Hundreds of Catholics pray Rosary outside Kansas State Capitol in reparation for satanic 'black mass'

TOPEKA, Kansas (LifeSiteNews) -- Hundreds of faithful Catholics joined a Rosary of reparation against a planned satanist "black mass" outside the Kansas State Capitol Friday morning.

The rally, organized by the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property (TFP), was livestreamed on YouTube. There were an estimated 400 to 500 attendees.

Attendee Alex Dwyer, state chair of the Kansas Young Republicans, told LifeSiteNews he felt "pretty good there's a strong rebuke to this blasphemous activity going on."

"The satanists were trying to agitate us. They were shouting expletives at us, flashing their very nasty signs at us," he said. "But our side was very respectful. If there was any response, it was in prayer, or 'Christ is King.'"

"Every counterprotester was very nice. Everyone was there to pray, to come together as Christians to oppose this blasphemy," he added.

Members of the Satanic Grotto had said they planned to defy Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s order banning their blasphemous "black mass" from taking place in the Capitol building. The group's leader, Michael Stewart, was apprehended by law enforcement inside. Video footage shows Stewart punching a man in the face after he tried to stop Stewart from "dedicating" the statehouse to the devil.

Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann had repeatedly denounced the "black mass" in the lead-up to the event. In a recent letter to the faithful, he stated that "the devil has no power over us."

"The devil wants to distract us with bizarre claims and offensively provocative language," he said. "Wherever Satan reigns, there is inevitably confusion and chaos. The best protection against the devil is prayer through which we praise and glorify God."

In addition to the Rosary rally, there was a Holy Hour at Topeka’s Assumption Church, located directly north of the statehouse, followed by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

While Western governments often permit these displays, citing freedom of speech or freedom of religion, Pope Pius XI’s 1925 encyclical Quas Primas makes clear that “rulers and princes are bound to give public honor and obedience to Christ” because “his kingly dignity demands that the State should take account of the commandments of God and of Christian principles, both in making laws and in administering justice, and also in providing for the young a sound moral education.”