Corpus Christi Procession, London Region

The London Metropolitan Region participated in the Corpus Christi Procession, at Corpus Christi Church, Maiden Lane, on Sunday 19 June 2022.

His Excellency, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, Papal Nuncio to Great Britain, was the celebrant.

For the first time in decades, the 1930s banner of the Guild was on public display, joining another banner from the Church at the head of procession around Covent Garden. The crowds were heard to say: 'What is this? Oh look, it's something to do with Catholic police officers'. Of course, the CPG presence was a tiny part of the much broader significance of Corpus Christi processions which profess the True Presence and Divinity of Our Lord to the world.

Corpus Christi is, though, important for the Guild – it being the feast Day in 1914 when the Guild was formed as the London-centric Metropolitan & City Catholic Police Guild, and before (in 1974) it became a national organisation. The banner is reputed to have been a 25th anniversary gift, marking its origins to 1939. It is a fitting devotional artefact for the present London region within the national Catholic Police Guild of England & Wales.

His Excellency also graciously re-blessed the banner, thanked all Catholic police officers for the important work they do, and expressed a desire that the Guild would continue to expand.