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June 13, 2009

Feast of Corpus Christi walk is for unity and peace

By Lisa Byers

Meadville Tribune

COCHRANTON — Lisa Crago’s three children weren’t sure what to expect when she and her husband, David, told them they would be participating in a nine-mile walk from St. Hippolyte Church in Frenchtown to Our Lady of Lourdes in Cochranton in celebration of Corpus Christi.

It turned out to be a life-changing experience they will share for the rest of their lives.

“It was a good thing to do,” said 12-year-old Meredith Crago. “Twenty years from now we can say, ‘Oh, I walked nine miles for something so important.’ ”

Her 15-year-old sister, Sydney, agreed.

“You don’t realize how much of a distance nine miles is when you’re riding in a car,” she said. “But to actually walk it, it puts it into perspective.”

The Feast of Corpus Christi, or the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ as it is often called today, is a prayer for unity and peace, and is celebrated in the Latin Church on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, though some regions wait until the following Sunday. The observance goes back to the 13th century, but it celebrates something far older: the institution of the Sacrament of Holy Communion at the Last Supper some 2,000 years ago.

Today, in many Catholic parishes where the feast is observed, the Eucharist is carried through the streets to honor the sacrament of Holy Communion and witness to the belief that it is both “the source and summit of Christian life” and an opportunity for Catholics to renew their faith in the Body and Blood of Christ present in the Eucharist, the sacred rite celebrated in every Mass.

“The Eucharist, in the Catholic tradition and to a certain degree in other traditions as well, is referred to the source and summitt of our faith,” said the Rev. Denny Veltri of St. Hippolyte and Our Lady of Lourdes. “The Eucharist meaning that celebration that takes place on Sunday and daily and on Holy Days of obligation, where we present the Last Supper. We offer praise and thanksgiving. That Eucharist is the source of all that we are as Christians and the summitt. It’s the greatest expression of what we are.”

Veltri led about 10 members, mostly children, from the Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Hippolyte Church parishes on the procession from Frenchtown to Cochranton. Along the way, they sang hymns and stopped nearly every mile marker for prayer. Some, like Sydney and her mother, Lisa, walked the entire nine miles, while others took an abbreviated route by riding in cars part of the way.

Lisa’s son, Mark, 9, walked seven miles and rode along with his dad, David, the rest.

The walkers left St. Hippolyte at roughly 11:20 a.m. and arrived at Our Lady of Lourdes at 3:39 p.m.

Veltri was very pleased with the turnout and, in particular, the participation of the younger generation.

“It was awesome,” he said. “The kids loved it. They had a little more stamina than the rest of us, but they loved it. We prayed at stations and we let the children and each person take a turn leading it. In one case, the youngest wasn’t quite good at reading yet, so mother and son read together, and it was beautiful.

“It’s the kind of thing that makes an impression.”

That’s what the Cragos, of Townville, were hoping for.

“It was really important,” Lisa said. “It helped unify the two parishes and was as well a walk for peace. It left a lasting impression and is something I think we will remember we did. It was a real blessing we were able to do it.”

The celebration of Corpus Christi continues at St. Hippolyte Church in Frenchtown today, where a smaller procession will be made around the cemetery followed by a blessing at the church and a tureen lunch and games for the kids.



Lisa Byers can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at lbyers@meadvilletribune.com.

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