Operation Christmas Eve: NBC10 to Live Stream Christmas Eve Mass to Troops

NBC10 and St. Andrew the Apostle Church team up to live stream Christmas Eve Mass to troops in Afghanistan.

U.S. military troops serving in a secluded area of Afghanistan will be able to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass with the help of a local church and NBC10.

NBC10 announced Wednesday it is teaming up with St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Gibbsboro, N.J. to live stream a Christmas Eve Mass to troops in Afghanistan. The special mass will be simulcast live on NBCPhiladelphia.com and NBC Philadelphia Nonstop on Dec. 24 at 2pm.

St. Andrew’s recently adopted a unit of soldiers based in an isolated area of Afghanistan where there is no military chaplain to celebrate Christmas Mass. The troops reached out to St. Andrews for help and the church contacted NBC10.

With the help of five cameras and three production trucks, NBC10 will broadcast the Mass live from St. Andrews.

“This is an incredible opportunity for us to give back to the military men and women serving our country overseas at this special time of year,” said Jim Barger, Vice President of Broadcast Operations and Engineering at NBC10. “If we hadn’t been contacted by St. Andrews, we wouldn’t have known there was a need. We’re thrilled to collaborate with them and so pleased we can make this happen.”

As with any live broadcast, the Christmas Eve Mass does present a few challenges – the biggest and most unique challenge being the time difference between the U.S. and Afghanistan. In the Catholic faith, Christmas Eve Mass cannot be celebrated before 4pm U.S. time, which would require the troops in Afghanistan to stay up until 1:30am. St. Andrew’s Reverend Monsignor Louis A. Marucci received special permission from Bishop Joseph Galante of Camden, N.J. to celebrate a special Christmas Eve Mass at 2:00pm EST to accommodate the time difference. This earlier time will allow troops in Afghanistan to enjoy an 11:30pm Christmas Eve Mass.

“NBC10 should be commended for their immediate response and their ongoing support of the troops,” said Monsignor Marucci. “In addition, they should be commended for their support of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish efforts to provide for the spiritual and physical needs of our soldiers, especially at this special time of year.”

The broadcast can be seen on NBCPhiladelphia.com and NBC Philadelphia Nonstop, which can be found at Comcast channel 248, Verizon channel 460 and over-the-air at 10.2.

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