Hope Reigns on the Quad at Notre Dame!

This past Sunday was the 5th annual Eucharistic Procession at Notre Dame. Actually, Notre Dame has sponsored dozens of Eucharistic Processions over the years, but they hadn't done it for a while until 2005 when a group of students decided to spearhead the effort. Since then, the powers that be at Notre Dame, Holy Cross College and St. Mary's have gotten behind the effort. The result is that this is truly a notable event in American Catholicism. That which happens at Notre Dame tends to influence on the rest of the Church in America. We see this all the time. That is precisely why the Obama controversy has grown to be so huge. It is also why this procession is so encouraging. Twenty years ago, when I was a student at Notre Dame, something like this could never have happened. Of course, at the time, I probably would not have been too interested anyway.

I estimate the number of participants to be about 600 - 650. It was definitely the largest of the five. It also appeared to me to be the youngest in terms of average age of participants. The pictures aren't very helpful in estimating crowd size because few of them capture the entire crowd and many people were joining and leaving for parts of the procession.

By the way, Dad was pleased to tell me that there were 41 Kloskas in attendance on Sunday. Anyway, if there were one operative word for Sunday afternoon it was HOPE. Our Lord is with us and will not abandon us. As you view the following photos, please note the YOUTHFULNESS of the crowd. This was a crowd teaming with youngsters. It was also full of Catholic people dear to our family.

The doors dramatically open and...

Maranatha!

In the picture above you've got Fr. Merwyn Thomas, CSC, a math professor at Holy Cross College. Fr. John Pearson, CSC, the chaplain at St. Mary's College. Tom Haan, a seminarian. Fr. Pat Neary, CSC, rector of Moreau Seminary holding the monstrance, Fr. Jim Gallagher, CSC of the CSC Vocation Office trailing, and Fr. Kevin Russeau, CSC (RevKev), the Director of the Undergraduate Seminary at Notre Dame on the right.

The Women's Liturgical Choir has perhaps the most important job at the procession. They lead us in chants and litanies while the crowd walks from altar to altar. Here they are preparing for the procession to begin:

And leading us in prayer:

Yes, the youth were very visible on Sunday. But look! Below in the very center of the photo is old Fr. Ed O'Connor, CSC, right in front of the canopy. He was my Mariology professor at ND. I think he's close to 90 years old!

The student kneeling on the left was probably just passing by. Why do I think this? Well, people usually dress up for these things a little and its not likely that he'd have brought his bookbag.

I'm certain that the kid below just happened to be walking by. He looks sort of stunned standing there. Imagine what must be going through his mind. You know its not every day you see the Master of all Creation moving around the quad.

One very neat thing that I witnessed was a family of four. They happened across the procession and obviously weren't expecting it. As I stood next to them, I could hear the mother/wife explaining to the rest about what was taking place. She got it right when she said it all came down to the Catholic belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

The procession begins with the Holy Cross College altar. (The handsome brown reredos was built by Br. Chris Dreyer CSC who works at the college.)

We then turned away from the Dome through the "God Quad" to the main circle. This is the very heart of campus.

Note how young everyone is. In the photo below, the postulant in the blue behind Sr. Lois DeLee (vocation director for the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration) is a Domer. She actually participated in the procession as a student. It was neat to see the progression of her life. Hopefully she'll be wearing a brown habit next year!

Below, the man on the right in the blue shirt is Brett Perkins from Notre Dame Campus Ministry. The female students several people behind him were some of the prime organizers of the event.

Arriving at the main circle, we gathered in front of the Law School. Believe it or not, that building in the background is brand new. Believe it or not, our good Kloska family friend Craig Tiller was responsible for overseeing its construction.

At this time, we knelt before the Blessed Sacrament placed on an altar specially built for the procession by a number of Notre Dame students under the direction of Professor Duncan Stroik, perhaps the premiere Catholic Church architect in America. He's been pretty busy lately.

Below is Duncan himself kneeling in prayer. At left is Professor Dan McInerny (Ralph's son) who is sadly leaving Notre Dame to take a position at Baylor University.

Other people were kneeling in prayer too... like this young couple below.

I won't call this next couple "old." Just "older" than the one above. Fred Freddoso is a Philosophy Professor at Notre Dame. Actually, he's more than that. He's the (insert trumpet blast here) John and Jean Oesterle Professor of Thomistic Studies! Yeah, he's curently translating the Summa Theologica just for kicks. So what's it to ya? Besides being his loving wife, Debbie is apparently also his spiritual guide and lion tamer. At least this is what Fred often claims.

The Conventual Franciscans made their customary appearance. Their inter-province novitiate is on the grounds of Marian High School in Mishawaka. Yes, I only linked to the St. Bonaventure Province's website, but hey, the novice master is my friend and he developed it. Sue me.

Long time Na Zdrowie! reader and community activist "Ruthless" Beier made the trek from Fort Wayne. For four years as an undergraduate, she lived a few hundred feet from where she is kneeling. Also pictured are members of the Adams family. They are parishoners at St. Matt's.

Children. Lots and lots of children...

We stopped again in front of the statue of Fr. Sorin, CSC. Sorin founded the university in 1842.

And here is a photo of the back our neighbors, Brian and Kathy Miller, who are just about the nicest neighbors one can imagine. Brian is a Catholic deacon and the organizer of the annual Medjugorje Conference at Notre Dame. Their son, Pete Miller, played basketball at Notre Dame. Another son is a Holy Cross seminarian.

One last leg of the journey took us all back to the Golden Dome.

Meanwhile, Tom Policinski, the sacristan at Holy Cross College, and Diane Querciagrossa, a Holy Cross student, had to stand by the HCC reredos to prevent it from falling in the high winds.

Everyone gathered in front of the Dome.

A sight to behold as the famed Notre Dame Liturgical Choir dazzled us with the beauty of their song.

And we stopped to pray one last time...

For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world!

At the end, some very handsome men all assembled to recap the action: (left to right: Fr. Mark Manion, unidentified guy, Fr. Kevin Russeau CSC, ND administrator, Will Heckamen.)

Thanks to all who came to pray with us. And thanks to Margy Kloska who took all these wonderful pictures on a cheap little digital camera. Anyone who visits here and wishes to steal a picture for your own blog may do so. Please just credit my lovely wife for the photo and say one Hail Mary for her intentions.