Many in the area desired to see what had attracted so many to this large event. People walked out of their shops, climbed to rooftops, and stared out windows to see the Blessed Sacrament exposed in the monstrance under a canopy driven through the crowded streets.

Carlos Flores, Director of Intercultural Ministries for the Diocese of St. Petersburg adored our Lord during the procession from inside his hotel to avoid walking such a far distance with the crowds, not realizing he would become a witness to Christ there. As he sat at a table near the window, he heard a housekeeper named Yvonne, ask if anyone knew Spanish. A native Spanish speaker himself, Flores responded.

Yvonne had not heard that a Eucharistic Procession would take place, and the road closures had caused her to arrive late to work so she was curious to know more about what was happening. Flores briefly explained that this was a procession with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

Yvonne expressed to him that a procession was something she thought only happened in her home country of Mexico. During their conversation, she kept turning to catch glimpses of the procession, eyes drawn to our Lord in the Eucharist.

“She kept pointing with her hand to her heart and struggling to explain what she was feeling. Tears began to roll down her face. I encouraged her to sit and tell me what she was feeling,” explained Flores.

Yvonne began to share her life with Flores. She came to the United States from Mexico with her family, but they have been struggling to provide for themselves. She and her daughter both work as housekeepers, but making enough money for their family is difficult, and it is a lonely profession.

“Yvonne kept mentioning that she felt something in her heart. I told her ‘That is God. He’s speaking to you and wants to tell you that He loves you and wants you close. He wants you close to him,’” said Flores. “I told her about the church that had 24-hour Adoration for the National Eucharistic Congress and I suggested that maybe she could go after work so she could be in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.”

Unexpectedly, Yvonne continued to share with Flores. She shared that her daughter, Estrella, had received a butterfly pin from a National Eucharistic Congress attendee at the hotel. He explained to her how a butterfly is not just a symbol of freedom, but especially of transformation. Yvonne spoke about her children and shared that they were all baptized but had not received any other sacraments.

“I told her, ‘Maybe God is calling you all to get closer.’ She said that they go to a parish infrequently and I told her to try and see if she could go more. She told me, ‘I’ll ask my daughter when we get out of work if she can drive me to the church so that we can go be in front of the Blessed Sacrament,’” said Flores.

The following day, Flores was back at the hotel and encountered a different employee. She looked familiar and very similar to Yvonne, but he did not recognize her name at first. Upon asking, she confirmed that she was Yvonne’s daughter who he had heard so much about the day before.

“I told her ‘God bless you’ and I just looked at her. I wanted her to receive that message of love. It reminded me of something Sister Josephine Garrett said in her talk during a Revival Session at the Congress: ‘Ordinary and simple encounters are also sanctified and profound. They are meaningful in the Body of Christ because understanding that is a key factor to this revival having legs,’” explained Flores.

Flores was touched by the whole experience. He added:

“I felt like I was sharing the Eucharist with Yvonne by listening to her worries and her dreams and talking to her about the Blessed Sacrament. I was being a missionary disciple with a stranger who was just looking for love from another human being.”