Jesus is Moving Across America

Jesus is on the move across America as a group of young adults called Perpetual Pilgrims are accompanying his Sacramental Presence as part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage on four routes that will culminate in Indianapolis for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in July.   

The Perpetual Pilgrims and Sacramental Jesus set out from four locations in our country on Pentecost Weekend on a journey that will converge in Indianapolis.  The Holy Eucharist is being carried by foot and by vehicle on an extraordinary journey with numerous stops along the way to increase devotion and love for Jesus truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.  

 
“The Pilgrimage will be a powerful, once-in-a-lifetime witness of how Jesus Christ comes close to us and invites all to encounter him in the Eucharist,” said the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Eucharistic Congress, Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota. 

Each of the four routes has a designated intercessor.  Our Blessed Mother is intercessor for the North Route (Marian Route).  St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is the intercessor for the East Route (Seton Route).  St. Juan Diego is the intercessor for the South Route (Juan Diego Route).  St. Junipero Serra is the intercessor for the West Route (Serra Route).  

 
The Seton Route started out from New Haven, Connecticut – home of the Knights of Columbus and the resting place of Blessed Michael J. McGivney, founder of that Catholic mens services organization.  From there, the Seton Route Pilgrims and Jesus travelled through the Archdioceses of New York and Philadelphia.   By the time they reach Indianapolis in July, they will have visited 18 archdioceses and dioceses in seven states and the District of Columbia.  They will visit shrines for Blessed Michael J. McGivney, and Saints Frances Cabrini, Katharine Drexel, John Neumann and Elizabeth Ann Seton.   

 
The Seton Perpetual Pilgrims did not pass through my home diocese (Camden NJ).  However, they did pass through the neighboring Diocese of Trenton NJ and Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  I was able to catch up with the pilgrimage at St. John the Evangelist Church in Morrisville, Pennsylvania last week for Benediction.  I had been following the Eucharistic Pilgrimage through Catholic media for several months, but I felt indescribably and powerfully drawn spiritually to meet up with Jesus along his Eucharistic journey to Indianapolis.   

 
The Marian or North Route started in the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota.  When that pilgrimage team arrives in Indianapolis, they will have travelled through thirteen archdioceses and dioceses in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana.  The route honors Our Blessed Mother because one of its stops is the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion near Green Bay, Wisconsin, which is the first and only approved Marian Apparition site in the United States.  

 
The South Route honors St. Juan Diego, who was visited by Our Blessed Mother in Mexico in 1531.  The St. Juan Diego Route began in Brownsville, Texas and proceeded north along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.  By the time, the St. Juan Diego pilgrims reach Indianapolis, they will have visited nineteen archdioceses and dioceses in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana.  Noteworthy stops include the Cathedral of St. Louis in New Orleans which is the oldest cathedral in North America and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Alabama.  The latter was founded by the late Mother Angelica and is affiliated with the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery which was also founded by her.

The intercessor for the West Route is St. Junipero Sera, whose ministry and evangelization was critical for the formation of the Catholic Church in California.  On 19 May 2024, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone offered Mass for Pentecost at Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption.  Afterwards, Archbishop Cordileone, the Perpetual Pilgrims and upwards of 5,000 people accompanied the Most Blessed Sacrament in a procession across the Golden Gate Bridge.  Beginning in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the St. Junipero Sera pilgrims will accompany Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament through eighteen archdioceses and dioceses and eleven states and covering over 2,200 miles - the longest of the four pilgrimage routes. 

 
The Eucharistic Pilgrimage is an astounding feat of not only faith but also logistics.  Accompanied by the Perpetual Pilgrims, the Most Blessed Sacrament will  collectively travel 6,500 miles, crossing 27 states, and visiting 65 dioceses and archdioceses.  Altogether, over 500 individual events are planned in conjunction with the pilgrimage, including Masses, Eucharistic Adoration, and Eucharistic Processions.  

 
If you are available to attend one of the events associated with the Eucharistic Pilgrimage, I highly encourage you to do so.  As of this writing, the journey is far from over so there are still numerous opportunities to participate. You can learn more about the Pilgrimage on their website https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/  

 
In closing this post, I offer my prayers for the spiritual success of the Eucharistic Pilgrimage and the safety of the Perpetual Pilgrims and all participants.  May this extraordinary event promote a greater love, appreciation and adoration of Our Savior truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.  Vivat Jesus!