Father James F. Waalkes, parochial vicar of St. Bernadette Church in Springfield, mounted the stage at Pearl Street Warehouse in Washington, carrying an acoustic guitar. As young adults mingled and chatted, he gently strummed the tune to “The Cosmos Aligning,” a song he wrote.
More than 150 Catholics from the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Arlington thronged the music venue situated along the Wharf in Washington June 9, the day after Pentecost and the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church.
Father Waalkes sang a few more self-composed acoustic songs — such as “Nobody’s Heard,” “I Will See You Once Again” and “The Seed in My Pain.”
“Don’t worry, we will rock soon,” he joked to audience members.
And rock they did.
Iter, a band of priests, one seminarian and a layman from the Washington archdiocese, energized the crowd with covers of “Surfin’ U.S.A.” by the Beach Boys, “Always Remember Us This Way” by Lady Gaga, and “I’m a Believer” by Neil Diamond. At one point, bassist Father John Benson and Father Saulo Vicente, who played the tambourine, jumped off the stage and led the crowd in a line dance to “No Rompas Mi Corazón” (“Achy Breaky Heart”) by Don Von Tress.
Father Pablo Villa, who played the keyboard for Iter, continued the streak of Spanish songs with “A Dios le Pido” (“I beg to God”) by Juanes and “Corazón Espinado” (“Thorned Heart”) by Maná.
Father Waalkes returned to the stage as a guest performer with priest band Upon This Rock, which immediately launched into “The Boys Are Back In Town” by Thin Lizzy, as the crowd leapt up and down.
Bassist and guitarist Father Alex Wyvill, who wore a bowling shirt over his clerics, teased Father Waalkes in between sets about the three guitars with different tunings that he had brought to the concert. Just as Father Waalkes switched from guitar to guitar, the band leapt from genre to genre, performing covers of “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen, “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers, and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” by Stevie Wonder.
As the band walked off the stage, the crowd demanded an encore. Singer Father Nicholas Morrison returned to the stage, declaring, “One more song, for Mary!”
Following the encore — “Let It Be” by The Beatles — the band and audience brought down the warehouse with an exuberant, yet reverent, chanting of “Salve Regina.”
A group of young adults ventured across the river from the Arlington diocese to support Father Waalkes.
Angelica Morales, a parishioner of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Lake Ridge, came with a group of friends who were all working for a summer camp at St. Ambrose Church in Annandale. Father Michael Nugent, parochial vicar of St. Ambrose, had encouraged them to go see Father Waalkes perform. “We came out to support him and enjoy some friend time,” Morales said.
Father Waalkes said that writing music helps him express his experiences, and added that it’s important for the lay faithful to see priests utilize their God-given musical gifts.
“I think it’s really important that people see priests and religious as humans, because Jesus Christ was human, and humanity of Christ is really the place to enter into his divinity,” he said.
