PORTLAND — Hundreds of local, state and federal law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency personnel will be recognized for their dedication and self-sacrifice at the annual Blue Mass at 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 15, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

Members of the public safety community, wearing their uniforms, will process from Federal Street to the cathedral.

At 9 a.m., the group will gather on Federal Street between the Portland Fire Department and the U.S. District Courthouse. At approximately 9:20 a.m., the procession will begin down Federal, Pearl and Congress streets before continuing on Franklin Street, where public safety personnel will walk under a large American flag, held up by two Portland Fire Department ladder trucks, before entering the cathedral.

Color guards will be on hand, as will the Maine Public Safety Pipe and Drum Corps, which will perform outside the cathedral before and after the Blue Mass.

Monsignor Andrew Dubois, moderator of the Curia for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, will celebrate the Mass, which bestows blessings upon all who contribute to public health and safety in Maine. In addition, law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency personnel who have given their lives in the line of duty will be remembered.

The Blue Mass has a decades-long history in the Catholic Church. The events of 9/11 served as an impetus for the Diocese of Portland to institute the Blue Mass locally. The public is invited.