Parishioners March in Annual ‘Blessing of the Streets’

Eight singing guitarists, 10 stroller-pushing parents, two pedaling cyclists and a priest carrying a golden cross marched through a Santa Ana neighborhood on Palm Sunday.

They were among 350 people who sang and prayed as they walked about eight square blocks in the annual Blessing of the Streets sponsored by St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church on Sunday afternoon.

The event began in 1993, when the neighborhood east of downtown Santa Ana was so dangerous that a march through it was more an act of defiance than a peaceful stroll, said parish manager Betty Spanel.

That first march was on Palm Sunday, and it has become an annual church event even though crime has subsided.

On Sunday, Father Christopher Smith, the rector of St. Joseph’s, told parishioners in a prayer before the walk, “Let us remember that with every step we show the tremendous power that we have as a people to make this world a place of peace.”

Smith, wearing a red and gold priest’s cope and carrying a golden cross aloft, led the group along Minter Street, Santa Ana Boulevard and other blocks. Walking amid the scent of incense, parishioners sang songs in Spanish and English, including “Amazing Grace.”

The group stopped at four altars set up for the walk, each with candles and drawings of the Virgin of Guadalupe. “Jesus can bring us peace. That’s why I’m here. Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem. We are walking today,” said Cynthia Lona of Santa Ana.

Palm Sunday commemorates the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem to cheering crowds a week before he was put to death.

Romero Aguila, a construction worker, said he has belonged to the church since 1987 and comes to show his support for an institution that has helped the Latino community.

“I have been through a lot with this church, and it has helped me, so I feel I should be here to show what a great place it is and what a great community we have,” Aguila said.

Spanel said police, church organizations and residents have worked to make the neighborhood safer. “It’s just an ordinary place, more or less,” she said as the group passed dozens of children on scooters, bicycles and skateboards. “Years ago, you wouldn’t see kids playing like you do now.”