Richmond's Catholic Fest celebrates Jubilee, makes faithful feel like 'such a community'

RICHMOND, Va. (OSV News) -- The weather held off, the bands played on, and the turnstiles clicked at The Diamond baseball stadium in Richmond as more than 2,000 people showed up for the Richmond Diocese's first-ever Catholic Fest.

Participants were young and old, Catholic and non-Catholic, and came from the Atlantic Ocean to the Appalachian Mountains -- and in some cases, beyond.

The one-day festival Oct. 11 was the main event of the diocese's celebration of the Jubilee Year of Hope.

Organized by the diocesan Office for Evangelization, Catholic Fest featured live music, vendors, a Kids Zone with inflatables and a petting zoo, and other special performances.

Richmond Bishop Barry C. Knestout celebrated a 3 p.m. Mass on the baseball diamond, with priests from across the diocese concelebrating. It was followed by Eucharistic adoration.

In his homily, Bishop Knestout commented on the Gospel reading from Luke 17:11-19, in which Jesus healed 10 lepers while traveling between Samaria and Galilee.

"Their leprosy barred them from participating in the community, from being with their families, from being in public places, from marketplaces, and from places of worship," said Bishop Knestout. "Jesus breaks those chains and heals them."

"During the year of the Jubilee of Hope, at this Catholic Fest, and every day, we have the opportunity for renewal and being freed from the burdens, the chains that bind us, keeping us from growing in faith, hope and love, from knowing and living God's life," he said.

Stephen Tivenan, parishioner of St. Michael the Archangel, Glen Allen, was inspired by the celebration of the virtue of hope, which Bishop Knestout -- quoting Pope Benedict XVI -- defined in his homily as "faith … oriented toward the future."

"This is the Jubilee Year, which might be once every 50 years. This specific generation, at this specific moment, in this specific time, we're all together celebrating the Lord. It's so unique and it means so much," Tivenan told The Catholic Virginian, Richmond's diocesan news outlet. "It was such a special moment."

"I haven't been to a Mass like that before," said Dean Speed, parishioner at Church of the Epiphany in Richmond. "It was really cool -- definitely something different."

Speed came to Catholic Fest with his wife, Katrina, and their three young children.

"There was enough background noise from just being in the city, in the open air, that we didn't have to worry so much about the kids being quiet during Mass," said Katrina, laughing.

Issa Odeh and his wife, Colette, originally from Bethlehem, Israel, came to Catholic Fest from Philadelphia as vendors. Their company is called The Good Shepherd Olivewood, and they sell crucifixes, statues, rosaries, and other religious items made from olivewood grown in their hometown of Bethlehem.

"It was a good day for business," said Issa. "We've been to other festivals like this, so we were expecting a good turnout. But it was a beautiful day."

"Mass was so beautiful," added Colette.

Other organizations were there to spread the word about the work being done in the diocese, including the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Commonwealth Catholic Charities.

"It makes you feel like such a community. It was very, very well done," said Christine Florek, parishioner of St. Joseph, Richmond. "We hope they have it again."

There was a plethora of diverse celebrations taking place throughout The Diamond. The Church of the Vietnamese Martyrs, Richmond, brought a dance troupe that performed at 11 a.m.

"We did a dance that offers flowers and gives (honor) to Mary," said Norah Nguyen.

Singer/author Nicholas Higgins was both a performer and a vendor -- he sang at a side stage in the evening and sold copies of his debut album "Fireheart" at a booth throughout the day.

"I sing Christian worship music to evangelize, to share," said Higgins. "I try to give testimonies, stories of what God's done in my life, by thanking and praising him, sharing the joy of encountering him with others. I was able to do that at Catholic Fest."

Confession was available on the second deck of the stadium on the third base side until 1 p.m. Around 1:30 p.m., Catholic schoolchildren paraded around the field.

The afternoon program included a talk from popular Catholic inspirational speaker Robert Feduccia. "Jesus is our hope – Jesus is our jubilee!" he proclaimed.

In the evening, three musical acts – Marie Miller, The Young Escape and Scythian – concluded the festivities with a concert on the field.

Jennifer Benitez, a parishioner at Holy Trinity in Norfolk, came up for the day with her husband and two kids.

"We're cradle Catholics, but we've recently returned more strongly to the faith," said Benitez. "This event is awesome -- it's hard to believe this is the first time they've done it."