Corpus Christi students participate in Jubilee Day

Pilgrims of hope at Corpus Christi School

By Christine Schreck

Throughout the Jubilee Year of Hope, the Diocese of Oakland has chosen one parish each month in various regions of the diocese to be a Designated Pilgrimage Site for one day only. On that day, the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will follow morning Mass and confession will be available for extended hours. The day will end with a visit from Bishop Michael C. Barber, SJ who will celebrate a holy hour, vespers and benediction.

On Friday March 7, Corpus Christi in Piedmont was the Designated Pilgrimage Site, and the students at the school were given the special opportunity to participate. Corpus Christi School planned a pilgrimage procession from the schoolyard through the nearby residential streets to the church for viewing of the Blessed Sacrament at the start of their school day.

The students filed onto the blacktop after the opening bell and lined up by class next to their partner classes. “I am so excited we were blessed with such beautiful weather for this very important day in our community and in the Diocese of Oakland, and in the world. It’s a day that we get to celebrate hope, which is something that we all need and we all can share as a gift to one another,” principal Mele Mortonson said.

To prepare, the eighth grade class researched the history of jubilee years. They also made signs to carry on their pilgrimage.

Emme Throne chose a quote from the Book of Micah to write on her sign. “I was thinking about a message that would include hope. It’s not only saying that there is hope, but God provides us hope. We can hope through Him that everything’s going to be okay and come out fine,” she said.

Although she feels that her relationship with God is already good, Throne hopes that this jubilee year will help her make a deeper connection to God by spreading the word in the community.

The eighth graders led the procession while their Kindergarten partners remained on the schoolyard to complete a shorter walk and reunited with the rest of the students closer to the entrance of the church. As cars passed, they held their signs up high, waving and displaying them prominently.

As the students ascended the steps of the church, they fell into reverential silence, which they maintained as they filed into the pews on both sides of the center aisle and watched while Father Leo Edgerly, Jr. placed the Blessed Sacrament inside the monstrance and placed it on the altar.

They knelt in prayer at Father Edgerly’s invitation and completed a short worship before being dismissed back to their daily class activities as pilgrims of hope. 

For a full list of Designated Pilgrimage Sites, visit https://www.oakdiocese.org/jubilee-2025.

PHOTO CAPTION: Students of Corpus Christi School held signs for a pilgrimage procession from the schoolyard through the nearby residential streets to the church on March 7, when Corpus Christi Parish celebrated being designated a Jubilee Site. Photo by Christine Schreck.