The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage that just concluded in Indianapolis will leave a lasting impression on many Americans. Years from now, they will remember that four pilgrimage routes – starting in the North, South, East and West – imprinted the shape of a cross on the continental United States.
The pilgrimage was originally conceived of as having a single route. But Patrick Kelly, the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, suggested doing four instead. Organizers were not convinced that it could be done. But it was.
Since a four-route pilgrimage was the idea of the head of the worldwide Catholic fraternal organization, it was only natural that hundreds of Knights would help in making the pilgrimage a success.
That included planning logistics; providing hospitality for the perpetual pilgrims (the young people who would carry Christ in the Eucharist to the National Eucharistic Congress); and providing honor guards to serve at processions, Masses, and holy hours.
“From helping with permitting and police presence at processions to supplying waters roadside for pilgrims (I personally benefited from that contribution on a hot, muggy 4th of July in Kentucky), the Knights made sacrifices to have a successful Pilgrimage," Will Peterson, President and Founder of Modern Catholic Pilgrim, the official pilgrimage partner of the National Eucharistic Congress, told Aleteia. The Knights even donated time and supplies to outfit the Seton Route trailer,” the vehicle that accompanied the pilgrims along the route named for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
Peterson added that logistical support was “immense” at the national, state, and local levels. He said that Peter Sonski, who is education and outreach director at the Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center in New Haven, Connecticut, served on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage Advisory Board and was “crucial in connecting the Pilgrimage with Knights around the country."
“Basically every state we entered, we had the total support of the state council in supplying guys from local councils to manage crowds, carry the canopy, provide meals, escort the van, etc.,” he said. “Natalie Garza, the Team Lead for the Seton Route, told me personally in Cincinnati that after what she saw the Knights do for the pilgrims over the two months that she’s ‘going to be the Knights' biggest supporter the rest of her life.’”
The Seton route started in New Haven, Connecticut, the city where the Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882. Archbishop Christopher J. Coyne of Hartford on May 18 celebrated a Mass at St. Mary’s Church, where Fr. Michael J. McGivney was a parish priest and gathered a group of men that would become a fraternal order now claiming over 2 million members. The remains of Blessed Michael J. McGivney are interred in St. Mary’s.
Nearby, the Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center was the location for a talk by Fr. Roger Landry, the only priest who would accompany pilgrims the entire way to Indianapolis. Fr. Landry, chaplain at Columbia University, is a Knight.
The pilgrimage center, which began life as the Knights of Columbus Museum, features a display of artwork inspired by the Eucharist.
The Knights of Columbus are also one of the sponsors of the National Eucharistic Revival, putting up $1 million to support the Congress taking place this week in Indianapolis.
In addition, the financial commitment on the local level was significant, said Peterson.
Developed training materials
In 2022, the Knights developed training materials as a way to support the Revival.
The training materials include a comprehensive Eucharistic procession guide, available in both English and Spanish, and more resources to help the faithful develop a deeper habit of adoration and devotion to the Eucharist.
“On the day I was installed, I spoke of our calling to be Knights of the Eucharist,” said Supreme Knight Kelly, who took over from Carl Anderson in 2021. “The more we devote ourselves to the Eucharist, the more we will understand what it means to be a Knight — to live a life of service and sacrifice for others and to live a life of true unity, centered on the ‘source and summit of the Christian life.’ As Knights of the Eucharist, it is our task to deepen our own devotion to the Eucharist. We can do so through prayer, faithful attendance at Mass and Eucharistic adoration.”
Both prominent and hidden
The 60-day pilgrimage was a monumental feat, drawing thousands of Catholics and others out to hundreds of events where pilgrims stopped along the way. Knights were at most of the events, even if it was simply a local Council member joining a procession or helping to clean up an after-Mass reception.
On a higher profile, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, who is Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus, celebrated a Mass when the pilgrimage reached the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton on June 6.
“From the start of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s conversion, the mystery of the Eucharist, the true presence of Christ’s body and blood, had what I might call a gravitational pull on her heart and mind and spirit,” Archbishop Lori said in a homily.
The pilgrimage didn’t stick to places and situations with which Catholics would be most familiar – Mass, holy hours, Eucharistic processions, etc. On the western route, named for St. Junipero Serra, Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento carried the Eucharist in procession through the gates of Folsom State Prison to the chapel at the center of the facility, according to Columbia magazine. About 95 inmates were already waiting there.
“What I witnessed was reverence, respect, and awe from the men,” said Fr. Humberto Gomez, Catholic chaplain at Folsom State Prison and a member of Blessed Sacrament Council 5322 in Rancho Cordova, California. “They were in awe as the bishop brought the Eucharist in and placed it on the altar. Following Mass, we had 20 minutes of adoration. The inmates later told me that they felt the powerful presence of Jesus coming into their lives in the middle of the prison. It was very moving just to see their faces, how really happy they were. They later said, ‘We’re not just people in prison; we’re connected to the Church. We count.’”
