St. Anthony parishioners honor St. Francis of Assisi with procession to holy sites in Parma

What began as an idea from a St. Anthony of Padua (Parma) parishioner who attended the Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Indiana in 2024 evolved into an annual event featuring a procession honoring St. Francis of Assisi.

Father Andrew Hoover, St. Anthony pastor, said parishioner Rena O’Hara “wanted to do something big” when she returned home from the Eucharistic Congress energized by her faith.

“I thought, a procession? Corpus Christi is six months out, but the feast of St. Francis of Assisi (Oct. 4) was only a month away,” Father Hoover said. “We decided to honor St. Francis of Assisi by bearing Christ in the Eucharist to all five holy sites at the top of State Road hill in Parma: Padua Franciscan High School, St. Anthony School, Mount Alverna Village, Holy Family Hospice and St. Anthony of Padua Parish. But it has become so much more.”

The tradition continued this year – for the third year – with the pilgrimage procession taking place on Oct. 4.

Father Hoover noted that his parish is one of the designated pilgrimage sites in the Diocese of Cleveland for the Jubilee Year of St. Francis, which marks the 800th anniversary of the beloved saint’s transitus, or death.

“What more fitting way to honor a saint than to be humbled before the Lord, surrender to his glory and allow him to be a companion?” he asked.

The pilgrimage gives witness that there is nothing more precious, more important and more honorable than to live a life through him, with him and in him, Father Hoover said. At stops along the way, many people were moved by the benedictions offered at Mount Alverna and Holy Family Hospice. Residents unable to leave were visited by Jesus in the Eucharist and a portion of the communion of saints.

The procession began as a celebration commemorating St. Francis but it has grown into a month focusing on turning outward, on a mission toward God and neighbor, said Sara Kronholz, a St. Anthony staff member who helped coordinate the event. She said the celebration begins with the feast of St. Francis and culminates with All Saints Day on Nov. 1. “St. Anthony’s Mission Month hinges on the elements of a parish missionary discipleship as outlined in Bishop (Edward) Malesic’s pastoral letter: worship, evangelization and service. Worship is at the heart of all.”

“We worship something. If we’re not worshiping the Lord, we’re worshiping ourselves,” Father Hoover said in his Oct. 4 homily that addressed the necessity of attending weekly Mass.

Kronholz and Father Hoover said events for Mission Month may differ from year to year, the Eucharistic procession is the extension of this worship, which they said makes it a perfect cornerstone for the month.

St. Francis’ own journey to learn what it meant to rebuild the Church was a long one, they said, and so was the two-mile procession and our own path to rebuilding the Church in our midst.

“Carrying the Eucharist in procession is both a beautiful act of worship and witness, but also a declaration of our own poverty and our dependence on Christ. Like St. Francis, if we want to learn how to rebuild the Church, we must start from the point that we have nothing apart from Christ, but we have all we need through him, with him and in him – the one who has give us everything,” Father Hoover added.

After the procession, parishioners enjoyed fun, food and fellowship.