MIDTOWN — Poland native Kasia Domaraezka toured New York City’s Theater District on Tuesday, Oct. 15, but even in the city that never sleeps, with people everywhere, she felt lonely. That is until Jesus passed her on 7th Avenue.
The Napa Institute’s fourth annual Eucharistic Procession in New York City started a two-block loop at 5:15 p.m. from St. Patrick’s Cathedral on 5th Avenue, with the Blessed Sacrament carried in a large monstrance.
Accompanying Jesus in the form of the Eucharist were hundreds of priests, religious sisters, brothers, and laypeople — all of whom, earlier in the day, packed the cathedral for Mass and veneration of a first-class relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis.
Domaraezka came to the United States to visit a cousin in New Jersey and made a side trip to Midtown. She said she felt lonesome in the Big Apple, more than 4,000 miles away from home, until the procession’s holy imagery, with Christ at the center and processors singing hymns of worship, provided the right tonic.
“I felt, in this town, a bit lonely,” Domaraezka said. “But I am Catholic, and when I saw the Body of Christ, I thanked God.
“I really feel very touched by this.”
Based in Irvine, California, the Napa Institute was formed in 2011 to train Catholic leaders to defend the faith in an increasingly secular society. Before the procession, Napa’s founder, Tim Busch, called the event an “evangelization vehicle.”
“It’s going out to touch people with Jesus in the Real Presence,” Busch said. “They don’t realize it, but he’s there, and the Holy Spirit is working to bring these people into the faith.”
Busch said the processions have grown “exponentially” since 2021. That inaugural event drew 100 processors, which ballooned to 1,000 processors in 2022, and last year had an estimated 5,000 participants, according to Busch. Organizers hoped for that many this year, but initial estimates put the size at about 3,500 people.
Still, laypeople followed, packing the sidewalks on both sides of the procession.
Busch praised DeSales Media, the communications and technology ministry for the Diocese of Brooklyn, that produces The Tablet, for coordinating with the New York Police Department to ensure safety for processors and spectators.
“New York is the most important city in the United States of America and one of the most important cities in all the world,” Busch said. “So, what happens here is people tend to follow, and it’s a great place to do a procession.”
Jose Ciprian, a building security guard who is Catholic, said he looks forward to the yearly procession. He happily snapped photos on his phone as the procession passed his post on 50th Street on its way back to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
“This is something that, in me, it makes me — it makes my spirit,” Ciprian said.
Standing with him was a cadre of construction workers waiting to enter a building Ciprian was standing in front of.
“They’re going to have to wait for me,” he said. “I told them they gotta see this. Most of these guys are from Mexico, so I know they understand, and they do love this.”
The event attracted both veterans and newcomers to Eucharistic processions.
Among them was Zoe Dongas, a “perpetual pilgrim” from New York City who traveled the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton route to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis last summer. On Oct. 15, she said she was ready for more.
“I can’t think of any better place to be on a Tuesday afternoon than here,” Dongas said. “I think it’s especially important in our own city to be present where Jesus is present, and to walk with him and to proclaim him in the streets.”
Newcomers included Oscar Fernandez and Joseph Herrera, who came with a group of students and chaperones from Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary in Elmhurst, Queens. Fernandez said he was “looking forward to seeing Jesus.” Herrera, meanwhile, marveled at the number of people who were there.
“It gets me excited that so many people want to do this Mass and procession,” Herrera said. “I think it really helps you get closer to God.”
The processors returned to the Cathedral shortly after 6 p.m. for benediction by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York, followed by more opportunities to venerate the Blessed Carlo Acutis relic. Bringing up the end of the line was a lively group from Holy Cross parish and school in the Bronx, singing in Spanish and dancing to honor Jesus.
Father Vincent Druding, parochial vicar for the parish, used a portable public-address system to lead the worshiping for a busload of 8th graders from Holy Cross School and another busload of parishioners.
“We know that they’re a little more solemn up front, so we hung in the back,” Father Druding said, “and we just praised the Lord all the way.”