Next Saturday: Pilgrimage to Cathedral Basilica of Newark

St. Anthony of Padua Oratory has planned a pilgrimage to the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Newark on the morning of Saturday, April 23. The pilgrimage will begin with a 2.5 mile walk through Branch Brook Park in Newark. The famous Japanese cherry trees—there are some 2,700 of them–will be in full bloom. The procession will cross the holy doors of the Cathedral Basilica in order to gain the plenary indulgence of the Year of Mercy, as decreed by Pope Francis. There will be a solemn mass in the extraordinary form at the high altar.

Schedule: Meet at 8:00 am at Barringer High School parking lot just west of the cathedral across Ridge St (please note: this meeting location has been changed)

Crossing of the Holy Doors of Mercy at 9:30 am (possibility for Confession)

Solemn High Mass at 10:00 am

For information call:

Institute of Christ the King/St. Anthony of Padua Oratory

Canon Jean Marie Moreau

1360 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ 07052

973-325-2233

saint.anthonys@institute-christ-king.org

www.institute-christ-king.org/westorange

Here are some facts about the Cherry Blossom Festival in Branch Brook Park from the website www.visitnj.org:

New Jersey has more cherry trees than Washington D.C. And every spring residents and visitors alike can see the largest cherry blossom collection in the United States.   Branch Brook Park, that runs through Belleville and Newark, has more than 2,700 Japanese cherry blossom trees that burst into full bloom during the annual Cherry Blossom.

Each year thousands of visitors are awed by the beautiful colors of pink and white. The park first adopted a pink and white hue in 1927, when Caroline Bamburger Fuld donated 2,000 cherry blossom trees to the Essex County Parks system in memory of her late husband.

Branch Brook Park also holds the distinction of being the first county park in the United States opened to the public, it was designed by the famed landscape architectural firm of Olmsted Brothers, a successor to Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of Central Park in New York City.