Archbishop Coakley leads hundreds of faithful in Eucharistic procession

The special event launched the Eucharistic Revival in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City 


OKLAHOMA CITY – Archbishop Coakley on June 19 led more than 1,000 faithful Catholics in a two-mile Eucharistic procession through the streets of Oklahoma City to launch the Eucharistic Revival in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. The procession, on the Feast of Corpus Christi, was one of the longest of any diocese in the country, stretching from Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School to The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

“The procession was a special moment in the history of the archdiocese, providing amazing witness to our Catholic faith through the streets of Oklahoma City,” Archbishop Coakley said. “It was inspiring to see hundreds of Oklahoma Catholics from so many cultures and backgrounds come together in prayer and celebration to foster a deeper hunger for an encounter with Christ in the Eucharist.”

For Catholics, the Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life. A Eucharistic procession is a public witness of the adoration of the Holy Eucharist, conducted through public streets. A consecrated host is placed within a monstrance, lifted and carried by a priest who leads the faithful in procession. Like a pilgrimage, a Eucharistic procession normally starts at one holy place and ends at another. 

Before the procession, families gathered in a field at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School for games, children’s activities and food trucks. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament began at 6:45 p.m. and the procession at 7 p.m. 

During the procession, participants prayed and sang. Several priests walked ahead of the Blessed Sacrament and prayed the Rosary. As the procession moved through neighborhoods, residents gathered at the curb in the heat to take videos, photos and to kneel as the Blessed Sacrament passed. Taking turns carrying the monstrance were Archbishop Coakley, Father Stephen Hamilton, Father Joseph Arledge and Father Kelly Edwards.   

The procession ended at The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help with Benediction by Archbishop Coakley. Hundreds of faithful, including priests and deacons, filled the cathedral and the overflow area in the parish hall. 

The Oklahoma City procession launched the diocesan phase of a National Eucharistic Revival called for by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The revival is in response to a 2019 Pew Research Center study that showed roughly two-thirds of respondents who identified as Catholic said they do not believe that the bread and wine at Mass become Christ's body and blood during the consecration – a core dogma of the Catholic faith, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The U.S. bishops' National Eucharistic Revival will be broken into three parts: a Diocesan Year of Eucharistic Revival from June 2022 to June 2023, a Parish Year of Eucharistic Revival from June 2023 to June 2024, and in July 2024, a National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Ind. The archdiocese’s revival is being organized by Father Zachary Boazman.

For more information and to see more photos, visit archokc.org/revival.

Diane Clay is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.