Christ the King Church in the Bronx held its second annual street procession in commemoration of its namesake feast day, Christ the King, on Sunday, November 26.

The procession followed the parish’s 12:15 p.m. Spanish Mass – with participants singing hymns of praise and praying words of worship, mostly in Spanish and some English. The half-hour procession occurred within the vicinity of the church, which is located at 141 Marcy Place. The parish pastor, Father Ambrose Madu, served as principal celebrant and homilist of the Mass; and he led the faithful in the procession.      

“This is our second year celebrating the feast day like this (with a street procession),” Karina Campos, 41, a longtime Christ the King parishioner, told The Good Newsroom in a November 28 phone interview. “My faith is something that was instilled in me by my mother,” Campos added, noting the faithful family tradition continues.            

Campos, mother of three, said she’s been a member of the parish since she was 10 years old. She said the street procession hymns included “Alabare,” (I Will Praise) and “Resucitó” (Resurrected). The prayers included the “Our Father” and the “Hail Mary.”  

Father Madu’s written feast day message to his parishioners said in part:    

“Today, we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. Jesus is not the king of the Jews only, but the King of all humanity. However, as Jesus would rightly say, “My kingdom is not of this world.” But then, why do we call Him our King? What kind of a King is He? He is, and He wants to be, the king of our hearts.

“The apostle Paul reminds us that Christ, our King, will give us the strength we need to be true Christians, ‘the strength never to give up easily.’ Never to get discouraged, never to stop trying to be more faithful to what God asks of us.  

“This Sunday brings to a close another liturgical year. We end the year by proclaiming Jesus as King. Next week we begin a new liturgical year—the first Sunday of Advent. We will be preparing for the God who comes into our history and hearts. How? He comes as a child in a stable.”

Father Madu, originally from Nigeria, was named pastor of Christ the King Church in July 2022; prior to that, he was pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Staten Island, for five years. He was ordained for the Claretian Missionaries in Nigeria in 1996 and was incardinated into the Archdiocese of New York in 2015. Christ the King Church was established in 1927.