“This is an extraordinary moment in the church’s history, which you are living right now.”

With those words, Bishop Michael Sis set the tone for the day Saturday, June 7, when the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage came to the Diocese of San Angelo.

It was an extraordinary moment in Abilene, too, when participants walked from the Abilene Convention Center to Frontier Texas, an interactive museum.

“It is such a blessing,” said Michelle Velez, a member of Abilene’s Sacred Heart parish and a member of the diocesan Eucharistic pilgrimage committee. “We never thought the Eucharist would come through Abilene.”

There was plenty of amazement all around as people from across the diocese gathered, first for a Mass at the convention center, followed by the procession to Frontier Texas and a final blessing before buses took participants back to the convention center. Along the three-quarter mile route, water stations were set up, an ambulance was close by, and officers with the Abilene Police Department blocked intersections so that the procession went smoothly. They also provided security in case any protests erupted.Thankfully, that did not occur, much to the relief of Bishop Sis.

“There were more people than we ever expected and it was more peaceful than we ever expected,” the bishop said.

The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage began in Indianapolis on May 18 and ended in Los Angeles on June 20. Events were scheduled each day through June 22, concluding with a Mass, Eucharistic procession, and a festival on the 22nd.

Maria de Jesus Juarez and her son, Josue Juarez, 14, were among the approximately 10 people who came for the festivities from Roscoe, located about 50 miles west of Abilene.

“Because I love Jesus and to be strong in my faith,” was the motivation behind the trip, she said. “I am so excited.”

Maria, her son, and several hundred others who walked from the convention center gathered on the parade grounds of Frontier Texas for a final blessing from Bishop Sis before boarding buses back to the convention center.

The logistics for the day’s events were numerous, and the diocesan planning committee first met on Jan. 13 to start the sorting process. Among them was Kevin Pantoja, district deputy for Abilene in the Knights of Columbus. His many duties for the event included ensuring that enough knights were available for the day’s events, securing permits, contacting the Abilene Police Department, and renting Frontier Texas and the Abilene Convention Center.

“We have been looking to have something like this in Abilene for some time,” he said.

The Mass and pilgrimage concluded a weekend of diocesan events in Abilene, with Bishop Sis attending both. The annual Diocesan Charismatic Conference began Friday evening, June 6, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church and ended just before theMass at the convention center began on Saturday.

The convention center annex was filled to capacity for the Mass. Officials said 500 chairs were set up but many, many more were brought in. In his homily, delivered in both English and Spanish, Bishop Sis cited three things that account for the current “extraordinary moment in the church’s history.” The church just elected its first American pope, it is wrapping up the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, and it has recorded historically high numbers of new Catholics.

The Mass on Saturday occurred on the eve of the Feast of Pentecost. In honor of that, the bishop focused on the connection between “two awesome realities”— the Holy Spirit and the holy Eucharist. They are connected in five ways:

• Epiclesis, which is thepower of the Holy Spirit that allows the bread and wine to become the Body and Blood ofChrist;
• Unity through the power ofthe Holy Spirit;
• Sanctification — the HolySpirit sanctifies those who receivethe Eucharist;
• The Holy Spirit empowerspeople to become Eucharistic missionaries;
• The Holy Spirit helps us topray.

“The Holy Spirit is a catalyst that makes things happen in the Catholic Church,” he said.

A special moment in the Mass came when children from Abilene who had received their first Communion this year were ushered to the front to be presented to the bishop and the congregation. The children, dressed in white, were gently shepherded by Lori Hines of San Angelo, who is the chair of the diocesan liturgical commission, and Michelle Velez of Abilene.

Kevin Pantoja, a member ofthe diocesan planning committee, was among the Knights of Columbus who endured the 92-degree heat in full regalia during the pilgrimage to Frontier Texas after the Mass. As the event ended on the parade grounds, he summed up the experience. He could have been speaking for everyone who took part.

“It was a great blessing to be a part of this,” he said.

Photo: Leading the procession from the Abilene Convention Center to Frontier Texas are left to right Travis Masga of Abilene, Joshua Basse of Odessa, and Cameron Moore of Abilene. Photo by Loretta Fulton.