Students at St. Thomas Aquinas Regional School in Woodbridge kicked off Catholic Schools Week early as they participated in a eucharistic procession around their school grounds last Friday. Together with their teachers, a Knights of Columbus honor guard and Our Lady of Angels pastor, Father Paul Eversole, the students walked a lap around school grounds, stopping at temporary altars in the parking lot and the school auditorium. During the procession, the students sang hymns written by St. Thomas Aquinas and prayed, while Father Eversole processed with the monstrance, blessing the school.

The procession was a way for the students to celebrate the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas, the school’s patron. Director of Development Jessica Harvey said it was “something special and something spectacular” that the students would remember.

“We wanted something that they would remember and something that would teach them about their Catholic heritage,” she said. “Eucharistic processions have been done for centuries, but we don’t see them that often, so it was something different we could do to celebrate.”

During his homily, Father Eversole said the procession was a particularly fitting way to honor the saint.

“Thomas Aquinas was one of the greatest teachers and students in the history of the Church. One of the greatest things he studied was the Lord’s presence hidden in blood and wine,” he said.

For Nashville Dominican Sister Maria Goretti, school principal, the procession was a great opportunity for the students to learn about their patron.

“For the feast, this was the perfect thing to do for Thomas. He was a great theologian and a great man of prayer who loved the Eucharist and wrote beautifully about it,” she said.

The procession was also a way for the students to take part in the 150th anniversary celebration for the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, the order of sisters who have taught at Aquinas since the school’s opening in 1977. Because the day marks an important feast for the congregation, the students and everyone else who visited a chapel used by the congregation that day was granted a plenary indulgence by the Vatican.

“I’m extremely grateful that as a community, we’re able to share this opportunity for grace, which unites them to the jubilee celebration in Nashville,” Sister Maria Goretti said.