The pews of St. Christina’s Parish were a sea of black and blue Sunday morning, with uniformed Chicago police officers scattered among the congregants.
Many had proudly adhered an image of fallen Chicago police Officer Enrique Martinez’s face to their chests. “In loving memory,” read the buttons that were being passed out to those filing into the Mount Greenwood Catholic church to honor the slain officer’s life and service to the city.
The 26-year-old had worked in the police force just shy of three years when he was shot and killed shortly after 8 p.m. Nov. 4 while responding to a traffic stop in Chatham.
The Rev. Ryan Brady’s call to action, less than a week after Martinez was “cruelly and wickedly gunned down on our city streets,” was straightforward: pray.
“Prayer changes things. It changes hearts. It makes a difference,” he said. “Adrian and Rosa Martinez — Enrique’s parents — they are feeling the uplifting effects of our prayer, of our faith and our love.”
However, Brady also lamented what he called a pattern of violence against first responders.