A Chicago auxiliary bishop and a Franciscan friar who is director of the Bioethics Institute of New York Medical College in Valhalla, N.Y., will discuss the mission of Catholic health care at the Basilica of St. Josaphat, 2333 S. 6 St., Wednesday, Oct 18., Feast of St. Luke, patron of physicians.

The program will begin at 6:30 p.m. with the celebration on the annual White Mass, named after the traditional white coats and garb worn by medical professionals. Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Archdiocese of Chicago will be the celebrant. Sponsored by the Milwaukee Guild of the Catholic Medical Association, the White Mass is offered for the intentions of all health care professionals, workers, their families and patients.

Auxiliary Bishop Paprocki, a civil lawyer and former chancellor for the Archdiocese of Chicago, comes from a family of four generations of pharmacists. He gained national attention in 2005 when, during a Memorial Mass for the late Pope John Paul II, he delivered a passionate homily that addressed opposition to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s executive order forcing pharmacists to violate their convictions when dispensing birth control and other abortifacient prescriptions. (Gov. Blagojevich was in attendance at the Mass.)

Following Mass, Daniel Sulmasy, O.F.M., M.D. Ph.D., on the staffs of St. Vincent’s Hospital-Manhattan and New York Medical College, Valhalla, will discuss "Is Medicine a Spiritual Practice?” He will address spiritual issues facing physicians, nurses, and other health care workers in their professional lives. The free, public lecture will be in the Basilica’s Undercroft.

A general internist and philosopher, Dr. Sulmasy’s research interests include both theoretical and empirical studies of end-of-life decision makings, ethics education and spirituality in medicine. A Franciscan friar, Dr. Sulmasy holds the Sisters of Charity Chair in Ethics at St. Vincent’s Hospital-Manhattan. He is the author of four books, including “The Healer’s Calling: A Spirituality for Physicians and Other Health Care Professionals” and “Methods in Medical Ethics.”

Dr. Sulmasy received his medical degree from Cornell University and completed his residency, chief residency and postdoctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 1995 he received his doctorate in philosophy from Georgetown University.

A reception will follow the lecture. Free will donations will be accepted.

For more information on the Mass and lecture, call (414) 771-7962 or visit Wisconsin Catholic Medical Association Web site.