Taking Jesus into the City
Corpus Christi Eucharistic Procession
In late June, the feast of Corpus Christi gathered over 400 people in St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral for the first Diocesan Holy Hour and Eucharistic Procession for some time. After exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Bishop Michael led a solemn procession on a 1km walk through the city streets, taking the Blessed Sacrament to the people of Christchurch. Upon returning, the gathering concluded with Benediction. It was a beautiful, moving, and solemn occasion, marking one of the most important feasts in the Church.
This feast arose in thirteenth century Belgium and was a response to debates about the real presence and as a result of an upsurge in eucharistic devotion. Its extension to the entire Western Church was first decreed by Pope Urban IV in 1264. The feast celebrates the mystery of the nourishing and enduring presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist.
It is hoped that this procession, holy hour and benediction will now become an annual event on the Diocesan Calendar.
