Legion of Mary leads Eucharistic procession through Cleveland

Members of a Catholic lay apostolate carried the Eucharist through downtown Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 5, during their annual procession, offering a public witness to Christ through their devotion to the Blessed Mother.

Members of the Legion of Mary, a lay Catholic apostolate devoted to prayer and evangelization, attended Mass celebrated by Father Kyle Rosser, their diocesan spiritual director, before he led them in procession through nearby streets, according to a Sept. 10 report from the Diocese of Cleveland. The gathering began and ended at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.

The Legion traditionally holds the procession on the Saturday closest to the Sept. 8 Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

>> Our Lady’s Nativity: The hidden birth that heralded Christ’s coming <<

In his homily, Father Rosser drew on an analogy from Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen that likens the Blessed Virgin Mary’s spiritual motherhood to an earthly mother bringing her children to a doctor.

“Our mother knows our ills, pains and weaknesses and takes us to the divine healer, her son, Jesus,” Father Rosser said. “She has a great love, guidance and intercession for us. We seek intercession for ourselves and to lead others to Jesus.”

Father Rosser said the Eucharistic procession showed others how Mary guides people to her Son.

The faithful prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet as they walked and returned to the cathedral for the Rosary, Benediction, and closing prayers, according to the diocese.

Father Rosser concluded by invoking Mary’s intercession and calling the faithful to follow Christ: “With the intercession of the Blessed Mother, may we hear the Lord’s call and be faithful followers of Christ with Mary leading us to him.”