6,500-mile pilgrimage to kick off bishops’ 2024 National Eucharistic Congress

A year from now, 48 Catholics spread out at four separate locations across the country, will embark on a two-month pilgrimage to Indianapolis for the start of the National Eucharistic Congress — and, if everything goes to plan, they’ll encounter more than 100,000 fellow Catholics along the way.

Jun 02, 2023

Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens listens to a question during a Nov. 17, 2021, session of the fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. (Credit: Bob Roller/CNS.)


By John Lavenburg
A year from now, 48 Catholics spread out at four separate locations across the country, will embark on a two-month pilgrimage to Indianapolis for the start of the National Eucharistic Congress — and, if everything goes to plan, they’ll encounter more than 100,000 fellow Catholics along the way.

The National Eucharistic Congress has announced the routes and plans for the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage that will begin next Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 2024, and conclude in Indianapolis on July 16, 2024, which is the site of the National Eucharistic Congress. Each taking off from a different region of the US, the four pilgrimage routes will cover approximately 6,500 miles, and run through 65 dioceses.

The pilgrimage is a next step in the US bishops’ three-year Eucharistic revival initiative.

“It is a stirring vision — Christ truly present in the Eucharist, travelling across our nation inviting crowds of hungry souls to come and be fed,” Will Peterson, president and founder of Modern Catholic Pilgrim, said in a statement.

“The pilgrimage is modelled after the road to Emmaus and is an invitation for pilgrims to encounter the risen Christ on the journey and in the breaking of the bread before being missioned back into their local communities to spread the fire,” Peterson said.

The four cities the pilgrimage will start from are: San Francisco, California; Bemidji, Minnesota; New Haven, Connecticut; and Brownsville, Texas.

Each route will have 12 “perpetual pilgrims” — young adult Catholics between the ages of 19-29 – who will lead the way, along with priest chaplains who will cycle through on a weekly schedule. However, the National Eucharistic Congress has made it clear that these pilgrims will not walk the entire journey. There will be a support vehicle “for legs of the journey in which safety, terrain, and/or climate may present obstacles,” according to the National Eucharistic Congress.

Pilgrims will travel 10-15 miles a day, and be offered stay at parishioner homes and diocesan related centres.

An application process for those interested to be one of the 48 “perpetual pilgrims” will open this summer, followed by an interview process in the fall.

The priest chaplains will be charged with helping celebrate Mass, leading the Eucharistic procession, taking part in devotions, and hearing confessions. In general, there will be a consistent schedule for each pilgrimage route that includes Mass and major solemn procession on Sundays, with Mass and smaller processions at parishes during the week.

There will also be day pilgrims who are the 100,000-plus Catholics expected to join the pilgrimage along the way on what will be designated official segments. Peterson said they will make sure to give all Catholics an opportunity to participate, even if not directly on the road.

Part of the impetus for the US bishops launching the Eucharistic Revival initiative in 2021 was a 2019 Pew study that showed just 30 per cent of Catholics understand the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The first year was focused on the diocesan level, with the second year focused on the parish level. The pilgrimage and subsequent National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis — with an expected attendance of 80,000 — are the culmination of the initiative.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Evangelization and Catechesis Committee chair, who has spearheaded the National Eucharistic Revival initiative, has said the goal is to create a movement of Catholics across the United States, healed, converted, formed, and unified by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist — and sent out in mission ‘for the life of the world.’ --Crux Now

Total Comments:0

Name
Email
Comments