Follow
Register for free to receive Fr. Patrick Mary Briscoe’s My Daily Visitor newsletter and unlock full access to the latest inspirational stories, news commentary, and spiritual resources from Our Sunday Visitor.
Newsletter Magazine Subscription

National Eucharistic Pilgrimage: A look back at a big success

National Eucharistic Pilgrimage National Eucharistic Pilgrimage

From 4 points in the US, National Eucharistic Pilgrimage journeys begin

National Eucharistic Pilgrimage
Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minn., processes with the Eucharist to the headwaters of the Mississippi River May 19 for the launch of the Marian Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. (OSV News photo/Courtney Meyer)

LAKE ITASCA, Minn. (OSV News) The journey of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage commenced the weekend of May 18-19, marked by solemn ceremonies across four starting points in the U.S. Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, initiated the northern route May 19 at Lake Itasca, the Mississippi River’s source, blessing its headwaters at Lake Itasca, and asking the faithful to turn from sin through confession to receive the Eucharist worthily, inviting the Lord to bring about in them a “personal Pentecost.” On the same day, the southern pilgrimage route began in Brownsville, Texas, while New Haven, Connecticut and San Francisco, inaugurated the eastern and western routes, respectively, with vigils May 18. Each route of the pilgrimage converges in Indianapolis for the July 17-21 National Eucharistic Congress, covering 6,500 miles and 27 states. “The Holy Spirit moves us to join Christ in his sacrifice and in glorifying the Father, and we move with Christ because the Spirit moves us,” Brownsville Bishop Daniel E. Flores said at his cathedral’s Pentecost Mass. Archbishop Christopher J. Coyne of Hartford, Connecticut, at the May 18 Pentecost Vigil Mass in New Haven said, “In seeking after what God desires of us, we become pilgrims of no path but the one that he would have us follow.” Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco also urged the pilgrims gathered May 19 to follow Jesus Christ in his “way of love,” living publicly their faith in such a way that people perceive “a better way to live.”


‘All gifts from God’: Crowds, connection, conversion mark national pilgrimage’s first week

NEC24 PILGRIMAGE MARIAN ROUTE DAY 2
Pilgrims pray as Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minn., leads Benediction during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage May 20, 2024, in Laporte, Minn. (OSV News photo/Courtney Meyer)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (OSV News) — In their first week, pilgrims on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage have faced blisters, a busted toe and thunderstorms, but those “hiccups” along the routes are “all gifts from God,” said Jack Krebs, a perpetual pilgrim on the pilgrimage’s St. Junipero Serra Route. As the pilgrims make their way to Indianapolis with the Eucharist, Krebs said he is amazed at the number of people showing up for processions or adoration. In San Francisco, approximately 4,000 people walked in a Eucharistic procession over the Golden Gate Bridge following Mass May 19. Krebs has witnessed “the excitement that the people are showing for the Eucharist,” he said during a May 22 media conference, “and I really do trust that it is having a bigger impact on their hearts.” On May 18-19, Krebs and 22 other young adults chosen to be perpetual pilgrims, along with seven seminarians and a rotating cadre of chaplains, began the pilgrimage in four groups from Brownsville, Texas; New Haven, Connecticut; Northern Minnesota; and San Francisco. Over the next eight weeks, the pilgrims are journeying — often by foot but always with the Eucharist — to Indianapolis, where the first National Eucharistic Congress in 83 years will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium July 17-21. Pilgrims said they were already getting glimpses into the pilgrimage’s impact. Seton Route perpetual pilgrim Natalie Garza said a policeman who assisted them in Bridgeport, Connecticut, told them the experience inspired him to bring his family back to church.


