• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Missioners from the Institute of the Incarnate Word and Institute of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará stand outside Our Lady of Fatima in East Baltimore. (Courtesy Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara)

Door-to-door evangelization in East Baltimore stopped mid-mission

March 23, 2020
By Edward O'N. Hoyt
Filed Under: Coronavirus, Evangelization, Local News, News

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Missioners lead a mid-March eucharistic procession through the streets of East Baltimore. (Courtesy Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara)

As residents looked on in curiosity from their porches and windows in the Joseph Lee/Bayside neighborhood of East Baltimore March 13, a column of color and solemn music split the abandoned streets.

Coming farther down their steps, the neighbors saw a procession of row upon row of missionaries – young religious men in cassocks, nuns in veils, and lay persons marching with their families. Leading them all was the Blessed Sacrament, displayed solemnly beneath a canopy, the monstrance containing the Eucharist held high by Institute of the Incarnate Word Father Mariano Varela, pastor of the three-parish pastorate of Our Lady of Fatima, Sacred Heart of Mary in Graceland Park and St. Rita in Dundalk.

The remarkable procession was planned as the culmination of a weeklong mission in March undertaken by Father Mariano’s institute alongside its sister religious community, the Institute of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará. They sought to follow the challenge of the New Evangelization “to go to those sheep who have strayed from the church,” according to Father Mariano, “to reach out them without coercion – to steer the Spirit of the Lord, as St. Paul said.”

The missioners included 17 sisters and 13 brothers. Starting March 9, their schedule began each morning with daily adoration and Mass, followed by visits to neighborhood homes, activities with children, songs and rosary processions. As the week continued and the coronavirus epidemic began to place restrictions on movement and social distancing became a practice, the mission took on a different tone.

The missioners scaled back their activities, sat one-per-pew during adoration, carefully purified surfaces, and ceased their home visits altogether.

The eucharistic procession was rededicated, and the prayers and songs they shared were redirected – to defy the claims of the coronavirus and all disease, and to lift the scourge of illness from their midst, to protect and heal the parish and the city. After dedicating a mission cross in front of Our Lady of Fatima March 15, the missioners headed home.

“From spiritual and bodily disease,” Father Mariano emphasized.

The procession, through a neighborhood that includes many working class immigrants, reminded them that Christ is still present among us.

The persistent presence of Christ goes beyond the mystery of the Eucharist for the IVE and SSVM. This is their calling, their charism. They vow to evangelize by extending the Incarnation of the Word – the presence of Christ – into modern times and society.

Sister Mary Mother of the Crucified, a young missioner from Frederick, spoke of the acceptance they had found visiting local homes.

“Many have been very happy to receive us,” she said. “It’s a moment to go out as Jesus the Good Shepherd and seek the souls that he is thirsting for. They ask us about Mass times and invite us to bless their houses.”

By March 13, however, the missioners had to step back and let the eucharistic procession speak for them.

Like the very idea of pandemic itself, the procession seemed lifted from another time – the waves of missioners in their veils and black cassocks confronting contagion with prayer. Despite the unease, joy radiated from the marchers.

Onlooking adults and children approached the column, and young nuns and brothers paused briefly to answer questions, pray with new friends, offer guidance and literature. They maintained distance but offered a warm invitation back to the church.

A statue of the East Baltimore parish’s patroness, Our Lady of Fatima, followed the Eucharist in the procession, recalling Mary’s apparition of 100 years prior – the Virgin again reaching out in times of unrest and upheaval.

The spirit of the missioners was undimmed.

“We respond to the invitation of the Holy Father to go to the periphery,” Father Mariano said. “We are soldiers for Christ and we hope to please him.”

This year, being a good soldier required restraint, and the healing touch of Christ transferred through a loving smile, a solemn song, a brief and kind word, and the mysterious radiance of the Eucharist throughout the community.

According to Xaverian Brother William Ciganek, pastoral associate for the pastorate, the brothers on the mission were housed at the Sacred Heart of Mary rectory, and the religious women stayed at the Sacred Heart of Mary and Our Lady of Fatima convents.

Parishioners donated food for the missioners during the week.

 

Copyright © 2020 Catholic Review Media.

Print Print

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

Edward O'N. Hoyt

Click here to view all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • 3 North Americans named to Vatican dicasteries for ecumenism, interreligious dialogue

  • Archbishop Lori announces clergy appointments, including pastor and associate pastors

  • St. Mary’s purchases former Annapolis Area Christian School

  • Pope’s prayer intention for July: That the faithful might again learn how to discern

  • superman Movie Review: Superman

| Latest Local News |

Loyola University Maryland graduate ordained Jesuit priest

Archbishop Lori announces clergy appointments, including pastor and associate pastors

DUAL ENROLLMENT

Double the learning: Dual enrollment provides college credit to high school students

St. Mary’s purchases former Annapolis Area Christian School

Radio Interview: Exploring the Nicene Creed – Part Two

| Latest World News |

Judge blocks Trump birthright citizenship order as part of class action lawsuit

Ukraine religious leaders issue ‘desperate cry’ to world to end Russia’s war

care of creation

Pope Leo wears Chicago-made vestments to July 9 ‘care of creation’ Mass

sorry baby

Movie Review: Sorry, Baby

ICE

ICE deports Iowa parishioner to Guatemala homeland as supporters pray for his release

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Loyola University Maryland graduate ordained Jesuit priest
  • Expert discusses serious harms of smartphones for children and how to limit their use
  • Movie Review: Superman
  • Judge blocks Trump birthright citizenship order as part of class action lawsuit
  • Ukraine religious leaders issue ‘desperate cry’ to world to end Russia’s war
  • Pope Leo wears Chicago-made vestments to July 9 ‘care of creation’ Mass
  • Movie Review: Sorry, Baby
  • ICE deports Iowa parishioner to Guatemala homeland as supporters pray for his release
  • Come away and rest awhile

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

en Englishes Spanish
en en