A Catholic blogger named Joseph Moore relates his experience at the Walk for Life West Coast:
Let’s see: the walk came to a halt for a bit when we were 1.2 miles from the end. I could see solid people all the way to the to the Ferry Building. Did a quick estimate: the cross section, maybe a yard deep, where me and mine walked contained 20 people side to side. 1.2 miles contains about 2,100 such cross sections, so, if our piece was of typical density, looks like over 42,000 people at that moment stood between us and the end of the walk.
Some people at the front had already made it through. There were people behind us. 60,000 is a probably a good conservative estimate.
The Mass before hand was lovely. Over 40 priests were in the procession, many more in the crowd, 9 bishops including Archbishop Cordileone. Incense, lots of Latin – they did several of the propers and commons. A fairly high percentage of the people joined in on the commons, even though they were not the simplest or (in my experience, at least) best known. Choir was quite good, did a fancy a cappella Gloria and an antiphonal offertory piece I didn’t recognize. They used that hymn tune from Holst’s Jupiter with appropriate words for a communion song.
(Aside: Holst was some sort of goofball astrological mystic, so it amuses me to see his very beautiful tune used as a communion hymn. Baptized paganism, indeed.)
Even St. Mary’s Cathedral with all its architectural weirdness was made holy and solemn.
The archbishop gave a no messing around, call a spade a spade homily. Refreshing.