Eucharistic pilgrimage includes NY blessings, massive Minnesota procession

Eucharistic procession
Bishop Robert J. Brennan of Brooklyn, N.Y., carries the monstrance while leading a Eucharistic procession across the Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn from Manhattan on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s Seton (East) Route May 26, 2024. (OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz, The Tablet)

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (OSV News) — The Memorial Day weekend included key highlights along all four routes of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. The eastern route’s perpetual pilgrims — young adults walking the full route — visited New York with Masses, Eucharistic adoration, and processions through Central Park and Midtown Manhattan, before processing into the Diocese of Brooklyn via the Brooklyn Bridge May 26. On May 27, the pilgrims boarded a boat in New York Harbor with Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, who, from the water near the Statue of Liberty, blessed the city with the Eucharist before the pilgrims continued on to the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey. In St. Paul, Minnesota, an estimated 7,000 Catholics joined the pilgrimage for a 4.5-mile procession led by Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda from the St. Paul Seminary to the Cathedral of St. Paul. On the pilgrimage’s southern route, pilgrims spent the weekend in the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Texas, where Catholics walked in a mile-long procession after Sunday Mass celebrated by Bishop W. Michael Mulvey at the Corpus Christi Cathedral May 26. That route’s perpetual pilgrims continued May 27 to the Diocese of Victoria, where they spent the evening praying at Presidio La Bahía, an historic Spanish colonial fort that played a significant role in the Texas Revolution. Western-route pilgrims attended events in the Dioceses of Reno, Nevada; Baker, Oregon; and Boise, Idaho. The four routes’ perpetual pilgrims are traveling to Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21.


Stories of conversion, ‘amazing’ encounters mark National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s first 10 days

National Eucharistic Pilgrimage
Photo by Father Patrick Briscoe

VICTORIA, Texas (OSV News) — The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s perpetual pilgrims’ second week included already iconic events — such as when Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York blessed the city with the Eucharist from a boat near the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor May 27 — and hidden moments — like when a man got out of a truck in the middle of Oregon, far away from any towns, and genuflected as the Eucharistic caravan passed. On a May 29 media call, the pilgrims shared other stories of encounter and conversion: On the California side of Lake Tahoe, a photographer for a secular news outlet — amazed by the masses of people turning out for processions — told the perpetual pilgrims that he was inspired to learn more about the Eucharist and plans to begin the process for becoming Catholic. Meanwhile, a woman who isn’t able to walk with the pilgrims has been joining each procession along the St. Juan Diego Route since Brownsville, Texas, on a retrofitted tricycle. Also in Texas, some perpetual pilgrims helped bandage a woman’s wounded leg at a homeless shelter, and then the woman — whose name is Hope — asked the pilgrims to pray with her. On the May 29 media call, the perpetual pilgrims acknowledged that their packed days can sap their energy, but explained each “amazing encounter” along their routes also reveals to them the impact that the pilgrimage is having.


Seminarians discern a closer walk with Jesus walking the pilgrimage

seminarians
Seminarian Mason Bailey, center holding a candle, and other pilgrims, process from St. Theodore’s Catholic Church in Laporte, Minn., along the Paul Bunyan State Trail during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage May 20, 2024. Bailey, 24, is one of seven seminarians who are traveling the four routes of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which began in California, Connecticut, Minnesota and Texas May 18-19 and converges in Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21.(OSV News photo/Courtney Meyer)

WALKER, Minn. (OSV News) — Seven seminarians are traveling the four routes of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which began in California, Connecticut, Minnesota and Texas May 18-19, to converge in Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21. On the northern Marian Route are Mason Bailey of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, in formation at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana, and Blase Gebes of the Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota, in formation at Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, Minnesota. On the southern St. Juan Diego Route are Noah U’Ren of the Diocese of New Ulm, Minnesota, who is at St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Dylan Young from the Archdiocese of Washington, who is at its St. John Paul II Seminary. On the eastern St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Route is Christoph Bernas, who is in formation for the Diocese of Pittsburgh at its St. Paul Seminary, while also studying at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. The western St. Junipero Serra Route includes two seminarians for the Archdiocese of San Francisco in formation at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University at Menlo Park, California: Dereck Delgado and Jimmy Velasco. Having seminarians join the other young adult “perpetual pilgrims” and their priest and religious brother chaplains on each route provides the young men “a unique formational opportunity” that allows them “to also be a witness to other young men who may be discerning a vocation to the priesthood,” said Joel Stepanek, National Eucharistic Congress chief operating officer.


