POPE TO PRESIDE AT CORPUS CHRISTI MASS AND PROCESSION

VATICAN CITY, MAY 31, 1999 (VIS) - At 7 p.m. on Thursday June 3, feast of Corpus Christi, Pope John Paul II will celebrate Mass on the square in front of St. John Lateran Basilica. Afterwards he will lead the traditional Eucharistic procession on Via Merulana, the broad street which links the patriarchal basilica of St. John's to that of St. Mary Major.

The note published today by the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff recalls that, during the May 22 Pentecost vigil Mass in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father had said: "For the forthcoming feast of 'Corpus Domini' I would like a single choral invocation for peace to arise from the Church of Rome. I invite everyone - clergy, religious and lay faithful - to join me the evening of June 3 at St. John Lateran to participate in Mass and in the 'Corpus Domini' procession, where together we will implore the gift of peace in the Balkans. This year, may the day of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ be marked by intense prayer for peace."

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