Pope Francis will celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, with a Eucharistic Procession, in the zone of Casal Bertone in Rome. Last year, Francis led the procession in Ostia.
This news was communicated in a brief statement from Director of the Holy See Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti, today, June 10, 2019.
“On Sunday June 23, on the Solemnity of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ, at 6 p.m.,” it read, “Pope Francis will celebrate Mass on the churchyard of the Church of Santa Maria Consolatrice, in the Casal Bertone district of Rome.”
“At the end of the Eucharistic Celebration,” it concluded, “the procession with the Blessed Sacrament will take place in the streets of the neighborhood, ending with the Eucharistic blessing imparted by the Holy Father.”
After some 100 years without the Eucharistic Procession in Rome, Pope John Paul II had restored the Roman tradition in 1982. Last year, 2018, marked the first year since then without it.
In the past for Corpus Christi, Pope Francis presided over the Eucharistic celebration for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi in the courtyard of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. After the Pope would lead the traditional procession that took place to the nearby Basilica of Saint Mary Major, the Pontiff would impart the solemn Eucharistic Blessing.
All faithful interested in attending the Papal Mass, and partaking in the procession which followed, were welcome to attend. Tickets were not needed, as faithful had free access to the square to take part in the celebration.
Tradition involves candle-carrying faithful taking part in the procession, thereby the candles illuminated an otherwise dark Via Merulana, the arterial street leading from the archbasilica of St. John Lateran to the Marian Basilica of St. Mary Major.
The festivities of the evening used to conclude in front of Saint Mary Major, with the Pope’s benediction with the Blessed Sacrament.
