CHARLOTTE —St. Ann parishioners celebrated the Feast of Christ the King Oct. 30 with a High Latin Mass and a special Eucharistic Procession to honor Christ’s Kingship at a critical time in this country’s history.
The Feast of Christ the King was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 on the last Sunday in October but was later moved to the Sunday before Advent in the Ordinary Form calendar. The Extraordinary Form calendar still celebrates the feast on the original date.
Father Jason Barone, priest in residence at St. Ann, offered the Mass, which attracted a record Sunday Latin Mass attendance of 340 faithful, and preached on Pope Pius XI’s establishing the Feast of Christ the King in 1925 to bring peace into the world after the mass carnage of World War I.
After Mass, Father Barone, accompanied by pastor Father Timothy Reid, led the faithful in its first Eucharistic Procession for the Feast of Christ the King. The priests were followed by hundreds of parishioners, many carrying images and flags of holy kings, queens and statesman who acknowledged Christ’s kingship as leaders.
The day ended with the recitation of the Act of Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which when prayed in front of a monstrance on this feast day, carries a plenary indulgence.
— Mike FitzGerald and John Cosmas, correspondents