Washington, D.C
‘Come Join Us!’: Washington, DC’s ‘Little Rome’ Hosts 1,200 for Eucharistic Procession
More than 1,200 filled the streets of the neighborhood known as “Little Rome” in Washington, D.C., on Saturday to pay witness to Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament as part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage.
After Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjívar-Ayala, the crowd of faithful filed out of the church and spilled into the streets to follow the procession.
Armed with tote bags provided by the Archdiocese of Washington that were filled with everything needed for the day’s sojourn — water, a snack, a map of the procession route, and rosary beads — the pilgrims set out for a morning of fellowship, prayer, and time spent in proximity to Jesus in the Eucharist.
The two-mile-long procession route bordered the basilica and the Catholic University of America and traveled through Brookland, a densely populated neighborhood with a lively business district that is home to residences of several religious orders.
The June 8 procession through this corner of the nation’s capital was part of the broader National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, an initiative of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ National Eucharistic Revival intended to foster a greater understanding and devotion to the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
While those who live and work in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington are not strangers to the rhythms of Catholic life there (the basilica’s church bells mark the hours to the tune of “Ave Maria”), the sheer numbers of faithful in the streets drew the attention of dozens of curious onlookers. They stood on their front lawns, apartment balconies, or roofs to get a closer look as the procession passed by their homes.
“Come join us!” one procession-goer beckoned onlookers who watched the proceedings.
Two laborers working on the roof of a house under construction smiled and waved back as they paused to watch the Eucharist and the crowd pass.
A group of people sitting outside a coffee shop stopped their conversation to take pictures of the procession as the faithful sang hymns and prayed the rosary, alternating between English and Spanish.
Sister Margaret Regina of the Little Sisters of the Poor told CNA: “It’s the first time I’ve seen [something like this] in the area.” The sister said she was happy to see so many people of different backgrounds at the procession.
There is a “need to profess our faith” and tell people: “This is what I believe,” she said. “We need this peace that only [Christ] can bring because our hearts have to change and be like him.”
The procession brought a diverse group of Catholics together to celebrate the Eucharist: a few communities of religious sisters, dozens of priests, and hundreds of laypeople from various backgrounds speaking, praying, and singing in different languages.
It took more than three hours for the procession to slowly wend its way from the basilica to the John Paul II Shrine, making stops at the “Angels Unaware” statue at Catholic University, at the home of the Nashville Dominicans, the Dominican House of Studies, and the offices of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
At each stop, the priests carrying the monstrance and its canopy and young people following with candles held high stopped as speakers read reflections on the Gospel (alternating between English and Spanish). The crowd, young and old alike, knelt on the hot asphalt for a moment to adore the Eucharist.
“[The Eucharist] strengthens us, unites us with the body of Christ, and equips us to carry on his mission in the world,” Father Robert Hitchens, administrator of the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family, told pilgrims as they gathered near the Basilica Rosary Walk and Garden.
In emphasizing the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, Hitchens said the Blessed Sacrament “is not merely a symbol” but rather “a banquet.”
When the procession reached its final destination of the day for Benediction — the St. John Paul II National Shrine — children threw rose petals on the ground ahead of the procession. Some of the older attendees, including religious sisters, who were not able to walk for the whole procession were given chairs to watch the procession’s closing stop at the shrine. Some, with the help of aides, rose from their seats to stand in reverence as the procession neared.
Sister Mary Vincent of the Little Sisters of the Poor told CNA the procession “was a gift to this area” and said the reverence, with so many Catholics kneeling in the streets to adore Christ in the Eucharist, was “absolutely beautiful.” She said it can help strengthen faith “when you see everyone around you adoring him.”
The pilgrimage, which began on Pentecost, has four routes: from the north, south, east, and west, all heading to Indianapolis for the July 17–21 National Eucharistic Congress.
The Washington, D.C., procession was part of the Seton Route, which began on the East Coast in New Haven, Connecticut. The route has brought Christ through the streets of New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore along with other communities in the northeast. The route will continue into southwest Pennsylvania before heading into Ohio and then Indiana.
Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, celebrated a solemn Mass for the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in the upper church of the basilica at noon on Sunday, June 9, the day after the procession. Bishop Michael Burbidge of the next-door Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, was a concelebrant.
