“Viva Jesuscristo! Viva Maria!”
I hadn’t expected to be walking in that hot June sun with 5,000 other Catholics through downtown Denver. The decision to take part was last minute. A brief mention in a bulletin printed by my suburban church alerted me. One of the routes of the two-month National Eucharistic Pilgrimage was coming through Colorado, heading towards the final destination of Indianapolis and the 10th National Eucharistic Congress.
We’d just finished a standing room only Sunday Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and had poured out onto Colfax, trailing a procession of Colorado priests, deacons, Knights of Columbus members and laypeople. At the front was Christ himself, anointed by fragrant clouds of incense, encased in a gold monstrance and shaded beneath a canopy. We locals only had to traverse a few miles. But the “perpetual pilgrims” who’d signed on for the entire St. Junipero Serra route stretching from San Francisco to Indianapolis, would add this trek to a journey that would cover over 2,200 miles by the time it was done.
I marveled at the variety of people. To my left, two women held hands and were saying a Hail Mary in Spanish. To my right, a tall acolyte carrying a mini iPad had called up the words to “Soul of My Savior” as a choir sang in the afternoon heat. Ahead of me, two sisters belonging to the Missionaries of Charity made their way in their familiar white sarees striped in blue.
Echoes of World Youth Day pinged in my head. The time, back in August of 1993 when more than 250,000 young people from around the world came to celebrate their Catholic faith with Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa. I watched that historic spectacle unfold through a bank of tv monitors in a 9NEWS control room on Speer Boulevard. Back then, I was helping coordinate and produce our massive coverage of what we called “The Pilgrimage To The Peaks.” My Catholic background came in handy, especially when we argued about whether to cut away from our live transmission of the Pope’s outdoor mass at Cherry Creek State Park to a rapidly developing medical emergency involving dozens of kids overcome by intense heat. “Stay with the Pope,” I urged. “The other story isn’t going anywhere.” Thankfully, they took my advice.
A Denver Police SUV rolled slowly ahead, emergency lights running, alerting oncoming traffic to our advance. Uniformed officers, decked out in reflective lime safety vests, helped keep the throng moving.
On we walked, passing the Denver Post Building, the Denver Mint, the City & County Building, and Civic Center Park. We were objects of curiosity to many. Some pulled out their phones. A few bowed their heads. But the most powerful moment, for me anyway, happened as we turned on to Broadway and made our way towards the State Capitol. I suddenly heard a loud yelling coming from Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park. I looked to see a man in a large sun hat running beneath some trees, pointing at us with one hand and clenching the other into a fist, pumping it high into the air. I expected something bad, knowing the area’s never ending challenges with the homeless, drug addicted and mentally ill. But then I realized what he was yelling.
“Viva Jesuscristo!! Viva Mary!” he kept shouting, over and over. I looked at his face. It seemed as if he was in joyous disbelief that this was truly happening in front of him. That Christ himself was leading this procession of 5,000 souls in a beautiful display of faith, love and hope. His eyes glistened with tears. Mine too.
About the author:
Jack Maher is a proud third year SJV Bible study student of “The Bald Catholic,” retired multimedia journalist and author of “Poppy: A Novel About A Colorful Colorado Life.” He can be reached through www.sandgoatmanorpublishing.com