Members of several Catholic parishes in the Philadelphia Archdiocese along with other denominations in the Philadelphia area gathered at Broad Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue in North Philadelphia on Saturday, June 6. The procession headed down Broad Street in prayer, song and reflection. The group, led by the Kingdom Builders organization, had a Philadelphia police escort, which is provided with a protest permit and for whom the marchers prayed for unity and peace along the way. Chants of “no justice, no peace, no corrupt police” were heard along the route to the north side of City Hall where police officers and National Guard soldiers were lined with a metal barrier.

The group prayed over the police and knelt for eight minutes and 46 seconds to honor George Floyd, the man killed May 25 under Minneapolis police restraint, which launched a global movement for justice. In the end, the young people offered hugs to any of the police who felt they needed one. (Photos and story by Sarah Webb)