“I think it’s wonderful that it’s being done in the community so that the whole community gets to see what the Catholic Church is all about and to see how important the Eucharist is to us, how important the Holy Spirit and Christ are to us,” says Tim Sturzl, who traveled from Caribou to participate.

“This is very special. The Eucharist is the summit of our faith,” says Linda Gagnon of Fort Kent. “This is why we’re in the Catholic faith. You have to adore this. This is Christ Himself.”

The June 8 procession, which was organized by St. John Vianney Parish, began at the Fort Kent Municipal Center on West Main Street, continued to the historic Fort Kent Blockhouse, a fortification associated with the Aroostook War of 1838-1839, and then concluded at St. Louis Church. 

“We wanted the public witnessing of the Holy Eucharist and also to show the respect and reverence we have as Catholics for the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist,” says Father Antony Alexander Maria Doss, HGN, parochial vicar of St. John Vianney Parish, who carried the monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament. “We wanted to do this from the town office in honor of blessing the government and all the businesses in town. We walked through Main Street, and we came to the blockhouse as a sign of God’s protection for our town. And where the St. John and Fish rivers meet, we wanted to have God’s blessing on our source of water, the rivers, and also for all the farmers.”

Those participating in the more than hour-long procession included members of the Knights of Columbus, the Ladies of St. Anne Sodality, the Columbiettes, and 20 altar servers, some of whom came from other Aroostook County parishes.

“All the altar servers who got to experience it can tell it to their friends, to their grandparents, to their mothers. It’s an experience that can’t be replaced. I’m very excited that we were able to do it and hope to continue to do it,” says Barb Pelletier, parish catechetical leader. “The procession has been something that I’ve dreamed of. To see it come to fruition was amazing.”

“For me, this was an opportunity to be in the community and to grow in my walk with Jesus,” says Donna Sturzl of Caribou.

“The Eucharist is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our faith, so this is really special. This is the first time I’ve come to one of these. I loved it,” says Rena Jandreau from Fort Kent.

Father Maria Doss says the procession was held on Pentecost rather than the Feast of Corpus Christi because a group of parishioners already had plans to travel to Montreal, Quebec, to celebrate that feast. Nevertheless, he says that Pentecost was an appropriate choice.

“For the disciples who were shy and who were, for fear of the Jews, in hiding, the coming down of the Holy Spirit gave them a boost to go out and proclaim,” he says. “We hesitate to profess our faith publicly, but this was a wonderful day to go out there and profess our faith publicly, without fear.”

“When Jesus ascended into heaven, He left us the Holy Spirit, and He said this is going to be your power. So, I feel why we’re doing this is just to fill our lives with more power for Jesus,” says Ruth Roy, pastoral life coordinator for St. John Vianney Parish, who helped to organize the event.

“I think this was the most fantastic day to have something like this,” says Elaine Crosby, a Florida resident who summers in the area. “It is so good to reach out to people, and by seeing this, hopefully, it will help them want to come back to the parish.”

At the procession’s conclusion, the faithful gathered in St. Louis Church for the recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet.