INCLEMENT weather and a long weekend failed to waylay about 1500 enthusiastic worshippers from attending last Sunday’s Corpus Christi procession in Brisbane’s west.
Chaplain to procession organisers Apostles of Mary, Jesuit Father Greg Jordan said those he met at the event at Indooroopilly’s Nudgee Junior College had been “on cloud nine and joyful to celebrate in such a traditional way”.
For many attending the procession, it was also the first opportunity to hear a homily from Archbishop Mark Coleridge since he became Archbishop of Brisbane on May 11.
The Archbishop spoke on the reality of Christ’s presence “in our midst”.
“Catholics have always spoken and will always speak of the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen,” he said.
“He is not once upon a time, He is here and now or He’s nowhere and never.
“And He is magnificently here – in a way no human being could have concocted, or even imagined.
“He speaks those strange words that the apostles did not expect: ‘This is My Body’.
“What did he mean?
“‘This is My Blood’.
“What did he mean?
“We still ask this question, as we immerse ourselves in the mystery of presence, and a presence which is power.”
The Archbishop also blessed the sick at the gathering.
A procession in which participants prayed the Rosary was held in nearby Twigg Street.
Fr Jordan said the numbers attending were remarkable because, apart from “terrible weather and the long weekend”, some parishes had been wrongly informed that the procession had been cancelled.
The bad weather meant that for “only the second time” in the procession’s history at Nudgee Junior, Benediction and the homily were held indoors.
“The benefit of this was those attending could all clearly see Arch-bishop Coleridge and hear him speak in an enclosed area,” Fr Jordan said.
“The Archbishop was able to readily communicate his enthusiasm not only for his new role as leader of Brisbane archdiocese, but also for the Corpus Christi celebration.”
Fr Jordan said “as usual there was a heavy representation of people from various other cultures”.
These included representatives from the Filipino, Indian, Korean, Vietnamese and African communities.
“These people were particularly joyous to take part in an event which confirmed and reinforced their traditions from their home countries which so many sadly miss,” Fr Jordan said.
As many as 70,000 Catholics attended Corpus Christi processions at the Brisbane Exhibition grounds in the 1950s.
The latest version of the procession “began on the parish level in West Chermside in the 1990s”.
Fr Jordan said the event had quickly outgrown the local church there and had to be moved to Nudgee Junior College.
“The college community always welcomes the procession and we’re most grateful for this,” he said.
Archbishop Coleridge’s full homily can be found at www.corpuschristibrisbane.com
