Julio Sandoval has been on horseback since age 2 – he grew up on a farm in Mexico – and when he was asked to ride in one of La Salle’s most eye-catching events, nobody had to ask twice.
The Princeton man was one of nearly a dozen equestrians who saddled up Sunday for the Corpus Christi procession. The La Salle Catholic Parishes have, since 2016, observed the feast day by processing from church to church and, in a nod to the parishes’ growing Hispanic population, invited Mexican riders to trot ahead of the monstrance.
“Every time I have fun,” Sandoval said. “I love showing off my horses – the people seem to like seeing the horses – and it’s for the glory of God. That’s the main thing.”
Augustin Ortega, of Peru, has been riding 25 years and he, too, was easily persuaded to mount his horse and ride with comrades holding flags bearing the papal insignia or the Jerusalem Cross.
“Everything seems kind of bigger,” Ortega observed of Sunday’s crowd.
The holiday is known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ and it’s celebrated across the globe with worshippers marching alongside the Holy Eucharist, held aloft by a priest – or, in La Salle’s case, priests who take turns.
The La Salle parade winds from St. Hyacinth to St. Patrick church and then to Shrine of the Queen of Holy Rosary. For a clergyman holding a heavy monstrance, it’s an arduous trek so local pastors help share the holy-but-heavy load.
The Very Rev. Gary Blake is pastor of the Peru Catholic Parishes but he agreed to take a turn under the protective canopy and to promote a procession that’s become a model for parishes across the region, not least because Spanish-speaking Catholics have given the observance a jolt.
“The processions and celebrations for Corpus Christi are not something that really dropped off that really dropped off in Spanish communities,” Blake said. “Really, in the United States and maybe parts of Europe you saw a drop-off, but that’s starting to come back.”
La Salle Mayor Jeff Grove was delighted not only with the Sunday turnout – “One of the biggest Corpus Chisti ceremonies in the state” – but also with the city’s increasing multicultural makeup.
This is an example of the melting pot La Salle and other Illinois Valley cities have grown from the beginning.”
La Salle Mayor Jeff Grove
La Salle’s population is increasingly diverse – Hispanics comprise 21.4% to 23.4% of the city’s population, according to census estimates – and bilingual religious celebrations have grown in popularity as a consequence.
“This is an example of the melting pot La Salle and other Illinois Valley cities have grown from the beginning,” Grove said. “Bottom line is that the increase in the Hispanic demographic in our area is definitely portrayed in the participation in our La Salle Catholic community.”
