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October
3, 2005 
VOL.
43, NO. 17Oakland,
CA
Year of the
Eucharist to end with Mass on
Oct. 6 in Oakland
The Oakland Diocese will conclude
its observance of the Year of the Eucharist with a Mass, celebrated by
Bishop Allen Vigneron, on Oct. 6 at St. Elizabeth Church in Oakland, beginning
at 7 p.m. The church is located at 1500 34th Avenue near International
Boulevard.
The special liturgy is the culmination of numerous events in the diocese
during the Eucharistic Year, which included an “Adoration Wave,”
Corpus Christi processions, and distribution of devotional materials.
The Year of the Eucharist began last October, at the behest of Pope John
Paul II, during the International Eucharistic Congress in Guadalajara,
Mexico. Oakland Bishop Emeritus John Cummins led a small delegation from
the diocese to the Congress. Delegates included Brigitte and Ralph Desimone
of St. Mary Parish in Walnut Creek.
The Desimones serve on Bishop Vigneron’s Eucharistic Resources Commission,
a group working to heighten awareness of Eucharistic veneration in parishes.
Desimone said that many parishes took part in an “Adoration Wave”
of the Blessed Sacrament while delegates were meeting in Mexico.
At the Congress itself, the Desimones compiled an English-speaking report
based on the comments of nearly 200 delegates from Australia, Africa,
India, Canada and the U.S. about the influence of the Eucharist on their
lives. Many spoke of the unity that the Eucharist brings across cultures,
countries, and time itself
Since the Congress took place, the commission has continued to promote
devotion to the Eucharist within the diocese. It made informational packets
available to parishes to assist in organizing adoration and benediction
of the Blessed Sacrament and Corpus Christi processions. More than one-third
of the parishes sponsored some type of special observance for the solemnity
of Corpus Christi.
Other local events included a Prayer for Vocations during 40 Hours Devotion
at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Concord, using a monstrance blessed
by Pope John Paul II. Hundreds of people from the diocese spent time before
the Blessed Sacrament throughout that April 16-17 weekend, said Father
Jerry Brown, parochial administrator at St. Francis of Assisi and a commission
member.
Father Brown said that Bishop Vigneron hopes to begin a Confraternity
of Eucharistic Devotion in the diocese. Plans are already in the making
for next year’s celebration of Corpus Christi with a special Mass
and a daylong conference.
