Washington, D.C
‘It brought me here’: Third annual Eucharistic procession held in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 17, 2025 /
17:30 pm
The Catholic Information Center (CIC) on Saturday held its third annual Eucharistic procession through Washington, D.C. in which more than 1,000 participants processed through the downtown area with the Blessed Sacrament.
Father Charles Trullols, the director of the CIC, told CNA the day was “perfect.”
The event kicked off with a Mass at CIC’s chapel. The group of attendees was so large that it could not fit inside the chapel itself, sending people to watch the Mass on a screen outside where they were eventually brought Holy Communion.
The procession began after Mass and was led by the crossbearer, candle-bearers, religious sisters, and young children who recently received their first Holy Communion and who laid rose petals ahead of the Eucharist.
Trullols carried the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance and held it high for the crowd to witness and follow. A choir, priests, and lay people followed behind through the downtown area.
As the group walked, attendees said prayers and sang hymns. Some bystanders joined in and others kneeled as the procession passed by.
Gerard McNair-Lewis, a development associate at CIC, noted that the event is held during May, “the month of Mary.”
“What better way to celebrate Mary than to honor her son’s Eucharistic presence?” he said.
The group processed down K Street. The Eucharist in the procession was “the closest tabernacle to the White House,” McNair-Lewis said. It’s “a great testament that religious things happen in our nation’s capital.”
Throughout the procession the group stopped at different locations to kneel before the Blessed Sacrament and hear the gospel. At one stop, Monsignor Charles Pope spoke outside the veteran’s affairs office.
Pope praised veterans and the military, pointing out that “many put their lives on the line so that others can live in greater security and freedom.” He said these individuals “imitate Jesus who lays down His life so we can live eternally.”
Krista Anderson, an attendee from Virgina, told CNA that her husband Micheal Simpson was a staff sergeant for the United States Army who was killed in Afghanistan.
She felt the moment to honor veterans was a message from God.
(Story continues below)
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Craig Carter flew into Washington for a work trip and “happened to see [the procession].”
A Protestant, Carter said God “wanted me to come to D.C. early just to pray.” He joined the procession, he said, because God “has been working on [his] heart.”
“Adoration has always been super special to me in my Catholic faith,” Lydia Vaccaro, a young attendee from Virgina, told CNA. “So it brought me here.”
“It’s a beautiful witness,” said attendee Hannah Hermann.
“I like being in front of processions like this, where you’re out and people see,” Hermann said. “I’ve heard conversion stories from people who witness a procession.”
“The procession was beautiful,” Trullols told CNA after the event concluded. “Every year it is getting better.”
“We know how to do it better and it’s growing – the quantity of people, the attention, and also the way we organize the liturgy and the music,” Trullols said.
Tessa Gervasini is an intern for Catholic News Agency and a fellow of the College Fix. She recently graduated from Texas Christian University with a bachelor’s degree in strategic communication.
TNND — A new report from the House Oversight Committee alleges former D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith pressured officers to manipulate crime data. The committee released the report on Sunday, less than a week after Smith announced she was stepping down.
You’re lulling people into this false sense of security. They might go places they wouldn’t ordinarily go. They might do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do,” said Betsy Brantner Smith, spokesperson for the National Police Association.
Included in the report were transcribed interviews with the commanders of all seven D.C. patrol districts and the former commander currently on suspended leave. One was asked, “Over the last few years, has there been any internal pressure to simply bring down crime statistics?” Their response, “Yes, I mean extremethere’s always been pressure to keep crime down, but the focus on statistics… has come in with this current administration.”
Every single person who lives, works, or visits the District of Columbia deserves a safe city, yet it’s now clear the American people were deliberately kept in the dark about the true crime rates in our nation’s capital,” House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) said in a statement.
“They are going to have to regain the public trust. Again, this is a huge integrity issue,” Brantner Smith said.
