Diocese of Joliet to cap off week of Corpus Christi events with Mass and public procession in Carol Stream

Six DuPage County Catholic parishes also will host public processions June 3-9

The Most Rev. Ronald A. Hicks, Bishop of the Diocese of Joliet, will participate in Mass and an outdoor eucharistic procession at Corpus Christi Catholic Parish in Carol Stream on Sunday, June 9.

The event follows six days of Masses and public processions at six other Diocese of Joliet Catholic churches that will celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. The other church locations are Glen Ellyn, Glendale Heights, Roselle, West Chicago, Wheaton and Winfield.

The Solemnity of Corpus Christi, also known as the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, honors Jesus Christ as truly and substantially present under the appearances of bread and wine during the Catholic Mass. This Presence happens through the change which the Catholic Church calls transubstantiation (“change of substance”), when at the consecration of the Mass, the priest says the words which Christ Himself pronounced over bread and wine, “This is My Body. This is the chalice of My Blood. Do this in remembrance of Me.”

The Corpus Christi procession is a centuries-old tradition of the Catholic faith to highlight the Real Presence of Jesus – the Eucharist – in public. It is a revered tradition for Catholics all over the world.

During the procession, the Blessed Sacrament of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ is held high in a vessel called a monstrance and publicly displayed by Catholic faithful.

Solemnity of Corpus Christi Masses and Processions will take place at: 5:30 p.m. Monday, June 3, at St. John the Baptist, Winfield; 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 4, at St. Walter, Roselle; 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 5, at St. Mary, West Chicago; 6 p.m. Thursday, June 6, at St. James, Glen Ellyn; 6 p.m. Friday, June 7, at St. Matthew, Glendale Heights; 5 p.m. Saturday, June 8, at St. Michael, Wheaton; and 10 a.m. Sunday, June 9, at Corpus Christi, Carol Stream, with a Mass and Eucharistic Celebration with Bishop Ronald A. Hicks.

For additional information, contact corpuschristicc@sbcglobal.net.