The Feast of Corpus Christi was just another Catholic holiday for Brooke Dowd until she attended the celebration Sunday at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
“Honestly I have never been to a festival like this before,” the 27-year-old said after the service and procession. “I felt really uplifted, more so than I do at my church.”
Corpus Christi, “body of Christ” in Latin, is a festival celebrating the Eucharist and the Catholic belief that the bread and wine offered at Communion are the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ. The feast was celebrated by Catholics on Sunday.
“The Eucharist is the Lord Jesus who gives himself for the life of the world,” Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput repeated to the congregation of about 1,000. “We do this in memory of him.”
After the service, the clergy led a procession as the archbishop held the bread and wine in a golden carrier called a monstrance.
Other clergy and the congregation followed in line around the building and into a garden.
The archbishop called the march a chance to let the world know what they believe.
“Our procession is a loud call from us to God of our faith, and we ask him to bless us,” he said.
Victoria Castillo of Denver said the celebration brought her to tears.
“It’s really moving,” the 52-year-old said.
Dowd joined the procession in her motorized wheelchair. The right side of her body has been paralyzed since she was hit by a car when she was 4.
And while she normally would have attended Mass elsewhere, she said she was glad she was invited by a member of the seminary.
Raised Catholic, Dowd said the church and the Eucharist have always been a part of her life.
“When I eat it … ,” she paused, then continued, “he lives inside me regardless, (but) I feel uplifted.”
Staff writer Sara Crocker can be reached at 303-954-1661 or scrocker@denverpost.com.
