WEST WARWICK — For the past seven years, Catholic Underground PVD at St. Patrick Church on Smith Hill has drawn a devoted following of young adults eager to encounter Christ through Eucharistic adoration, live music, and creative expression. Now, the Diocese of Providence’s Secretariat for Evangelization and Pastoral Planning hopes to carry that same spirit beyond the city with Ocean State Underground, a traveling version of the popular event designed to reach Catholics across Rhode Island.
“We have a small diocese, but there are so many different churches and chapels where we can hold events like this,” said Hannah Jefferson, the Youth and Young Adult Evangelization Consultant for the diocese. “It’s just such a gift for us to be able to gather together as a community to worship before the Lord, especially in this Lenten season.”
The Catholic Underground movement has its origins in New York City, where it was first introduced by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal at Manhattan’s Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel. The formula is simple: Catholics in their twenties and thirties gather together for Eucharistic adoration coupled with artistic performance and fellowship. Father Agustino Torres, the founder of the original event, considered it a “direct response to a call that began with now Saint John Paul II — who said that because the Gospel lives in conversation with culture, we must be fearless in crossing the threshold of the communication and information revolution now taking place.”
The success of the original Catholic Underground led to spinoffs throughout the country, including a Providence chapter founded by John Almonte and former St. Patrick’s pastor, now Portland, Maine Bishop James Ruggieri.
The Providence event has attracted performances by a wide variety of local artists, including an acoustic guitar set performed by Father Nicholas Fleming, pastor of SS. John and James Parish in West Warwick.
Father Fleming has also played a role in the introduction of Ocean State Underground, with St. Mary, a mission church of SS. John and James Parish, serving as the venue for the first two events, on November 22 and February 21.
“When Hannah contacted me about using St. Mary’s, I was immediately on board,” said Father Fleming. “The Underground experience is a good opportunity for young Catholics to see other young faces in the Church. It’s helpful for building a sense of community for them, especially when Sunday Masses tend to be geared towards an older crowd.”
The oldest extant church building in the diocese, St. Mary’s was an ideal venue for an Underground adoration: it is a small, intimate setting located in the exact geographical center of the state, making it easy to reach from any corner of the diocese. Father Fleming recently repainted the church’s interior, drawing inspiration from the details and embellishments which the building featured when it was first built in 1844.
“Back in 2020, I was praying and the Lord helped me envision ways to add to the beauty of the church,” he recalled. “I did the painting myself; it was just a little way to honor its past and connect with its heritage.”
“It is such a beautiful space for adoration,” Jefferson said. Jefferson and her husband, Henry, performed the music for the evening with an acoustic arrangement of traditional American worship songs, such as the 1876 standard “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.” Rows of candles blanketed the floor behind the altar, providing the only illumination in the building and casting flickering shadows on the starry, blue nighttime sky painted on the ceiling of the sanctuary. Upon the altar, the monstrance bearing the exposed Blessed Sacrament gleamed in the dancing candlelight.
“I was impressed by the sense of peace it brought me,” said Cristian Valdes, a parishioner of Holy Spirit Parish in Central Falls. “The music was great, everything was really well done.”
His sentiments were echoed by Aida Alex and Bucio Mendez, a married couple from St. Charles Borromeo Church in Providence.
“I didn’t expect the ambiance to be so nice,” said Alex. “We just moved to the Warwick area and we weren’t expecting to find anything like this outside of Providence.”
After the Holy Hour, attendees gathered at a nearby restaurant for drinks and a bite to eat. “I was really happy they’ve added another Underground event,” said Timothy Campbell, of St. Phillip Church in Smithfield. “I love adoration, and when you add in the music, it’s really awesome.”
The Secretariat plans to put on one Ocean State Underground event per season; the next will take place at Aldrich Mansion in the Spring. The date has not been announced yet but will appear on Evangelizeri.org when available. In the meantime, Catholic Underground PVD takes place once a month at St. Patrick Church, on Smith Hill. For more information on that event, visit www.Stpatrickchurch.net.
