Bright sunshine and blue skies greeted about 165 participants in the annual “A Mile for Mary” event on Oct. 25. The event included Mass, a procession through Garfield Heights, benediction and lunch.
Father Kevin Fox, administrator of St. Therese and SS. Peter and Paul parishes in Garfield Heights, celebrated Mass in St. Therese Church to begin the event, which was presented by Our Lady’s Blue Army, World Apostolate of Fatima, Cleveland.
(See photo gallery above.)
It was an ideal fall day – crisp and clear – as the faithful left St. Therese Church for the procession. Led by the Knights of Columbus, three priests took turns carrying the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance on the nearly 2-mile route through the streets of Garfield Heights to SS. Peter and Paul Church. In addition to Father Fox, Father Robert Jasany, pastor of St. John Nepomucene Parish in Cleveland, who serves as the organization’s chaplain, and Father Anthony Simone, pastor of St. Jerome and Holy Redeemer parishes in Cleveland, processed with the Blessed Sacrament.
The group sang, prayed and recited the rosary as they walked. Garfield Heights police accompanied the faithful, blocking traffic to ensure their safety. The city provided shuttle buses from the Senior Center for those unable to process on foot.
At three locations along the way, the faithful stopped briefly to pray. Kathryn DeCapite, president of Our Lady’s Blue Army, said it was a procession of faith and healing. “It was a grace-filled day. We brought Jesus to the neighborhoods – literally – to help reignite the faith,” DeCapite said.
Benediction took place at SS. Peter and Paul Church. DeCapite said the group also moved outdoors to the parish’s Fatima Shrine, where the Fatima prayers were recited and there was a mother-daughter rendition of the hymn, “Hail Mary, Gentle Woman.”
A lunch social followed.
The event takes place annually on the last Saturday of October and it moves around the Diocese of Cleveland, DeCapite said. The first procession was in 2019 at St. Charles Borromeo and St. Francis de Sales churches, with about 50 participants. Subsequent events took place at Our Lady of Angels and St. Mark parishes in Cleveland’s West Park neighborhood, with about 100 participants and last year at OLA and St. Patrick parishes, also in West Park, with about 135 participants.
Next year, DeCapite said the event will take place on Oct, 31 at St. Jerome Parish.
“This event is a living Gospel testifying that peace, purity and restoration are not lost. They await us in the heart of a mother who never ceases to draw us back to her son,” DeCapite added.