The noonday sun shone over Columbia Heights in Northwest Washington, D.C., as people moved between corner markets and families pushed strollers past Salvadoran pupuserías, Dominican and Mexican restaurants, pho shops and fruit vendors shaded beneath bright umbrellas.
In that same neighborhood, every pew inside the Shrine of the Sacred Heart was filled June 7 as worshippers gathered beneath mosaic-covered walls where immigrants have prayed for more than a century. Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala –an auxiliary bishop of Washington whom Pope Leo XIV on May 1 appointed as the new bishop of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia –celebrated the Spanish-language Mass for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi Sunday. Bishop-elect Emilio Biosca Agüero – Sacred Heart’s pastor whom Pope Leo on May 13 named as the new bishop of Venice, Florida –concelebrated the Mass along with priests from across the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.
Following the Mass, hundreds of Catholics processed in a Eucharistic procession, walking in solidarity with immigrants from the Shrine of the Sacred Heart to the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. Some prayed the rosary while others sang hymns in Spanish and English. Families carried banners, pushed strollers and held photographs of loved ones and community members detained or deported amid immigration proceedings.
Incense smoke drifted upward from thuribles carried by altar servers as pedestrians stopped to watch, record the procession on their phones or ask, “What’s going on?” as it passed by.
Organized by the archdiocese’s Office of Justice and Peace, the procession was rooted in the Catholic belief that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist.
Beneath a white-and-gold canopy, Bishop Menjivar, Bishop-elect Biosca Agüero and Bishop-elect Robert Boxie – whom Pope Leo on May 1 named as a new auxiliary bishop of Washington – took turns carrying the monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament during the nearly two-mile procession. Red-and-gold humeral veils draped over their shoulders and around the monstrance symbolized the Catholic belief that the blessing comes from Christ in the Eucharist rather than the minister carrying it.
At several points along the route, the procession paused at temporary altars prepared by parish communities and ministries from across the archdiocese, including St. Camillus Parish in Silver Spring, Holy Trinity Parish in Washington and St. Martin of Tours Parish in Gaithersburg.
In his homily, Bishop Menjivar connected the celebration of the Eucharist to the suffering and dignity of immigrants.
“The Jesus who gives himself to us in the Eucharist is also present in each one of his sons and daughters, especially in those who suffer, the vulnerable, the forgotten and those who carry heavy burdens,” he said.
He said immigrant families often walk paths marked by uncertainty and sacrifice while searching for safety, work and dignity, trusting only in the providence of God.
Drawing from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, Bishop Menjivar said the Eucharist unites Catholics not only to Christ, but to one another.
“We are the Body of Christ,” he said. “And if we are one body, then when one member suffers, all suffer with that member.”
He added, “We cannot adore Jesus in the monstrance and then ignore him when he appears in the face of the migrant, the refugee, the poor and the fearful.”
Before Mass, Bishop Menjivar reflected on Pope Leo XIV’s recognition of ministries serving immigrant communities in Washington, saying the work belonged not to one priest alone, but to entire parish communities.
“I believe he is recognizing the work accomplished by the parish community because, in the end, if the community does not support us, what can we really do?” he said. “We would be like shepherds without a flock.”
He thanked the Shrine of the Sacred Heart community for standing alongside immigrants and praised Bishop-elect Biosca Agüero.
“The Holy Father is recognizing that witness,” Bishop Menjivar said.
The procession came as Bishop Menjivar prepares to begin his ministry as bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia, where he will be installed on July 2. Bishop-elect Biosca Agüero will be ordained as the bishop of Venice, Florida on July 11, and Bishop-elect Boxie along with Bishop-elect Gary Studniewski will be ordained as auxiliary bishops of Washington on July 7.
Bishop Menjivar, an immigrant from El Salvador who came to Washington in 1992, said the archdiocese became home for him. In 2023 he was ordained as an auxiliary bishop of Washington, becoming the first native of El Salvador to serve as a bishop in the United States.
“It was here that I discovered my vocation, ordained a priest, carried out my ministry and served the people of God,” he said. “So what I feel most right now is gratitude.”
At the same time, he said he leaves Washington “with a heavy heart” because of the relationships formed throughout more than three decades of ministry.
“Washington is a wonderful place to live the faith,” Bishop Menjivar said. “You truly experience the universality of the Catholic Church. You can see it at every Mass.”
Bishop-elect Biosca Agüero, who has served as pastor of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart since 2019, said immigration has shaped the parish since its earliest days.
“Sacred Heart has a long history of immigrants. That has been part of the church from the very beginning,” he said during an interview along the procession route.
Bishop-elect Biosca Agüero, whose parents emigrated from Cuba during the 1960s, also spoke about serving in Cuba and praying for greater religious freedom on the island.
“We continue to hope and pray that freedom, including religious freedom, will one day truly be enjoyed by the Cuban people,” he said.
Bishop-elect Biosca Agüero said he looks forward to meeting the people of the Diocese of Venice before his episcopal ordination on July 11.
Among those participating in the procession was Arthur Laffin, a member of Holy Redeemer Parish in Washington and the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker movement, who carried a sign reading, “Love your neighbor means welcome the immigrant. Don’t detain and deport.”
Laffin said public Eucharistic processions give Catholics an opportunity to stand in solidarity with immigrants and others in need.
“We’re sending the message that we are all part of the Body of Christ, and when one suffers, we all suffer,” he said.
That connection between the Eucharist and solidarity with those who suffer stood at the center of Bishop Menjivar’s homily.
“The Eucharist moves us beyond ourselves so that we may accompany those most in need of our closeness,” he said. “It calls us to build communities where no one feels like a stranger, where no one is left alone in suffering, and where all may discover that they are beloved sons and daughters of God.”