‘Perpetual pilgrims’ are to be ‘a light to those we encounter’ on way to congress

Jennifer Torres, one of the “perpetual pilgrims” on the Marian Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, smiles as she poses for a photo May 31, 2024, during the pilgrimage’s time in the Diocese of St. Cloud, Minn. The northern Marian Route started May 17 in Bemidji, Minn., and will end in Indianapolis at the National Eucharistic Congress, being held July 17-21. (OSV News photo/Amber Walling, The Central Minnesota Catholic)

LONG PRAIRIE, Minn. (OSV News) — Jennifer Torres said she and the other “perpetual pilgrims” taking part in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage are “are ambassadors of the Eucharist who are also called to share our testimony and be a light to those we encounter.” “During the pilgrimage, there are moments where we are asked to minister to, lead and guide the people we encounter,” she told The Central Minnesota Catholic, magazine of the St. Cloud Diocese, in an interview May 23 at St. Mary of Mount Carmel Church in Long Prairie. Torres began her pilgrimage on the Marian Route, which began May 17 in Bemidji, Minnesota, at the Star of the North Conference and will end in Indianapolis at the National Eucharistic Congress. Besides the Marian Route, three other National Eucharistic Pilgrimage routes launched in other parts of the country are in full swing. The four routes will converge on Indianapolis July 16 for the National Eucharistic Congress, which takes place July 17-21. “It’s been such a joy,” Torres said. “There is such warmth within all those we are meeting — youth, young adults, grandparents. All the pilgrims have been struck by the hunger for the Lord, and I am grateful to witness this.”


Texas woman shows her love of the Eucharist by pedaling pilgrimage route

Patricia Galindo of Brownsville, Texas, sits atop her tricycle outside Sacred Heart Church in Galveston on June 2, 2024, after following a Eucharistic procession. She followed portions of the St. Juan Diego Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage by trike as it journeyed through Texas from Brownsville to Beaumont at the Texas-Louisiana border. (OSV News photo/James Ramos, Texas Catholic Herald)

GALVESTON, Texas (OSV News) — Patricia Galindo’s handwritten sign towered over her, often fluttering about when a breeze from the Gulf of Mexico blew through Galveston Island. In large black ink, Galindo wrote a bilingual message in English and Spanish on white cardboard declaring, “Eucharist: My Source of Strength.” And by finally reaching Galveston Island June 2, the feast of Corpus Christi, Galindo finally reached the home stretch of her biking journey, one that took her along the path of the St. Juan Diego Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. Her visit to St. Mary Cathedral Basilica and Sacred Heart Church in Galveston marked the beginning of the end of her biking pilgrimage. She had started her pedaling alongside the Eucharistic processions in her hometown of Brownsville, Texas, and followed the pilgrimage group as it slowly wound its way up the Texas Gulf Coast. “Whether in front of the Eucharist at our home parish or along this journey across Texas, we’re praying for all the families, the homes, everyone that we’re passing by,” Galindo said. Joined by a close friend, the two committed to accompany the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage group all the way from Brownsville to Beaumont, Texas, and see that the group made it to Louisiana. Upon reaching Beaumont June 3, Galindo and her friend completed their 15-day, 600-plus mile-long pilgrimage with the Lord.


Enthusiasm mounts as National Eucharistic Pilgrimage presses on

Children pray during Eucharistic adoration at St. Laurence Church in Sugar Land, Texas, May 30, 2024. More than 1,200 faithful gathered at the church, one of several stops in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston along the St. Juan Diego Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. (OSV News photo/James Ramos, Texas Catholic Herald)

