Annual Great Marian Procession, May 12th

On Saturday, May 12th, 2018, join Catholics from all over California for the 10th annual Great Marian Procession, a magnificent event organized every year in honor of Our Lady by the priests and parishioners of St. Stephen the First Martyr Parish, our apostolate in Sacramento, California. The grand procession is held each May, crowds of faithful marching through the streets of Sacramento to honor Our Lady and to pray for California, the country and the world.

To learn more, we caught up with Heather Keevers, a parishioner of St. Stephen’s and the VP of Marketing for the Great Marian Procession. Starting as an idea that inspired procession founder and fellow St. Stephen’s parishioner Mike Solton, the procession has become the largest Marian procession on the West Coast, with over a thousand people joining in and record numbers expected this year. The procession will gather at 8 a.m. at East Lawn Cemetery, and at 9 a.m., a pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima will travel over 3 miles through Sacramento, accompanied by the Knights of Columbus, bagpipe and drum bands, the Knights and Ladies of St. Jean de Brebeuf (a.k.a. KLSJB Explorers & Guides), an army of altar boys and a veritable sea of faithful souls who, as Ms. Keevers notes, come from both Latin Mass and non-Latin Mass parishes to honor Our Lady.

“People come from all over,” she said. “People come from different parishes that are not involved with the Latin Mass. It gives them a chance to harken back to tradition.”

Whereas in former years the procession has concluded with Solemn High Mass at the Cathedral, this year it will travel to the west steps of the State Capitol, where Our Lady will be crowned and Fr. John Lyons, F.S.S.P., pastor of St. Stephen’s, will lead the people in the consecration of California to Mary.

“As California goes, so goes the nation, so goes the world,” Ms. Keevers said. This procession is about going out into the secular word, into the streets, into the public, and being a very visible witness for Catholicism. It’s about honoring the Mother of Our Lord and honoring the Queen of Heaven, bringing her to the people and asking for her powerful intercession.”

We encourage you to join in the procession if you are on the West Coast this weekend, or if you cannot be there in person, to offer your prayers in union with those of the attendees. You can even send in prayer requests, which will be carried in a basket through the procession and laid at the feet of Our Lady. You can send in your requests and learn more about the procession at the website here (the prayer request form is on the right hand side, a little ways down the homepage).

Invite your friends and family, follow the Facebook page, tune in on Instagram, and watch and share the official video for the 2018 procession below.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

Our thanks to Jen Rego for the photos used in this article, and to Kalin Lippsmeyer for the featured cover photo.

May 9, 2018