CATHOLIC cultural communities will take to the streets of Brisbane on June 11 to give public testimony to their faith and belief in the Eucharist.
The Corpus Christi Procession will start and end at the St Stephen’s Cathedral and includes prayers, rosary, hymns and Benediction led by Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge.
Thousands of people from across Brisbane archdiocese are expected to attend.
Evangelisation Brisbane Multicultural Pastoral Care Inclusion project officer Liliana Ortiz said the initiative to support the procession came from the cultural communities in the archdiocese .
“For the last year we have been working with cultural communities as part of the Multicultural Pastoral Care work we do in the Inclusion unit within Evangelisation Brisbane,” she said.
“After organising the Multicultural Mass at the Cathedral last year the cultural communities were keen to do something that was significant to the different ethnic groups and that would unite all of these groups in faith.
“Someone suggested Corpus Christi and this instantly resonated with everyone present.
“It was a unanimous decision, and truly felt like a movement inspired by the Holy Spirit.
“Once we had the approval from Archbishop Mark (Coleridge), we contacted the key people who had been co-ordinating the Corpus Christi Procession in recent years in order to learn from their experiences and engage with them in the preparations for the 2023 procession.”
Mrs Ortiz said we lived in a world where sadly many people did not believe in or had forgotten God.
“The Corpus Christi Procession is an opportunity to publicly give testimony to our Catholic faith and the Eucharist is central to that; as Catholics we believe in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist,” she said.
“It will be a great day to celebrate together and to acknowledge our Lord with prayers, hymns, and songs.
“Part of our hope is to share our beliefs not only with Catholics, but also with the wider community and society in Brisbane.
“We pray and trust that through this initiative, our Lord will bless the whole Archdiocese of Brisbane.”
Mrs Ortiz said all Catholics were welcome to take part in the procession on Sunday, June 11 from 2pm.
“I would like to invite everyone to attend with an open heart to embrace one of the most beautiful demonstrations of our Catholic faith, as one whole community of faith,” she said.
“We might look different on the outside, from different nationalities, traditions and walks of life, with different skin colours and accents but deep inside our essence is the same, we have all been created by the same one God and joined together in one baptism.
“Everyone is welcome.”
For more information about the day visit https://www.corpuschristibrisbane.com/