PHILADELPHIA (OSV News) — On their third week of the pilgrimage, young adults traveling the full lengths of the four National Eucharistic Pilgrimage routes with the Eucharist reported meeting enthusiasm at every stop since setting out from points in California, Connecticut, Minnesota and Texas May 18-19. On the pilgrimage’s eastern Seton Route, perpetual pilgrims and their chaplains spent May 30-June 3 in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez led a Corpus Christi procession through downtown Philadelphia June 2. Two days later, the Seton pilgrims were in the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, walking in yet another public procession. “This pilgrimage is so radical and so crazy, and I’m glad that it is, because it’s a witness in and of itself,” Dominic Carstens, a perpetual pilgrim. “It makes people look at us and ask, ‘Why would they do this? Why would they give so much time and energy and sacrifice?’ I want them to ask those things, because then they can think for a moment and realize we’re out here because the Eucharist is truly Christ. I hope they see our love for the Lord, and that love makes them want to find Christ, too.” Pilgrims on the northern, southern and western pilgrimage routes spent the week in the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota; the Texas Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and Diocese of Beaumont, and Louisiana dioceses of Lake Charles and Lafayette; and the Diocese of Salt Lake City and Archdiocese of Denver.


Eucharistic pilgrimage brings ‘joyous,’ ‘amazing’ experience to Maryland shrine

National Eucharistic Pilgrimage
Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori carries the monstrance at the start of a walk through the streets of Emmitsburg, Md., June 6, 2024, after celebrating Mass at the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. The shrine was one stop on the Seton Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage as it makes its way to Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress in July. (OSV News/Gerry Jackson, Catholic Review)

EMMITSBURG, Md. (OSV News) — Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore described the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s June 6 stop at the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg as a “joyous” occasion. The emotion was prevalent throughout the day as the national journey leading to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in July paid tribute to the patron of the pilgrimage’s eastern Seton Route. Archbishop Lori celebrated a morning Mass at the shrine, which was followed by a Eucharistic procession through the Frederick County town of 6,000. More than 1,100 participated in the Mass and procession, which was one of the largest gatherings of the pilgrimage, according to Seton Route spokesperson Kevin Shinkle. Rob Judge, executive director of the Seton Shrine for the past 13 years, said it was the most well attended event at the shrine since Mother Seton’s canonization in 1975. “What a blessing, what a grace,” Archbishop Lori said in his homily about the stop in Emmitsburg. Before Mass, he said, “It’s the home of the first American-born saint, Baltimore was the first diocese in the United States and Mount St. Mary’s (located in Emmitsburg) was the second seminary in the United States. So it’s very fitting.” said Pat Murphy of Leesburg, Virginia, said, “Kudos to our area for showing up in such force. This is amazing.”


More than 1,200 take to the streets of nation’s capital for National Eucharistic Pilgrimage

The faithful depart the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception June 8, 2024, as they follow the Blessed Sacrament in procession through the streets of the Brookland neighborhood of Washington. The procession was held as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s Seton Route made a stop in the Archdiocese of Washington as it makes its way to Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress to be held in July. (OSV News photo/Mihoko Owada, Catholic Standard)

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — More than 1,200 faithful took to the streets of the nation’s capital June 8 to celebrate the arrival of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in the Archdiocese of Washington with prayers, songs and a procession. Praying the luminous mysteries of the rosary, hearing the Word of God proclaimed and following behind a monstrance holding Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament, the faithful processed through the streets of Northeast Washington. “I’ve been looking forward to being a part of this since the first time I heard about it,” said participant Mark Forrest. He said he wanted to be a part of the procession because “if others see what I believe, maybe it will inspire them to believe.” Washington was one of many stops along the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s eastern Seton Route — named for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. It’s one of four national pilgrimages scheduled to converge in Indianapolis July 16 for the National Eucharistic Congress, which takes place July 17-21. The other three — the Marian, Serra and Juan Diego routes – are heading to Indianapolis from the north, west and south, respectively. Prior to the procession, Washington Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar celebrated Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. About 36 priests were concelebrants, including Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, retired archbishop of Washington. More than 2,000 people attended the Mass.


