Corpus Christi procession revives London tradition

THE FIRST outdoor procession to be staged by a Catholic church in the City of London since the Protestant Reformation took place last week.
Some 100 faithful, many of them in their 20s, walked around the outside of St Mary Moorfield's in Eldon Street to mark the eve of Corpus Christi.
In accordance with tradition rose petals were strewn in front of the Blessed Sacrament and Eucharistic hymns were sung by those gathered in a ceremony that lasted 10 minutes. Parish priest Fr Peter Newby said: "There are advertisements for this kind of worship all over London_ They have suddenly come back into fashion in a big way.
"People are re-discovering their Catholic past and are prepared to declare they are happy to be Catholic.
"Attitudes have changed in a post-modern world in that people go to church, but not out of conformity. They are proud of their Catholic identity. Over the past few years there has been a return to traditional piety."