After participating in a Eucharistic procession through Hollywood on one of the most oppressively hot and humid days in recent memory, Miguel Tenorio could only fully appreciate the experience once things cooled down a couple of days later.
“Walking for that amount of time under the sun was physically demanding,” admitted the 34-year-old parishioner at Hollywood’s Blessed Sacrament Church. “But in a way, I think the discomfort made the experience even more powerful for me.”
Tenorio and hundreds of fellow participants joined Archbishop José H. Gomez for the Sept. 9 procession, held to mark the National Day of Prayer and Peace. With temperatures hovering in the mid-90s by sunset, they wore lighted wristbands and carried bottles of water as they walked a mile-and-a-half with an LAPD escort.
One powerful moment for Tenorio came as the group reached the iconic intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue.
Tenorio was assigned one of the corner spots to carry the canopy covering the monstrance and the priests who took turns carrying it. Amid the flashing commercialized video boards and alluring tourist attractions, traffic was held up as participants sang “And I will raise him up on the last day,” the final refrain of the popular hymn, “I Am the Bread of Life.”
“That was quite interesting — there was so much honking at first, people wondering what was going on,” said Tenorio. “Then there were the voices of the procession praying and people on the sidewalk taking videos of it.
“But with everyone supporting one another, it felt safe. There was a real sense of commitment and devotion.”
The procession passed adult entertainment venues, tattoo parlors, and smoke shops, as well as the Los Angeles LGBT Center on Schrader Boulevard and the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International Offices on Sunset Boulevard.
David González, a 36-year-old Blessed Sacrament parishioner who works in labor relations for the film industry, thought that all sent a powerful message.
“This is a place that leans into the glitz and glamour — and kitsch — of Hollywood as an idea,” he said. “But it is abutted by the reality of our city today with abandoned storefronts and homeless encampments in the shadows of towering new housing developments. From what I saw, passersby and residents alike seemed awed by the sight of our peaceful, prayerful procession.”
González considered the diversity of the participants another strong attribute.
“Not just the cultural diversity, but the intergenerational diversity — there were people of all ages processing and volunteering,” he said.
Guadalupe De La O-González, David’s wife and charter school vice principal, said she felt the cultural juxtaposition was “the Holy Spirit reminding us to be in this world but not of it, also nudging us to go out to the margins … Jesus was there, in the Eucharist, present to all, in the most unlikely of places.”
In welcoming remarks at Blessed Sacrament, Archbishop José H. Gomez reminded the congregation that “it was Jesus who once walked the dusty roads of Galilee and Jerusalem … and tonight, he is with us in Hollywood. … In him, we find the love that we all seek. This is the most public witness we have to our faith as Catholics.”
Deacon Steve Greco of the Diocese of Orange, a producer of the upcoming film “Adore Him: He Is Here” (in theaters Oct. 4-8), which was promoted at the event, said the event proved that “sometimes we need to take the Blessed Sacrament out on the streets.”
“You can see how people are moved. What’s going on? How can this transform me? They come to their knees. The Holy Spirit moves them.”
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) started the National Day of Prayer for Peace in Our Communities in 2016 as a response to community violence and racial tension, promoting dialogue and reconciliation through prayer. The USCCB highlighted events this year to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The Prayer for Peace is held annually on Sept. 9, the feast of St. Peter Claver. That fact wasn’t lost on Tenorio.
“That was especially meaningful to me, honoring a Jesuit who dedicated his life to serving the most vulnerable in Colombia,” said Tenorio, born and raised in Ecuador and now doing casework on Skid Row for the Weingard Foundation.
“St. Peter Claver’s example reminds us of the importance of inclusion and respect for the dignity of every person,” continued Tenorio, “especially in times of political and social hardship when minorities and vulnerable communities can feel marginalized.”