WASHINGTON (7News) — If you’ve got plans around D.C., Maryland, or Northern Virginia this weekend, you’ll want to stay flexible.
The forecast brings a mix of warm temperatures, sunshine, and a few rounds of showers and storms—especially Saturday and late Sunday.
Here’s a simple, hour-by-hour style breakdown so you can plan ahead.
Saturday: Warm Front, Clouds, and Spotty Storms
Morning (6 AM – 12 PM)
Mostly cloudy to start
A few early showers possible, especially toward the MD/PA border
Temperatures climbing through the 60s into the low 70s
What’s happening: A warm front is lifting north, bringing in milder air.
Afternoon (12 PM – 5 PM)
Highs reach the mid-70s
Clouds may break at times
Scattered showers and thunderstorms develop
Storm window: 2 PM – 7 PM
About a 50% chance of rain
Severe risk is low, but not zero
Possible:
Brief heavy downpours
Gusty winds
Maybe even small hail in isolated spots
Good news: Not everyone sees rain—but keep an eye on the sky.
Evening & Night (After 7 PM)
Storm chances linger early, then fade
Skies turn partly cloudy overnight
Lows drop to the mid-50s
Winds become light
Most of the night should be quiet and comfortable.
Sunday: The Pick of the Weekend
Morning
Dry and pleasant
A mix of sun and clouds early
Afternoon
Sunny and warmer
Highs in the low 80s
Light southwest breeze
This is your best outdoor day—great for parks, brunch, or yard work.
Sunday Night (After Midnight)
Clouds increase
Showers likely after midnight (70% chance)
Lows in the mid-50s
Winds shift from the north
Rain becomes more steady and widespread overnight
Looking Ahead (Late Sunday into Monday)
A cold front approaches from the northwest
Best chance for rain: Sunday night → Monday morning
Rainfall totals:
Generally 0.10″ to 0.25″
Locally higher in spots
Storms are possible, but:
Limited instability
Severe weather risk remains low
Weekend Planning Tips
Saturday:
Keep plans flexible—have a backup indoor option in the afternoon
Sunday:
Get outside early—it’s the best weather window
Sunday night:
Expect rain if you’re out late or traveling
The Big Picture
This weekend is part of a warming trend, with temperatures climbing from the 70s into the 80s. But with that warmth comes multiple chances for showers and storms, especially as weather fronts move through the region.
This weekend compared too next
Washington, D.C
Mom finds out daughter with autism was sexually abused at DC school week after it happened
CONTENT WARNING: This story contains content that may be uncomfortable to some readers. Discretion is advised.
WASHINGTON (7News) — A mother said she learned her 13-year-old daughter was sexually abused in a D.C. school when a detective contacted her a week after it happened. She said the school never notified her.
7News sat down with the mother on Friday, while her daughter was being evaluated and interviewed by detectives. We’re not sharing the mom’s identity to protect her daughter.
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The mom said she got a call Sunday night, “regarding my daughter and a sexual assault that happened at school involving my daughter last Monday.”
However, it didn’t come from the place or people she said she counted on.
“I never got a phone call from the school, an email, a text, nothing to say,” said the mom. Nothing happened until a week later.
That’s when a detective called and told her what happened.
“She was forced to give oral sex to a student in school,” said the mom.
Her 13-year-old daughter is disabled, autistic, and has challenges communicating.
The mom said she was sending her daughter to school without knowing what happened.
“I noticed a little behavior, emotional changes,” said the mom. “When I got that call now, it makes sense to, you know, what you because of what she had experienced at school and to come home and she didn’t say anything or no one had called me and just like it breaks my heart.”
7News obtained a copy of the police report, which confirms the youth investigative branch is investigating what happened to her daughter as sexual abuse. It shows that a Kelly Miller Middle School social worker reported it to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) last week.
“I just hope that I can be able to get her back on the right track. From all the trauma, on top of trauma,” said the mom. “To be able to grow and not have to hold that in the back of her head that she experienced in school, which should have been her safe place.”