Amid seaside blessing, Rocky Mountains crossing, shrine stops, pilgrimage’s ‘highlight is always the people’

People pray during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage Mass June 9, 2024, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The Mass marked the closing event of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s Seton Route stop in the nation’s capital. (OSV News photo/Mihoko Owada, Catholic Standard)

GREENSBURG, Pa. (OSV News) — As the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage entered its fourth week with a string of large-scale events on each of its four routes, its perpetual pilgrims continue to notice God at work in simple, unexpected encounters. Amayrani Higueldo, a perpetual pilgrim from Philadelphia traveling with the Eucharist on the eastern Seton Route, said one of the highlights of her past week was running into a Catholic family at Walmart. The family noticed the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and asked what they were doing. They talked for 15 minutes, and the pilgrims invited the family to join the next day’s procession. And they did. “The highlight is always the people,” said Juan Diego Route pilgrim and Texan Charlie McCullough, who this week visited New Orleans’ French Quarter and attended a blessing of the Gulf of Mexico. “Everywhere we go, the people of God surprise us with their faith, generosity and devotion.” The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in an unprecedented journey through 27 states and 65 dioceses, covering a combined distance of 6,500 miles by foot and by van, that began nearly a month ago in California, Connecticut, Minnesota and Texas. Accompanied by priest chaplains and members of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, 30 young adults are traveling with the Eucharist to Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21, the pinnacle of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative of the U.S. bishops to deepen love for and understanding of Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist.


‘Jesus cannot help but pour himself out’ on National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, pilgrim says

National Eucharistic Pilgrimage
Father Jon Chalmers, pastor of Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Hoover, Ala., carries the Eucharist in procession June 17, 2024, as part of the St. Juan Diego route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. (OSV News photo/Mary Dillard, Diocese of Birmingham)

ATLANTA (OSV News) — Shayla Elm, 25, said her own deepening love of the Eucharist compelled her to take an interest last year in the National Eucharistic Revival and ultimately apply to be — and be chosen as — one of 30 perpetual pilgrims walking the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s four routes. “This entire pilgrimage, for me, has just been calling us to be childlike, to be small, to be little and just like that little girl, to have that simple faith,” she said. Elm shared her experience of the ongoing pilgrimage June 20 with Catholic journalists and communications professionals gathered in Atlanta for the Catholic Media Conference, an annual gathering of the Catholic Media Association. The Juan Diego Route pilgrims will spend the June 21-23 weekend in Atlanta after leaving Brownsville, Texas, May 19 and traveling east through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. They will continue on through Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana, arriving in Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21. There they will converge with the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s other three routes: the western St. Junipero Serra Route, whose pilgrims began in California and spent the week of June 16 crossing Nebraska; the eastern St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Route, whose pilgrims began in Connecticut and recently left western Pennsylvania for northern West Virginia; and the northern Marian Route, whose pilgrims began in Minnesota and are in eastern Wisconsin. Each day, the pilgrims stop at parishes, Catholic institutions or secular sites for Mass, Eucharistic processions and other worship. Their continuous companion is the Eucharist, carried in a specially designed monstrance or reserved in a special tabernacle in their support van.


Sternwheeler carries Blessed Sacrament down Ohio River

From the sternwheeler in the Eucharistic procession on the Ohio River for the Seton Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage June 24, 2024, Bishop Mark E. Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston, W.Va., bestows a Eucharistic blessing to the faithful gathered at the Wellsburg Wharf in Wellsburg, W.Va. (OSV News photo/Colleen Rowan, The Catholic Spirit)

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (OSV News) — While many Catholics today do not believe, as Pew Research reported a few years ago, that the Eucharist is Jesus — body, blood, soul and divinity — it’s not at all hard for 4-year-old Joseph Paul of Steubenville, Ohio, to believe. He knows. “Bye-bye, Jesus!” little Joseph yelled to our Lord from the banks of the Ohio River at the marina in Steubenville as the sternwheeler carrying the Most Blessed Sacrament set off on its journey down the Ohio River June 23. The procession was part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Route. The Paul family, of Holy Family Parish in Steubenville, was among hundreds of Catholics from the city who came to the marina that morning. Little Joseph joyfully waved to our Lord as he watched the sternwheeler make its way down the river. “Bye, Jesus,” he said once again. Catholics who don’t believe in Christ’s real presence can learn a lot from little Joseph. Leading the Eucharistic procession down the river were Bishop Mark E. Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston and the apostolic administrator of the Steubenville Diocese, Bishop Edward M. Lohse of Kalamazoo, Michigan, as well as priests, seminarians and laity from the two dioceses. Also aboard the “Boater-cade” were perpetual pilgrims on the Seton Route. At designated blessing spots on both sides of the river, West Virginia and Ohio Catholic faithful gathered to receive a Eucharistic blessing from their bishop.


