Catholic-Orthodox Procession in Honor of the Virgin Mary in Helsinki on Sunday, September 7, at 2:00 p.m.
Both the Orthodox and the Catholic Church celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on September 8. Following last year’s example, the Churches will mark the day together by organizing a joint procession on Sunday, September 7, from St. Henry’s Cathedral (Pyhän Henrikin aukio 1) to the Uspenski Cathedral (Kanavakatu 1). Everyone, regardless of denomination, is warmly welcome to join.
The event will begin with the Rosary at St. Henry’s Cathedral at 2:00 p.m. The procession will set out around 2:30 p.m. The Catholic choir will be directed by Dominican Father Marie-Augustin Laurent-Huyghues-Beaufond, while the Orthodox choir will be led by dir.cant. Varvara Merras-Häyrynen. Marian hymns from both traditions will be sung alternately during the procession.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own holy images and icons.
A copy of the wonderworking Kozelshchyna Icon of the Mother of God, one of the spiritual treasures of Uspenski Cathedral, will be carried in the procession, together with a Catholic statue of Our Lady of Fatima. Those taking part are also invited to bring their own Marian icons or statues to carry in the procession.
The procession is expected to arrive at Uspenski Cathedral around 3:15 p.m., where a prayer service will be held before the Kozelshchyna Icon. After the service, Bishop Raimo Goyarrola (Catholic) and Archbishop Elia (Orthodox) will bless the faithful together. The event will conclude (around 3:30 p.m.) with coffee served in the crypt of Uspenski Cathedral.
The afternoon continues at Uspenski Cathedral with Vespers for the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary at 5:00 p.m.
The intention is for the event to become an annual tradition – the preliminary date for the 2026 procession is September 6, 2026. That year, the direction will be reversed, beginning from Uspenski Cathedral.
ort.fi / KATT