Mary, the mother of God, walks the streets with us, said Archdiocese of New York Auxiliary Bishop Edmund J. Whalen, vicar for clergy, during the solemn Mass before a Chinatown parish’s annual Marian procession on Sunday, August 11.

Speaking of Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel, who told her she would be the mother of the Savior. “Very often, God comes into our lives, asks of us, and challenges us with realities of which we’re not quite sure. God doesn’t seem fair, it doesn’t seem right, we don’t know what to do.” said Bishop Whalen, with a simultaneous translation into Mandarin Chinese. “Just like Mary, it’s the same for us. We don’t understand God’s ways, but when we go out of ourselves and help one another, serve one another, in the family, in the parishes, in our community, then like Mary, we understand what God is asking us.”

“As we take Mary into the streets of the neighborhood, it’s a reminder to you and me that Mary walks with us every day when we go out to help one another,” Bishop Whalen said.

Following the Mass, the Church of the Transfiguration held its 28th Assumption Procession, which takes place each year on the Sunday after the Feast of the Transfiguration –— the church’s feast day –— but before the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Assumption of Mary, a holy day of obligation observed on Thursday, August 15 this year, denotes the date when the Blessed Mother was taken bodily into heaven.

Among the concelebrants on Sunday were Father Roger Kwan, pastor and administrator of the Church of the Transfiguration, and Father Andrew Tsui of the Diocese of Brooklyn, who grew up in the parish. They were assisted by Deacon Patrick So.

After the conclusion of Mass, Bishop Whalen, Father Kwan, Father Tsui, Deacon So, and several hundred parishioners and visitors assembled to start the procession, which began in 1994 as a way for immigrants from China’s Fujian province to express their gratitude and devotion. The two-hour procession started at the church, moved along Mott Street and Mosco Street, and passed other Chinatown sites before returning to its starting point. The procession included a drum group, a brass band, and marchers from Catholic Chinese organizations, including the Sacred Heart Society of St. Bartholomew parish in Elmhurst, part of the Diocese of Brooklyn, where Father Tsui is now parochial vicar.

Established as a German Lutheran church in 1801, the church later served Dutch immigrants before Archbishop John Hughes — New York’s first archbishop — purchased the building and made the Church of the Transfiguration part of the Archdiocese of New York in January of 1853. As Mott Street emerged as the heart of what eventually became Manhattan’s Chinatown, the church adapted to serve the local Chinese community. Today, the Church of the Transfiguration offers Masses in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English each weekend and holy day of obligation.