In a Eucharistic procession the Blessed Sacrament is carried in a monstrance through the streets or the parish grounds, with hymns, prayers and candles, as a public act of faith in Christ's presence and a blessing on the place. The Church's law and rites provide for it, above all on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), which in the United States is kept on the Sunday after Trinity Sunday; the Directory on Popular Piety calls the Corpus Christi procession the 'sequel' to the Mass of that day. Saint John Paul II, in Mane Nobiscum Domine, asked parishes to hold such processions during the Year of the Eucharist. This guide explains how the procession is ordered and how to take part well.

What you need

• A parish or diocesan procession, usually after the Corpus Christi Mass or at the close of Forty Hours; the bulletin will give the time and route
• Comfortable shoes, and dress suitable for Mass
• A rosary, and the hymns (Pange Lingua, Tantum Ergo, O Salutaris) which the parish usually prints
• A candle, if the parish provides them

When to pray it

On Corpus Christi (the Sunday after Trinity Sunday in the United States; the Thursday in some places), at the close of Forty Hours devotion, at Eucharistic congresses, and on other occasions the bishop approves.

Steps

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   Step 1: Understand the meaning of the procession

   A Eucharistic procession is not a parade about the Eucharist; it is Christ himself, sacramentally present, walking among his people and through their streets. It professes the Real Presence publicly, asks his blessing on homes, fields and workplaces, and images the pilgrim Church following her Lord. The Church asks that it be arranged with the local bishop's judgement as to whether it is fitting in a given place, and that it be done with dignity and reverence, never in a way that would expose the Sacrament to irreverence.

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   Step 2: How the parish prepares the route and the altars

   The parish chooses a route and, by custom, one or more 'stations' along it: outdoor altars, often at homes, schools or a neighbouring church, decorated with flowers and candles, where the procession halts for Benediction. Parishioners decorate windows and doorways along the way; children who have recently made First Communion may scatter petals. Servers prepare the processional cross, candles, the canopy (baldachin), the thurible, bells and the humeral veil. If you can help, offer.

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   Step 3: The order of the procession

   The procession forms after Mass, the Host having been consecrated at that Mass and placed in the monstrance. The usual order is: the processional cross with candles; the faithful, groups and confraternities with their banners; the choir; then servers with incense going before the Blessed Sacrament; then the priest carrying the monstrance under the canopy, wearing cope and humeral veil, with candle bearers on either side; and after the Sacrament, the rest of the clergy and the faithful. Custom varies; follow the ushers. Walk with recollection, at the pace of the Sacrament.

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   Step 4: Hymns and the Rosary along the way

   The procession sings Eucharistic hymns: the Pange Lingua (of which the Tantum Ergo▾ is the close), the Adoro Te Devote▾, the Lauda Sion, and familiar English hymns. Between hymns the Rosary is often prayed aloud, the leader and the people alternating, or Eucharistic litanies and acclamations. Sing and pray for the whole route; if you do not know a hymn, keep silence and prayer rather than conversation.

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   Step 5: Benediction at each station

   At each outdoor altar the priest places the monstrance on the altar, all kneel, and the station follows the shape of Benediction in brief: a short reading or prayer, the Tantum Ergo▾, the versicle 'You have given them bread from heaven' with the response 'Having all sweetness within it', the prayer, and the blessing with the monstrance in silence while the bells ring. Bow your head for the blessing. Then the procession resumes.

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   Step 6: Return and final Benediction

   The procession returns to the church, where the Blessed Sacrament is placed on the altar for the closing Benediction: the Tantum Ergo▾, versicle and prayer, the blessing, and customarily the Divine Praises▾ ('Blessed be God. Blessed be his holy Name...'). The Sacrament is then reposed in the tabernacle. A solemn hymn of thanksgiving follows, often the Te Deum▾ ('Holy God, We Praise Thy Name'), sung with everything the parish has.

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   Step 7: Carry the procession home

   A procession ends where daily life begins. Go home with the resolve the procession teaches: to receive the Lord you have followed through the streets more worthily at Mass, to visit him in the tabernacle during the week, and to let the faith you have professed in public be seen in how you live in the same streets tomorrow. Many parishes end with a meal or a festival; stay, because Corpus Christi is a feast.

Tips

• Walk behind the Blessed Sacrament, not ahead of it, unless you are a server or in the choir. The Lord leads.
• Keep singing and praying along the whole route; a silent, chatting procession says the opposite of what a procession means.
• Kneel when the monstrance is raised in blessing at each station; a street is no obstacle.
• Bring children; a procession is the Eucharistic teaching they will remember.