The Whole Process

All right: this post is long overdue (the events are from mid-June), but you can't miss this outstanding day

"Every man serves the good wine first," the Head Steward says to the bridegroom, "and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now." A similar Cana Syndrome came over me on one of my last Sundays of the school year--after having been in Italy almost 12 months now, one of the highlights was definitely travelling to Orvieto for Corpus Christi.

Orvieto has been holding a special Mass and Eucharistic Procession for centuries since Pope Urban IV established the celebration of Corpus Christi. Ever since an astonishing Eucharistic miracle which took place in 1263, Orvieto has been a site for celebrating the gift of Jesus present with us in the Eucharist.

Here you see the heart of the procession:


































Some of its accompaniments:


























The rest of us:






























Including yours truly:



















This is from the beautiful interior of the church prior to the procession:















In this close-up of the fresco you can see the requisite dog--harassing the ill-located cat:


































Here's the opening of the procession . . . you can see the traditional garb of the participants in the background:





















And more of the march:
















A special thank you to Katy Thomas, who took all these photos . . . since I was busy processing. You can follow her World Youth Day Blog (happening now!) at Catholic Higher Ed.