The Diocese of Rockford will celebrate Red Masses today in seven towns across northern Illinois, including DeKalb.

The effort is part of the Rockford Diocese’s efforts to promote religious liberty and participate in the Fortnight for Freedom observance called for by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, June 21 to July 4.

The 14 days from June 21 – the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More – to July 4, Independence Day, are dedicated to this “fortnight for freedom” – a hymn of prayer for the country. The Catholic Church liturgical calendar celebrates a series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of persecution by political power – St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, and the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome.