Saint Petersburg’s mayor granted
permission for the first Corpus Christi procession in the former Russian
capital since 1918.
The announcement was made by the Archdiocese of the
Mother of God in Moscow.
The avenue has traditionally been called the “way of confessional tolerance” since it is lined with Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Armenian churches.
According to archdiocesan officials, the last time a Corpus Christ procession was held on the prospekt was in 1918, before the Bolshevik takeover.
The last such procession was organised by Mgr Constantin Budkiewicz, who was shot in the back of the head by the Communists during the early morning hours of Easter 1923.
Now, 93 years later, Catholics returned to the Nevsky Avenue led by Archbishop Paolo Pezzi of Moscow.
After the noon Mass at Saint Catherine of Alexandria Catholic Church, located on the avenue, Archbishop Pezzi did lead the procession on Nevsky Prospekt and the surrounding streets with the Blessed Sacrament.