PORTLAND — The Diocese of Portland will celebrate the fourth annual nationwide Fortnight for Freedom from June 21 to July 4, a time when the liturgical calendar celebrates a series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of persecution by political power: St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, and the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome. The theme of this year’s Fortnight will focus on the “freedom to bear witness” to the truth of the Gospel.

As part of the Fortnight for Freedom celebration in the diocese, Bishop Robert P. Deeley will celebrate a special Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, June 25. All are encouraged to attend.

On the evening of June 25, Monsignor John E. Kozar, president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association and the Pontifical Mission for Palestine, and the former national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the U.S., will speak about the plight of persecuted Christians in the Middle East at a special gathering at the Cathedral at 6 p.m. The presentation is free and all are welcome.

For more information about the Fortnight for Freedom, visit www.usccb.org/issues-andaction/ religious-liberty/fortnight for-freedom/index.cfm.