More than 5000 Catholics gathered in Melbourne on Sunday for the Corpus Christi procession, the annual public witness to faith that marks the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Source: Melbourne Catholic.
Worshippers thronged the city streets in prayer, song and adoration, as the Eucharist was carried from St Patrick’s Cathedral to Federation Square as a sign of Christ’s presence among his people.
Inside St Patrick’s Cathedral, the celebration began with Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
In his homily, Melbourne Archbishop Peter A Comensoli reflected on the Eucharist as the heart of Christian belief and the source of mission.
“At this moment, we pause before the great mystery at the centre of our faith, the gift of the blessed Eucharist,” he said. “Here, the body and blood of Christ, his flesh, is given to us for the life of the world,”
Archbishop Comensoli said the procession was meant to carry Christ into places marked by struggle and need.
“We carry the blessed Eucharist through the streets, because Christ desires to enter every heart and every place, especially those marked by anxiety, suffering, and the wounds that we carry,” he said.
He also urged the faithful to see the procession as a public act of hope: “Come, let us witness publicly to the hope that brings healing and life.”
Then, that public witness to faith in the city began as a bagpiper led the crowd down MacArthur Street to the tune of Amazing Grace. This year’s procession travelled down Collins Street and into Swanston Street, passing several iconic landmarks including the Melbourne Town Hall and Flinders Street Station before entering Federation Square.
The Eucharistic procession was headed by the Knights and Dames of the Holy Sepulchre and the Knights and Dames of the Order of Malta, while the monstrance carrying the Blessed Sacrament was lifted by Archbishop Comensoli, Auxiliary Bishops Martin Ashe and Thinh Nguyen, Monsignor Stuart Hall and Fr Joshua McDermid.
The procession made several stops for prayer and singing, as is customary. The sight of thousands of people processing along the tram tracks turned heads all the way down Collins Street.
Pedestrians who showed an interest were offered cards carrying the message, “You are not alone. God walks with you”, alongside a QR code inviting further engagement with the faith – in keeping with public and invitational expression of Catholic belief that coloured the procession.
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Joy fills the hearts of thousands at Corpus Christi procession (Melbourne Catholic)
