Brothers and Sisters,

This year is a special year as Catholics in the U.S. will hold a five-day National Eucharistic Congress beginning on July 17 in Indianapolis. Special devotions also need special expressions. So, groups of eight young adults have already begun a pilgrimage to Indianapolis from four corners of the United States: San Francisco (west), New Haven (east), Brownsville, Texas (south) and Lake Itasca, Minnesota (north, the source of the Mississippi River). For eight weeks they will travel, mostly on foot, along the four routes through major U.S. cities, small towns, shrines and countrysides towards Indianapolis. They are expected to arrive there on July 16, the day before the opening of the National Eucharistic Congress. Together, they will cover more than 6,500 miles, over 27 states and 65 dioceses, each accompanied by the Eucharist in a special monstrance. The Congress expects to bring together tens of thousands of Catholics for worship, speakers and Eucharist-centered events.

The northern route of the pilgrimage from Minnesota, named the Marian Route, will go through Chicagoland, Milwaukee, Gary and South Bend. On June 30, Cardinal Blase Cupich will celebrate Mass and lead a Eucharistic procession on the campus of Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. From Chicago, the pilgrims will continue east through Indiana to the Dioceses of Gary and Fort Wayne-South Bend. From July 5-7, the perpetual pilgrims will be on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, where several events will be held at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

I plan to participate in the pilgrimage in Chicago and probably at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. I encourage you to join me in one or any of these stops of this extraordinary All-American pilgrimage to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.

In addition, I am happy that many parishioners, including the CCW and our deacons are participating in the Masses and processions in neighboring parishes during the Octave of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi (June 2-9). They represent all of us, pray for us, and give witness of our parish’s devotion to the Eucharist.

Fr. Mark Jurzyk