The nonprofit organization Catholics for Catholics is hosting an event called Catholic Prayer for Trump at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach. The event will be held on Tuesday, March 19, which is known in the Catholic Church as St. Joseph’s Day or the Feast of St. Joseph. The holiday is often observed by attending mass.
As seen in the advertisement below, eight MAGA Catholic stars will be in attendance including two men whom Trump pardoned: Ret. Lt. General Michael Flynn (he had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI) and Roger Stone, who was convicted of impeding a congressional inquiry that threatened Trump.
Whether in person or remote…join us in prayer for President Trump and our Country!@GenFlynn @JackPosobiec @michaeljknowles @jasonevert @TimBallard pic.twitter.com/xXn6udWySO
— John Yep (@USAYep) March 9, 2024
The other six guest stars are: actor Jim Caviezel, Michael Knowles of The Daily Wire, Jason Evert (founder of the teen-aimed Chastity Project), Jack Posobiec of Human Events, Patricia Sandoval (pro-life and chastity speaker), and Tim Ballard.
As seen in the video below, Catholics for Catholics founder John Yep, who said Trump was “the rightful winner” of the 2020 presidential election and is “the only Catholic option for 2024,” said he hopes that Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump will attend the event, too.
[NOTE: Incumbent President Joe Biden is Catholic, only the second Catholic to win the presidency, the first being John F. Kennedy.]
Tickets to the black-tie event (which includes a cocktail reception, dinner, speakers and prayer) are $1000 each.
The 60-year-old publication National Catholic Reporter describes Catholics for Catholics as “a new combative faith group” that is “forming allegiances with so-called ‘alt-right’ political leaders and promoting an unapologetic blend of Catholic doctrine and nationalism.”
Steven Millies, director of the Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago said of Catholics for Catholics: “All this is being done very much despite the church.” Millies added: “I don’t have any sense, apart from Strickland and a few outliers, that there’s any other bishop in the world who is endorsing this version of Catholicism.”
Joseph Strickland was the bishop that Pope Francis removed from his post as bishop of Tyler, Texas in November 2023. Catholics for Catholics published Strickland’s book, Take Heart. Proceeds from the book go to “supporting Bishop Strickland and Catholics for Catholics.”