Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
Corpus Christi Procession in Sydney
June 5, 2026
On Thursday, 4 June, His Eminence Mykola Cardinal Bychok, Eparch of Melbourne, took part in the Corpus Christi procession in Sydney. Organised by the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Australia, New Zealand and Oceania, the procession brought together thousands of faithful and proceeded from St Jerome’s Church to Saint Charbel’s Church in Punchbowl, where it concluded with a solemn Divine Liturgy.
Cardinal Mykola was invited to participate in the celebrations by Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay, Maronite Eparch of Australia, New Zealand and Oceania. Faithful from St Andrew’s Ukrainian Catholic Parish in Sydney also joined the procession.
During the Divine Liturgy, Cardinal Mykola delivered a homily reflecting on the mystery of the Holy Eucharist and its significance in the life of the Church. “Every time we gather for the Divine Liturgy, something extraordinary happens: Christ does not only unite Himself to each of us individually — He unites us to one another. The Eucharist builds the Church. It forms a people. It creates communion. Here in Punchbowl, you know this well. Your parish is a home for families newly arrived, for those carrying the wounds of war, displacement, and uncertainty, for young people searching for meaning, and for elders who have kept the flame of faith burning through decades of hardship. When you gather around this altar, you are not strangers. You are one Body. You are one family. You are one Church. The Eucharist is the antidote to division, to loneliness, to fear. It is the medicine that heals the fractures of our world.”
Developing this theme further, the Cardinal emphasised that participation in the Holy Eucharist does not end at the doors of the church but entrusts every Christian with the responsibility of being a living witness to Christ’s presence in the world. “Every time we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, we are sent out as living tabernacles. The world should be able to look at us and say, ‘There goes someone who has received the Lord.’ If Christ is truly within us, then our homes should become places of peace, our workplaces places of integrity, our relationships places of mercy, and our society a place where every human person is honoured. The Eucharist is not only an encounter — it is a commission. It sends us to be Christ’s presence in a world starving for hope.”
The preacher also devoted particular attention to the figure of Saint Charbel, whose life he described as a living icon of the Eucharistic mystery. He further commended the Maronite Church for its faithfulness to its spiritual heritage and encouraged the faithful to preserve the living tradition that is handed on from generation to generation through prayer, liturgical life, and the witness of faith within families.
Concluding his homily, Cardinal Mykola encouraged those present to deepen their love for the Holy Eucharist and to be witnesses of Christ’s presence in the world. “In a world that often forgets God, you are called to be a community that remembers — and not only remembers but radiates His presence,” the Cardinal said.
Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography
