Apostolate carries Eucharist through neighborhoods and city square, followed by 600 men

A Eucharistic procession passes by a bread shop in downtown Royal Oak as more than 600 men and their families walked behind the “Bread from Heaven” July 16 from the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica to St. Mary Parish.

Mike Stechschulte | The Michigan Catholic

ROYAL OAK — The sound of a walkie-talkie crackling, the voice from the other end reported on the situation half a mile away:A man prays the rosary as he walks in the Eucharistic procession.

“I think the procession is getting longer,” he said.

From the beginning, it was difficult to see where the throng of Catholic men ended as it snaked through the streets of downtown Royal Oak on July 16. The Eucharistic procession, sponsored by Invictus Christus, a men’s apostolate based in Sterling Heights, overwhelmed the streets as more than 600 men and their families followed the Blessed Sacrament from the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica to St. Mary Parish 2.

5 miles away.

It was a sight to behold.

The “Christ in the Streets” procession was the natural outgrowth of the apostolate’s desire to form “fishers of men,” said Che Krause, an Invictus Christus member who marched in the procession.

“As we are trying to build up ourselves and sharpen our tools, we decided the next step would be to evangelize,” Krause said. “Once we get outside of our comfort zone, our world, to try to go out into the world and do ministry as Jesus had taught us and told us we should do.

”As the procession neared the downtown area, onlookers stopped. Some stared in wonder, while others — presumably Catholics, but maybe not — dropped to their knees in adoration as the monstrance passed.

The Eucharistic procession of Catholic men stretches father than the eye can see from the roof of the Cantina Diablo restaurant in downtown Royal Oak on July 16. As the procession passed, dozens of patrons eating lunch or passing by stopped to observe, with some dropping to their knees in prayer.

A mechanic working under a car popped his head out as the chants of the Divine Praises grew louder over the megaphone as they approached. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked.

At the Cantina Diablo restaurant, wait staff peered down from the roof, mouthing an audible “Wow,” as the procession marched along the sidewalk below. Patrons eating lunch stopped mid-bite in amazement, some making the sign of the cross.

Along the route, members of St. Paul Street Evangelization handed out rosaries and answered the questions of the curious bystanders, most of whom were entirely unfamiliar with the context of the procession.

Indeed, one woman, watching from her front porch as the procession passed by on the sidewalk, asked a Michigan Catholic reporter about the marchers as they passed by her home on 12 Mile Road.

“It’s from Shrine?” she asked, bewildered. “I figured it was Catholic. I’m a fallen-away Catholic, but we need all the blessing we can get.

”The marchers, some from as far away as South Carolina, seemed to relish the opportunity to publicly profess their faith as they finally reached St. Mary’s, breaking into a loud applause as Richard Yamin, a founding member of the apostolate, addressed the congregation following Benediction.

Recounting the exhortation given before the march by Fr. Ben Luedtke, Yamin said the procession had “dropped a nuclear warhead on Satan and his minions” by marching under the banner of Christ himself.

“What we did today is the opposite of what our sins did to him 2,000 years ago by marching him through the streets to crucify him,” Yamin said. “What happened today is the antithesis to that.

“As we passed by the people on the streets, did you notice the mouths hanging open?” Yamin said. “People were crying. People are starving for this, and we gave them an appetizer.

”Fr. Andrew Seba, a Chaldean priest marching with the men, called it a blessed experience to witness to people who might never have heard the saving message of Jesus.

“They’re curious. The Lord has given us this desire to know,” said Fr. Seba as he marched, a smile on his face. “I think even if just one person asks the question, ‘Why are they there?’ and learns that Jesus is leading the line, even just to plant that seed it was worth getting up early.”