The student-led initiative, a Eucharistic Procession following the 7:00 p.m. Mass, shared a message of love, hope, and deep spirituality through sacred tradition.

The procession, starting at the CSU Chapel, was led by Father Kyle Bell, Director of the USF Catholic Student Center. Father Bell carried the Eucharist in a monstrance while shaded by a canopy. Student altar servers assisted, while the CSU Choir sang hymns as they moved across the campus.

The procession paused to kneel at the crossroads of Holly A and Holly E dorms. Onlookers watched in curiosity, and Brother Ray Morris, USF Campus Minister and member of the Brotherhood of Hope, took the opportunity to engage with them. He handed out flyers created by the CSU to explain the meaning of the procession. The flyer stated, “While you might ask, ‘What is that?’ A more precise question would be, ‘WHO is that?’ The answer is Jesus Christ, true God and true man, really and truly present in the Eucharist.”

"In our world today, there's a lot of hurt, a lot of suffering. Our response is bringing Jesus to the campus to be a sign of hope, to be a sign of God's love for each person, individually, and to be a light to a place that can be very dark at times,” said Brother Ray.

The climax of the procession took place at Crescent Hill, in front of the Marshall Student Center, where an outdoor altar was set up for a public moment of adoration, praise, and worship.

Mathew Jacob, a Syro-Malabar seminarian, completing his pastoral year at the CSU, was a key figure in the planning and execution of the procession. He commended the meticulous coordination between various CSU groups, as well as Fr. Kyle's final blessing at Crescent Hill.

“Father Kyle faced four corners of the university and blessed them while holding up the monstrance. There is so much power in that—the power of bringing the Eucharistic Lord to the campus! It will have impacts we can’t even begin to know,” said Mathew.

Celeste Poff, CSU Secretary and USF senior, and Anabel Vega, a CSU member and freshman at USF, both shared their motivations for participating.

“I wanted to be here because we're bringing Christ onto the campus, and especially after I saw Father Mike Schmitz do a procession in New York. We did a procession last semester for the very first time, and this is something we want to continue doing, hopefully, each semester. We want to bring Christ onto the campus to be a visible witness that He wants a deep relationship with each and every one of those students, each and every one of those souls. It's so important to our ministry of outreach to do this,” said Celeste.

Anabel added, "I've never done anything like this before, this is a new thing for me. The evangelizing factor of it is so important. Even during the procession tonight, there were some students watching who came up to ask questions. Some people even sat and knelt. We don't know if they are Christian, Catholic, or anything, but it's clear they felt the presence of Jesus.”

In a time when faith and hope are more crucial than ever, CSU's Eucharistic Procession serves as a remarkable beacon of light, bringing the love of Christ to the heart of the campus.

________________________________________________________________________

You can learn more about the Catholic Student Center by clicking on this link or following them on social media.

Instagram:@CatholicBulls

Facebook:@CatholicBulls

Linktr.ee: @CatholicBulls

The Catholic Student Center at the University of South Florida is a project of the Diocese of St. Petersburg. Its main goals are to spread the Catholic faith on campus and to nurture the next generation of Catholics. This work is made possible thanks to the support of generous sponsors and contributions to the Catholic Ministry Appeal.

About Brotherhood of Hope

Established in 1980, The Brotherhood of Hope is a Catholic community of Brothers united in living, praying, and serving, inspired by the belief that Jesus Christ is all-sufficient. Their main mission is to evangelize students on secular college campuses, answering the call of Catholic leaders to lead this generation in Church renewal.

To view more photos of the event, use the arrows below: