Quincy area Catholics to commemorate Father Tolton's return to Quincy

In just a few short days, we will commemorate the 130th anniversary of the return of the Servant of God Father Augustus Tolton to Quincy following the conclusion of his formation and studies for the priesthood in Rome. As I mentioned a few days ago, we will celebrate this historic occasion with a pilgrimage procession to his grave for the celebration of Vespers.

Yesterday afternoon, the Office of Communications of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois issued this press release regarding the procession:

AREA CATHOLICS TO COMMEMORATE FATHER TOLTON’S RETURN TO QUINCY

QUINCY - Area Catholics and others devoted to the Servant of God Father Augustus Tolton will commemorate the 130^th anniversary of Father Tolton’s return to Quincy following his studies and ordination in Rome with a pilgrimage procession on July 17^th.

The pilgrimage procession will begin at 6:00 p.m. at the statue of Father Tolton outside St. Peter Catholic School at 2500 Maine Street. After a few words of welcome and explanation, followed by a prayer, the pilgrimage procession will process along the south side of Maine Street where it will cross onto the east side of South 33^rd Street. It will then process along the east side of South 33^rd Street until it reaches St. Peter Catholic Cemetery.

After entering the cemetery, the procession will stop at the grave of Father Tolton for the celebration of Evening Prayer at 7:00 p.m. After Evening Prayer, the pilgrims will pray for more priests through Father Tolton’s intercession and for his canonization as a saint.

The pilgrimage procession will conclude with the singing of “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name,” Father Tolton’s favorite song.

Those who wish to participate in the Evening Prayer but cannot walk in the procession are invited to park in the Midas parking lot. Because of the small size of the cemetery, no one should park in the cemetery itself.

Chairs and bottled water will be provided at the cemetery for those who wish to participate in the Evening Prayer.

Please help spread the word and make plans to join us. Please also let us know you are coming through the event page on Facebook (if you're not on Facebook, maybe you could drop a message in the comments here); this will help us plan for the chairs and water. Thank you!