National Eucharistic Pilgrimage chaplain marks 25th jubilee amid ‘life-changing adventure’

National Eucharistic Pilgrimage chaplain Father Roger Landry elevates the host during a pilgrimage Mass celebrated in English and Spanish at St. Frances Cabrini Shrine in the Upper Manhattan section of New York City May 25, 2024. The shrine was one of the stops in the Archdiocese of New York for pilgrims journeying on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s Seton (East) Route. (OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (OSV News) — Under the star-stenciled ceiling of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, Father Roger Landry, a priest chaplain traveling the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s eastern route, gave thanks to God for his priesthood June 26 in a Mass marking the 25th jubilee of his priestly ordination. Father Landry is a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, chaplain at Columbia University in New York, and a sought-after preacher and retreat master. He is also the only priest chaplain traveling a full pilgrimage route to Indianapolis — a journey that he described as a “life-changing adventure with the Lord.” Father Landry and the Seton Route’s seven “perpetual pilgrims” — the young adults journeying the full pilgrimage route — spent their sixth week on the pilgrimage in West Virginia and eastern Ohio, which included a June 23 procession down the Ohio River with the Eucharist on a sternwheeler boat. Over the same week, the 23 perpetual pilgrims on the pilgrimage’s other three routes traveled through Georgia and Tennessee; Wisconsin and Illinois; and Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas. Since Pentecost weekend May 18-19, the perpetual pilgrims have been journeying — often by foot but always with the Eucharist — to Indianapolis, where the first National Eucharistic Congress in 83 years takes place at Lucas Oil Stadium July 17-21. The pilgrimage and the congress are highlights of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative the U.S. bishops launched in 2022 to inspire deeper love for and understanding of Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist.


Pilgrims trekking National Eucharistic Pilgrimage eyeing final destination Indianapolis with two weeks remaining

National Eucharistic Pilgrimage
Brother Lawrence Johnson, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal, distributes Communion during an outdoor Mass June 27, 2024, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, Ill., during a stop along the Marian Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. (OSV New photo/Simone Orendain)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (OSV News) — Pilgrims on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s four routes are edging closer to Indianapolis, with the group traveling the northern Marian Route having arrived in Indiana July 1. Pilgrims on the other three routes will enter the state the week of July 7 before converging in its capital ahead of the National Eucharistic Congress, July 17-21. “It’s really neat that they’re honing in” on their final destination, said Will Peterson, president of Modern Catholic Pilgrim, the Minnesota-based nonprofit that led the organization of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. “It’s hard to believe.” Across their four routes, the pilgrims spent Independence Day in Michigan City and St. John, Indiana; Cincinnati; Jefferson City, Missouri; and at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Kentucky, which was home to the influential monk, mystic and writer Father Thomas Merton from 1941 until his death in 1968. Over the previous week, pilgrims on the four routes covered 10 dioceses. With less than two weeks remaining for the pilgrimage, Peterson said that he has been amazed since the first week at the number of Catholics who have joined the numerous Eucharistic processions. “I don’t think I was prepared for how the public would respond to the public processions, and what it would mean,” he said.


At 69, Indiana woman deepens her faith while on pilgrimage

National Eucharistic Pilgrimage
Bishop Robert J. Brennan of Brooklyn, N.Y., carries the monstrance while leading a Eucharistic procession across the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s Seton (East) Route May 26, 2024. (OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz, The Tablet)

