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Purpose:

       Public, sacred processions are a form of solemn supplication, deriving from the practice of our ancestors in the faith, in which the faithful, under the leadership of the clergy, pass in an orderly manner from one holy place to another as they recite prayers and sing sacred songs.  The Catholic Church has adopted this practice to stir up the devotion of the faithful, to commemorate and give thanks for divine favors, or to implore God's aid. (Ceremonial of Bishops, §1093)

Overview:

       A Eucharistic Procession begins after the Holy Mass.  The Blessed Sacrament, displayed in a monstrance, often under the cover of a canopy, is carried in a procession out of and around the church, or if that is not possible, around the parking lot.  During this procession, Eucharistic Hymns are sung.  In the course of the procession there are typically four stations, where the priest and people stop for the proclamation of the Holy Gospel, a prayer and a blessing. At the last station, a solemn blessing is given to the four corners of the world.

Suggested Sequence:

During the Mass, one extra host is consecrated.  After the Prayer after Communion, the concluding rites are omitted, and the consecrated host is placed in the monstrance.  After exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, the celebrant incenses the Blessed Sacrament.  Then, using the humeral veil, he takes the monstrance from the altar and begins the procession. 

The order in the procession should be as follows:

(before the canopy)

     - Processional Cross

     - Two altar servers with candles

     - Two altar servers carrying the censer and boat with incense

(under the canopy)

     - The main celebrant carrying the Blessed Sacrament, followed by the deacon(s)

(following the canopy)

     - The faithful

Eucharistic Hymns are sung during the procession.  

At each station, the monstrance is placed on the altar.  After incensation, the Holy Gospel is chanted or read by the priest or deacon. Then the congregation sings "Holy God, Holy Immortal One…." three times while the priest incenses the Blessed Sacrament.  When the congregation is finished singing, the celebrant sings his prayer and gives a blessing with the Blessed Sacrament.  The procession then continues to the next station. At the fourth station, the priest gives a blessing with the monstrance to the four corners of the world, and the Blessed Sacrament is then returned to the tabernacle. At the end of the procession, the "Te Deum Laudamus" or another thanksgiving hymn is sung.

Below are four Gospel readings and prayers from the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). These can also be used during Eucharistic conferences, congresses or other Eucharistic celebrations.

FIRST STATION:  - Gospel: Matthew 26: 17-19, 26-29

Priest: The Lord be with you.

All: And also with you.

Priest: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew.

All: Glory to you, O Lord.

       On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said: "Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?" He said, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, the Teacher says, 'My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.'" The disciples then did as Jesus ordered, and prepared the Passover.

       While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, "Take and eat, this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you, for this my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, from now on I shall not drink this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father."

Priest: The Gospel of the Lord.

All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

All the people sing: - Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us. (3x)

Priest: Let us pray.

       Lord Jesus Christ, you gave us the Eucharist as the memorial of your suffering and death. May our worship of this Sacrament of your Body and Blood help us to experience the salvation you won for us and the peace of the Kingdom, where you live with the Father and the Holy Spirit, One God for ever and ever.

All. Amen.

SECOND STATION:  - Gospel: Mark 8: 1-9

Priest: The Lord be with you.

All: And also with you.

Priest: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

All: Glory to You, O Lord.

       In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat, he summoned the disciples and said: “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance."  His disciples answered him: "Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?"  Still he asked them: "How many loaves do you have?"  "Seven," they replied.  He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd. They also had a few fish. He said the blessing over them and ordered them distributed also. They ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over – seven baskets. There were about four thousand people. Later he dismissed them.

Priest: The Gospel of the Lord.

All: Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.

All the people sing:  Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us. (3x)

Priest: Let us pray.

       Lord our God, in this great Sacrament we come into the presence of Jesus Christ, your Son, born of the Virgin Mary and crucified for our salvation.

       May we who declare our faith in this fountain of love and mercy drink from it the water of everlasting life.  We ask this through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

THIRD STATION – Gospel: Luke 24: 13-16, 28-35

Priest: The Lord be with you.

All: And also with you.

Priest: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke.

All: Glory to You, O Lord.

       Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.

       As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them at table.  He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.  With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other , "Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?" So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, "The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!" Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Priest: The Gospel of the Lord.

All: Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.

All the people sing: - Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us. (3x)

Priest:   Let us pray.

       Lord our God, you have given us the true bread from heaven.  In the strength of this food, may we live always by your life and rise in glory on the last day.  We ask this through Christ our Lord.

FOURTH STATION:   - Gospel: John 17: 20-26

Priest: The Lord be with you.

All:  And also with you.

Priest:  A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John.

All:  Glory to you, O Lord.

       During the Last Supper, Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them."

Priest:  The Gospel of the Lord.

All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

All the people sing:  - Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us. (3x)

Priest:  Let us pray.

       Lord, may this sacrament of new life warm our hearts with your love and make us eager for the eternal joy of your kingdom.  We ask this through Christ our Lord.

All:  Amen.