The solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi, was on June 14 this year, the Sunday after Holy Trinity Sunday. It celebrates the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist.
St. Thomas Aquinas proposed the feast to Pope Urban IV as a way to emphasize that the Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ. The feast was established in 1264. As a solemnity, it was extended to the entire Roman Catholic Church.
The observance of Corpus Christi may include a procession after Mass with the Blessed Sacrament displayed in a monstrance. Benediction takes place after the procession.
Several parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland traditionally have processions, including St. Rocco on Cleveland’s West Side, an Italian parish, and St. Mary of the Assumption in Cleveland’s Collinwood neighborhood, a Slovenian parish.
St. Rocco’s procession took place on June 13 after the vigil Mass. Father James Mayer, O de M, pastor, said there were about 150 people who participated in the event at the parish, which is staffed by the Mercedarian friars, the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy. Father James Chia, O de M and Father Paschal Rosca, O de M also participated.
“We scaled it down this year because of the coronavirus,” Father Mayer said. Instead of processing throughout the church’s Fulton Road neighborhood, the procession took place on parish grounds with prayers and singing. Since the school was closed, Father Mayer said women from the parish served as flower girls this year and scattered rose petals during the procession.
“Some of them have never had a chance to be flower girls so they were very excited,” he said.
Father Mayer said the turnout was good and the weather was perfect.
After processing through the parish grounds, they stopped at the shrine on the north side of the church where there is a memorial to the parish’s World War II veterans for the final benediction.
Father John Kumse, St. Mary’s pastor, said they also scaled back the procession this year because of the health crisis.
“We usually have a large crowd with some people in traditional Slovenian dress, but we kept it simple this year,” he said. About 100 people joined the procession after the 10 a.m. Slovenian Mass on June 14.
There were no altar servers – just Father Kumse and Deacon Dave Kushner. Father Kumse said the baldacchino, a canopy-like structure under which the priest processes while holding the Eucharist in the monstrance, and banners were not used this year, either.
St. Mary’s had four altars for prayers of intercession scattered along its property. The procession stopped at each for a Gospel reading and a blessing, with prayers in Slovenian and English.
“We prayed for an end to war, plague, drugs and violence in the city,” Father Kumse said. At the last altar, the blessing was given in all four directions, north, south, east and west. And given the situation this year with the health crisis, Father Kumse said there were extra prayers for health and healing.
After the procession, he said the group returned to the church for the closing benediction.