WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Servcies prayed for those U.S. service men and women who have lost their lives in battle for the nation's veterans at a special noon memorial Mass May 15, Pentecost Sunday.

About 2,500 Catholics gathered in the Great Upper Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington to pay tribute to men and women in the armed forces, and particularly to those who have "paid the ultimate price for American liberty."

"We remember those who have died since our last archdiocesan celebration. ... Our prayer extends to all of those who have fallen in combat, as a result of illness or old age, as well as, an earnest uplifting to a loving Father of those who still bear the effects of war in their bodies or minds," the archbishop prayed.

"This gesture of communion also includes an earnest petition for those who mourn the loss of loved ones young and old," he continued. "The divine love that inflames our hearts reaches out to those who experience the emptiness of those whose presence is no longer the same and to those who care for our dear veterans."

The Memorial Mass concluded with the sounding of the bugle call "Taps."

On Memorial Day, May 30, the Eternal Word Television Network is scheduled to broadcast the entire Mass across North America at noon (EDT) and again at midnight (EDT). It also will air the same day and times on CatholicTV, a cable TV network based in Watertown, Massachusetts.

The U.S. military archdiocese in Washington provides the full range of the Catholic Church's pastoral ministries and spiritual services to the men and women -- and their families -- who serve in the nation's five military branches, as well as patients at 153 Veterans Affairs medical centers and U.S. Foreign Service personnel working in 134 countries.