\nThere still appears to be space for large outdoor collective
\nworship demonstrations in Quebec despite the passage of Bill 9 by the Quebec
\nprovincial government back on April 2. <\/p>\n
This law, introduced to bolster state secularism, generally forbids collective prayer and other religious practices in the civil square. Municipalities have the power to consider exceptions to this rule.<\/p>\n
Montreal Archbishop Christian L\u00e9pine told The
\nCatholic Register he would learn if longstanding traditions could continue
\namid this new landscape if his application to host the annual outdoor Corpus
\nChristi (Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ) Eucharistic candlelit
\nprocession on June 4 received the green light.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Permission has indeed been granted. Following
\n7:30 p.m. Mass at Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, Montreal Catholics will proceed together through the streets of the city to St. Patrick\u2019s Basilica to celebrate the Benediction of the Blessed
\nSacrament. Importantly, there is no recitation of prayers during the actual
\nmarch. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs in previous years, the (Montr\u00e9al police) has been informed and will accompany the procession to
\nhelp ensure the safe and orderly movement of participants,\u201d said Maribel
\nMayorga, the diocesan director of communications. \u201cWe anticipate that
\napproximately 2,000 people will take part in this public celebration of faith.”\u00a0 <\/p>\n
L\u00e9pine has highlighted the spiritual and cultural
\nimportance of the Corpus Christi procession for the faithful, said Mayorga. <\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are grateful that the celebration and procession may
\ncontinue as part of the city\u2019s longstanding religious heritage.\u201d <\/p>\n
\nL\u00e9pine noted this tradition has been
\ncelebrated for more than 25 years and there has \u201cnever been a problem.\u201d He also
\nexpressed hope that the procession would be sanctioned because of the
\narchdiocese\u2019s longstanding positive relationship with local law enforcement. <\/p>\n
\u201cActually, the police are even glad of being
\nthere for us when we do processions,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\nIn another notable development, despite being denied an event permit,
\nMontreal\u2019s Portuguese Catholic community continued with its annual Santo Cristo
\nprocession through Plateau-Mont-Royal on May 17, the Fifth Sunday of Easter. <\/p>\n
This tradition venerating Senhor Santo Cristo
\ndos Milagres \u2014 Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles \u2014 originated in the Azores,
\nPortugal, 326 years ago, in 1700. It is a silent parade of gratitude
\naccompanied by philharmonic bands. Akin to the Corpus Christ procession, the
\nSanto Cristo march features no audible prayers or religious chants. <\/p>\n
The Plateau-Mont-Royal police approved the procession and agreed to provide
\naccompaniment on May 13. Borough mayor Cathy Wong confirmed the positive news
\nin a May 16 social media post. <\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 60 years, the procession has brought
\ntogether families, entire generations, neighbours of the Plateau,\u201d wrote Wong.
\n\u201cOrganized around the Santa Cruz Mission, it brings together nearly 2,000
\npeople each year in a spirit of respect and peace. The procession is not a
\nproblem to deal with. It’s a tradition to be accompanied with sensitivity and
\nrespect.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0
\n\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
Procession organizer Emanuel Linhares told local media that work needs to be
\ndone over the coming year to crystallize the rules on religious and cultural
\nprocessions. He noted how interpretations across boroughs are inconsistent and
\nthat unambiguous city-wide directives are needed. <\/p>\n
(Amundson is an associate editor and writer for The Catholic Register.)<\/p>\n
A version of this story appeared in the May 31, 2026, issue of The Catholic Registerwith the headline “Montreal’s Corpus Christi gets go ahead”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There still appears to be space for large outdoor collective worship demonstrations in Quebec despite the passage of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311138,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":["post-311137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi-headlines","tag-corpus-christi-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}