District of Columbia and 16 states, including Georgia—tops the nation for its rate of new HIV cases, with a rate of 20.5 HIV infections per 100,000 residents. In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated some 26,020 people were living with HIV in the Atlanta, Sandy Springs and Roswell areas.

The Archdiocese of Atlanta’s HIV/AIDS Ministry support is inspired by Catholic social teaching, acknowledging the God-given dignity of each human being and advocating for just programs that allow access for all people to prevention education, early testing, health care treatment (including medications), spiritual accompaniment, and support for all infected and affected by HIV and AIDS.