May 22: National Eucharistic Pilgrimage Begins in St. Augustine

When the Spaniards first landed in America in 1565, their first actions were both Eucharistic and evangelistic. Soon after their landing, Father Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales celebrated one of the earliest documented Masses in what is now the United States. Members of the native Seloy tribe curiously approached and were invited to participate in the Holy Mass. Fr. Grajales noted in his diary later that the Seloy “imitated all they saw done.” While the natives might have merely tried to follow along with the foreign gestures of the Mass, Fr. Grajales words indicate the impact their evangelization had on the Seloy.

Over 460 years later, a new Eucharistic and evangelistic effort takes place at the same site. On May 22, St. Augustine, Florida, is serving as the starting point for the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage honoring the 250th Anniversary of the United States. 

While St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European-founded city in what is now the United States, it is also one of the earliest centers of Catholicism and evangelization in America north of Mexico. “The city became an early center for missionary outreach, evangelization and parish life in North America,” explained Kathleen Bagg. “Long before many of the nation’s oldest cities existed, priests and missionaries were serving people in St. Augustine and the surrounding region.”

The pilgrimage begins with a welcome, opening remarks, and opening Mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, the site where Father Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales celebrated the first Mass.

“The site is associated with the first enduring Catholic mission and the oldest Marian devotion in the United States,” explained Kathleen Bagg. “The shrine honors Our Lady of La Leche, a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with motherhood, nurturing and care for children.”

The afternoon of May 22 will be filled with devotions and prayer, including adoration, a rosary in the Rosary Garden, confessions, a Florida Martyrs immersion walk, and more. Pilgrims will participate in a Eucharistic procession to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, which possesses its own rich history. 

“The Cathedral Basilica is recognized as the oldest continuously established Catholic parish community in the nation,” shared Kathleen. “While there was a temporary interruption of public Catholic worship during the British period from 1763 to 1784, when Spanish clergy departed the region, and Mass was no longer regularly celebrated, the Catholic community itself endured, and parish life resumed when Spanish control returned.”

As pilgrims flock to these sites to participate in this momentous event, it is important to recall that both the Cathedral Basilica and the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche are not just monuments representing times of old; they remain dynamic, active places of worship, centuries later.

“Pilgrims are not simply visiting historic landmarks. They are encountering living places of prayer where the Eucharist has been celebrated for generations,” Kathleen declared. “That continuity — from the first Spanish settlers and missionaries to today’s pilgrims and parishioners — is what makes St. Augustine so unique within the story of Catholicism in the United States.”

As the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage begins this weekend, let us too recall our Catholic heritage. May Our Lady of La Leche, through her motherly care, bring us ever closer to her Eucharistic Son.

The Pilgrim Mass will be held at 12 noon on Friday, May 22, followed by exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. For more information on the events in St. Augustine, click here. For more information on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, please visit eucharisticpilgrimage.org.