St. Andrew's Universal Corpus Christi Procession

By Fr. Greg Adolf

St. Andrew the Apostle parish in Sierra Vista, adjacent to Fort Huachuca, has a surprisingly international community and a wide variety of cultures.

This becomes very visible in the annual Corpus Christi Procession, in which the parish organizations are represented, but also the international community and cultures, members of which are invited to wear national dress or native costume in the Procession.

In the Procession can be seen Korean hanbok, Vietnamese ao dai, Filipino barot’saya and barong,  Chomoro (Guam) barong, Scottish kilts, Croatian hrvatska narodna, German dirndls and lederhosen, Bolivian pollera and mantas, Nigerian agbada, Fijian sarongs, and Mexican chino poblano!

In the Procession, which makes its way from the entrance of the church, around the block, to the Divine Mercy (Adoration) Chapel in the church, First Communicants sprinkle rose petals, and the choir sings, accompanied by the bells of the church, and a crowd of several hundred, honoring the Eucharistic Lord.

Fr. Ramonito Celestial carries the monstrance, under the 100-year-old embroidered canopy, (which was used  for many years at the Benedictine Perpetual Adoration Chapel in Tucson). The Knights of Columbus bear the canopy and provide the Honor Guard, together with members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Secular Carmelites, Legion of Mary members, Cursillistas, Third Order Franciscans, St. Vincent de Paul members, and the Faithful! Once in the Chapel, the Procession concludes with Benediction, and Adoration continues throughout the day.

The very colorful ‘international’ Procession is a moving llustration of Pope St. John Paul II’s words: “. . .the Church not only celebrates the Eucharist, but solemnly bears it in procession, publicly proclaiming that the Sacrifice of Christ is for the salvation of the whole world!”

View photos here