Among the reports findings, Smith’s alleged pressured campaign against staff led to inaccurate crime data. Smith punished or removed officers for reporting accurate crime numbers. Smith fostered a toxic culture and President Trump’s federal law enforcement surge in D.C. is working.
While Smith has not yet publicly responded to the report, she’s previously denied allegations of manipulating crime data, saying the investigation did not play a factor into her decision to step down at the end of the year.
My decision was not factored into anything with respect to, other than the fact that it’s time. I’ve had 28 years in law enforcement. I’ve had some time to think with my family,” Smith said earlier this month.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also released a statement Monday, writing in part that “the interim report betrays its bias from the outset, admitting that it was rushed to release.”
According to crime stats from the Metropolitan Police Department, since the federal law enforcement surge started in August, total violent crime is down 26%. Homicides are down 12% and carjackings 37%.
The first candle lit on the National Menorah near the White House in Washington, D.C., marked the first night of Hanukkah — and solemnly honored victims of the Bondi Beach shooting.
The National Menorah Lighting was held Sunday night, hours after gunmen opened fire on a crowd celebrating the beginning of Hanukkah at Australia’s iconic Bondi Beach. Fifteen people were killed, including a 10-year-old girl, a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor, and over three dozen others were being treated at hospitals.
Authorities in Australia said it was a terrorist attack targeting Jewish people.
Organizers behind the National Menorah Lighting said the news from Australia, along with the bitter cold, forced them to consider whether or not to hold the annual event.
After consulting with local law enforcement, National Menorah Lighting organizers decided to hold the event and honor the victims.
Several D.C.-area police departments issued statements confirming there are no known threats to local communities, but are monitoring just in case.
Montgomery County Executive Mark Elrich condemned the attack and said community safety is a priority.
“Acts of antisemitism, especially those meant to intimidate families and communities during moments of gathering and celebration, must be called out clearly and condemned without hesitation,” Elrich said. “I have heard directly from members of Montgomery County’s Jewish community who are shaken and concerned, and I want them to know that their safety is a priority.”
WASHINGTON (7News) — Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela Smith is facing yet another scathing report accusing her of manipulating crime data in the city.
The 22-page document from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform comes less than a week after a separate draft report from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and days after Chief Smith turned in her resignation.
The main difference between the Congressional report and the DOJ report is that this new one, released on December 14, contains transcribed interviews directly with commanders from all seven MPD patrol districts.
RELATED | DC Police settles with former employee over claims that crime numbers were manipulated
The testimony reveals how Chief Smith chastised and, in some cases, publicly humiliated staff in crime briefings.
“The Committee’s investigation heard consistent testimony about frustration and exhaustion among MPD commanders and the manifestation of a culture of fear, intimidation, threats, and retaliation by Chief Smith. Often, these manifestations were triggered whenever the Chief was presented with what she considers ‘bad news,’ particularly when that news pertained to any rise in public crime statistics. Chief Smith, according to testimonies, regularly took action against her subordinates who failed to aid in the preservation of her public image,” the report states on page two.
RELATED | Trump announces probe into DC police for inflating crime stats amid safety claims
The committee launched the investigation in August when whistleblowers came forward with concerns about data manipulation.
One line of questioning in the report states:
Question: Over the last few years, has there been any internal pressure to simply bring down crime statistics?
Answer: Yes, I mean extreme… there’s always been pressure to keep crime down, but the focus on statistics… has come in with this current administration or regime, and you know, that has manifested publicly.
7News reached out to Mayor Bowser’s Office for a comment in response to the report. A spokesperson provided the following statement:
The men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department run towards danger every day to reduce homicides, carjackings, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and more. The precipitous decline in crime in our city is attributable to their hard work and dedication and Chief Smith’s leadership.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
I thank Chief Smith for her commitment to the safety of D.C. residents and for holding the Metropolitan Police Department to an exacting standard, and I expect no less from our next Chief of Police.
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