INDIANAPOLIS (OSV News) — As she talked with the grieving woman, Jan Pierson believed this was another moment when God had led her to where he wanted her to be — which is exactly why the 69-year-old Indiana woman has looked past the challenges and has embraced her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take part in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. Ever since beginning the pilgrimage May 18 in New Haven, Connecticut, traveling along the Eastern Seaboard, crossing the Appalachian Mountains and heading across Ohio toward Indianapolis on the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Route, Pierson has placed her every mile in God’s hands. “I’m always up for an adventure,” said the member of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Bloomington, Indiana, a mother of four grown children and 10 grandchildren. “When I found out about the pilgrimage, I thought, ‘Why not? Why not do something with Jesus?’ I was all for it.” She said she is experiencing “one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church” on the pilgrimage. A widow for 32 years, she said she always turns to Jesus and he has been her strength in raising her children and coping with the loss of her husband when he died. Now, on the pilgrimage, “I feel his graces everywhere,” she said. The pilgrims on the Seton eastern route are scheduled to meet up in Indianapolis with pilgrims from the north, south and west routes July 16 for the National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21.


Meet the ‘first convert’ of the National Eucharistic Revival

Marina Frattaroli, a perpetual pilgrim on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s eastern St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Route, walks in a Eucharistic procession through downtown Cincinnati July 6, 2024. (OSV News Photo/Jake Emser, courtesy Archdiocese of Cincinnati)

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (OSV News) — Marina Frattaroli, a recent convert to Catholicism, is one of 30 perpetual pilgrims participating in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, leading up to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. Frattaroli, who embraced Catholicism after discovering the church’s teachings on the Eucharist online, has spent the past six weeks traveling with the Eucharist and engaging in Mass, adoration, and processions across several states. Originally a devout Presbyterian, Frattaroli began her journey to the Catholic faith through a deep personal interest in theology and Christian history, which she began exploring during her studies at Duke University. The COVID-19 pandemic provided her the time to delve into the Bible and engage with Catholic discussions on social media, which sparked her curiosity about Catholic teachings on the Eucharist. Frattaroli’s exploration of the Catholic faith intensified while attending Columbia Law School in New York, culminating in her conversion in December 2022. Frattaroli had been Catholic for fewer than 10 months when the National Eucharistic Revival opened the application process for the pilgrimage’s perpetual pilgrims. Throughout her pilgrimage, she has experienced a profound spiritual awakening, deepening her understanding and reverence for the Eucharist. “This has been a life-changing event for me,” she said, noting that “a different chapter” in her spiritual journey will begin after the National Eucharistic Congress, when she returns to New York to work at a law firm.


Pilgrims see the church ‘alive and hungry’ as National Eucharistic Pilgrimage enters final days

A family kneels in prayer on the Big Four Bridge July 9, 2024, in Louisville, Ky., as hundreds of Catholics crossed the Ohio River with the Blessed Sacrament. The procession marked the end of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s July 4 to 9 route through the Archdiocese of Louisville. (OSV News photo/Marnie McAllister, The Record)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (OSV News) — Singing hymns and praying the rosary, hundreds of Catholics from the Louisville Archdiocese and the Indianapolis Archdiocese processed with the Blessed Sacrament from Waterfront Park in downtown Louisville across the Ohio River via the Big Four Bridge July 9. Louisville Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre held the monstrance aloft as he crossed the pedestrian bridge, ceremoniously transferring it to Archbishop Charles C. Thompson of Indianapolis as part of the eight-week, four-route National Eucharistic Pilgrimage to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17-21. The southern route pilgrims were the third of the four perpetual pilgrim groups to enter Indiana. Northern route pilgrims entered the state July 1, while eastern route pilgrims crossed the Ohio-Indiana border into the Indianapolis Archdiocese July 8 after traveling through the Cincinnati Archdiocese. Pilgrims on the western route expected to enter Indiana July 12 after spending July 5-12 in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Shayla Elm told The Record, the Louisville Archdiocese’s newspaper, that her experiences as a perpetual pilgrim have convinced her that “the church is alive and hungry.” Perpetual pilgrim Matthew Heidenreich told Today’s Catholic, the Diocese of Fort-Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, newspaper, “We’re pilgrims forever on our journey to heaven, and we’re missionaries now of the Eucharist, to go and share this experience that we’ve had with the places that we came from.” The pilgrimage and congress are highlights of the ongoing National Eucharistic Revival launched in 2022 to inspire greater understanding of and devotion to the Eucharist.