The congregations of two churches united as one in a procession through the University of Reading and Earley for a special occasion.
Members of the congregations of St William of York Roman Catholic Church and Our Lady of Peace Church in Earley (OLOP) came together for a procession for the Christian celebration of Corpus Christi.
In English, the phrase means the ‘Body of Christ ‘, which Catholics believe they receive when taking communion.
A communion wafer was held within a gold vessel called a Monstrance, which was held by Father Bruno Witchalls and Father Stan Gibinski.
The procession began at St William of York, with people marching through the University of Reading Whiteknights Campus.
After a pause for a Gospel reading, the march ended at OLOP at the Three Tuns junction.
A man who held the canopy that covered the priest holding the vessel said: “It makes me feel so fulfilled and so happy. It just makes me feel so happy that I get to be so close to the presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”
A woman who attended added: “It’s very powerful to walk together, because we’re all celebrating and we’re all showing the world what being a Catholic means.
“I think a lot of people don’t even know this feast exists, especially those who are not Catholics.”
The procession was organised by the two congregations and the University of Reading Catholic Society.
It took place on Sunday, June 7, with videos marking the occasion available on the ‘olop earley’ YouTube channel.
