Joyful Rogation Sunday Procession after Mass

This Sunday we will be concluding Mass with a joyful outdoor procession, chanting the litany of the saints and thanking God for the beauty of his creation and asking for his protection as we enter into what is forecasted to be an intense hurricane season. Rogation, from the Latin rogare which means to ask for God’s blessing and mercy, is a practice that reaches back to the fifth century Church practice in Vienna in which days were set aside for processions and prayers. The practice spread, especially amongst the Celtic tribes in Gaul (central Europe), and was officially adopted Pope Leo III for the entire Church in the late eight century. English speaking Catholics hosted especially devout rogation day festivals involving costumes and banners, food and drink, leading up to the feast of the Ascension. Rogation gatherings were greatly muted during the time of the Catholic persecutions in England, but are being revived within the Ordinariate.