An AIDS memorial will be installed in its new, permanent home at the Church of St. Francis Xavier on West 15^th Street in Manhattan at a mass in honor of World AIDS Day on December 2.

Formerly known as the Greenwich Village AIDS Memorial, the Village AIDS Memorial is being moved to St. Francis Xavier from St. Veronica’s Church on Christopher Street. A total of 580 plaques, each commemorating the life of a New York resident who died from AIDS, are being permanently moved in order to permit regular access to the memorial by family and community members. The memorial was first dedicated in 1992.

On Friday, December 2 at 7:00 PM, the community of St. Francis Xavier will commemorate World AIDS Day with a mass in the main church and bless the newly arrived AIDS Memorial plaques from St. Veronica’s Church on Christopher Street, according to a listing on the parish website. The mass is open to the public.

An estimated 115,000 New York City residents have died from the disease since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. The World Health Organization believes between 38 million and 48 million people have died from AIDS worldwide to date. A similar number are currently living with HIV globally.

First observed on December 1, 1988, World AIDS Day was the first global health holiday. World AIDS Day unites people from around the world to raise awareness of the global AIDS response. The annual event provides an opportunity for Catholics to commemorate and pray for those lost, and for those currently living with HIV/AIDS.