7News started reaching out to DCPS just after 12:30 p.m. to ask if the students suspected of the abuse have been removed from the school, and why parents wouldn’t have been notified about the incident. They did not get back to us until after our first report aired. They did not answer either question. They provided the following statement.
A district spokesperson provided this statement:
At DC Public Schools (DCPS), student safety and wellbeing are paramount, and the district treats any allegation of sexual misconduct with the utmost seriousness. DCPS will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as this matter is investigated.
In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and our obligation to maintain student confidentiality, we are unable to provide comment on individual student cases.
If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault or abuse, the National Sexual Assault Hotline can be accessed by calling 1-800-656-4673.
WASHINGTON – A cyberattack on the Canvas learning management system left thousands of schools and universities offline Thursday, disrupting access to grades, assignments, course materials and lecture videos as students prepared for finals.
The hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the breach, according to the Associated Press. Instructure, the company behind Canvas, did not immediately respond to questions about whether the system was taken down as a precaution or knocked offline, the AP reported.
READ MORE: Canvas outage impacts thousands of schools, universities: Hacker group reportedly takes credit
The hacking group posted online that nearly 9,000 schools worldwide were affected, with billions of private messages and other records accessed. Many school systems and universities in the Washington, D.C. region rely on Canvas as their primary learning management system.
In Montgomery County, school officials said access to the platform will remain unavailable “out of an abundance of caution” while they work to understand the impact of the incident and any potential vulnerabilities. Families were urged not to log in until MCPS and the myMCPS Classroom vendor resolve the issue.
The University of Maryland said it does not yet know when Canvas will return to service.
Canvas Cyberattack DC-Area School Systems Affected
Montgomery County Public Schools
Canvas (myMCPS Classroom) owned by Instructure Inc., is used by the school district as its learning management system. Due to a reported global cybersecurity concern involving Canvas, and impacting numerous school systems, universities, corporations in Maryland, other states, and worldwide, thus access to myMCPS Classroom has been disabled.
Out of an abundance of caution, access to the system will remain unavailable while we work to better understand the full impact of the incident and any potential vulnerabilities involving information connected to the platform. Please do not attempt to log in to the platform until MCPS and the myMCPS Classroom (Canvas) vendor have resolved this problem.
At this time, appropriate MCPS technology and security staff are continuing to assess the situation and coordinate with the vendor. We understand this disruption is frustrating and appreciate your patience as this work continues.
myMCPS Classroom provides access to student information such as grades, assignments, attendance, and course materials, and is an important tool for students and families to monitor academic progress. Additional information on how students can access resources and functions in myMCPS Classroom will be provided as soon as possible.
Updates will be shared as soon as additional information becomes available.
University of Maryland
Canvas may appear to be up right now, but please to not use it. DIT Security is not confident the system is safe to use right now. Please check back here before using Canvas.
For our faculty who use Canvas, we have created this guidance, and we will continue adding resources tomorrow. Please stay in touch with your students as we adapt to this evolving situation.
Prince George’s County Schools
There has been a cybersecurity incident involving Canvas, our Learning Management System.
Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, notified us of a global cybersecurity incident affecting 275 million users across numerous educational institutions. We have been informed that PGCPS was one of the many impacted organizations. While personal information including names, emails and Student IDs was impacted, NO sensitive information, such as dates of birth, passwords, financial information, was involved. PGCPS does not store that type of sensitive information or parent information in Canvas.
We are using this as an opportunity to reinforce the importance of exercising caution when communicating by email and remaining vigilant regarding suspicious messages, spam, phishing attempts, or other potentially fraudulent communications.
We will continue to monitor the situation and remain in close communication with Instructure.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools
Due to the ongoing issues with the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), AACPS will operate schools on Friday, May 8, 2026, without the use of the LMS. The Virtual Academy will also remain open with altered instructional delivery that will also not use the LMS. Further instructions will be communicated from the school principal. The latest information regarding the breach and the status of school district operations can be found at www.aacps.org/canvasbreach.
Prince William County Public Schools
We are aware of the error appearing when accessing Canvas and are actively working with the vendor to resolve it. The issue is not just impacting PWCS, and is widespread and national in scope. We will provide updates when the vendor has resolved the issue.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Associated Press and previous FOX 5 reporting.
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