Marian Procession coming to CBD
Events
The annual Marian Procession is coming to the heart of the city after being held in the South Parklands and the Adelaide Showgrounds in recent years.
One of the longest running religious events in the State, the 74th Marian Procession will be held on Sunday May 21, starting at the Pioneer Women’s Memorial Garden and proceeding along King William Street to Victoria Square for a prayer service.
This year’s procession will celebrate the Feast of the Visitation, in keeping with the focus of the 2023 World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, in August.
The Marian Procession attracts more than 1000 Catholics from parishes and migrant communities, many of whom dress in traditional costumes and carry colourful banners as they walk behind a statue of Our Lady carried by school students.
Established in 1949, the first procession was held at St Francis Xavier Seminary, Rostrevor, under the guidance of Archbishop Matthew Beovich.
At the time he said the event served to provide an opportunity for Catholics to thank Mary for her protection of Australia during the war and to ask for her intercession in the future.
In 1951 thousands of Catholics processed through the city to Elder Park as part of the Marian Congress held in Adelaide from October 24 to 28.
In 1999 the procession was moved to the ovals of Christian Brothers College due to the closure of the Rostrevor seminary.
The event has been cancelled twice, once due to bad weather in 2019 and another due to COVID in 2020.
It has become an important date on the calendar for Catholic migrants and refugees to express their cultural heritage.
People are asked to assemble at 1.30pm in the Pioneer Women’s Memorial Garden for a 2pm start.
Jump to next article
