All area firefighters, police officers, Sheriff’s deputies and other first responders will be the special guests at a Blue Mass to be held on Friday, Sept. 9, at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Manteca.

The Student Council of St. Anthony’s School will be in charge of organizing this special event which will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and Virginia on Sept. 9, 2001, said school principal Mary Lou Hoffman.

The readings during the Mass as well as the music will all be done by the students, she said. The student choir, which also sings at the weekly students’ mass service, will be ministering in music under the direction of choir director Emelie Diaz.

All police, firefighters, Sheriff’s deputies and other emergency responders are invited to come and attend the special worship service in their uniforms, Hoffman said.

“They will have a special specific place to sit in the church during the service,” she said.

The Blue Mass will begin at 9 a.m. and the public is invited to attend as well, Hoffman added.

The memorial service is one of the many activities that students and the school will be holding throughout the school year.

St. Anthony’s School is a K-8 campus, with morning and afternoon classes for preschool and pre-K students offered as well.

For more information about the Blue Mass and about the school, call (209) 823-4513.