This article, by Sharon Delaney, appeared August 29 in the National Catholic Register.
This past May, Marina Frattaroli was one of 30 “Perpetual Pilgrims” who set out on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage to carry Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament across the country. Along with a team of clergy from the National Eucharistic Revival, these volunteers walked, drove and hiked for 60 days along one of four multi-state routes totaling 6,500 miles in all: to raise awareness about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage culminated on July 17 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. There, Jesus was enthroned before some 60,000 Catholics attending the five-day National Eucharistic Congress.
For Frattaroli and her fellow “Perpetual Pilgrims,” it was the mountaintop experience of a lifetime.
And then, they went home.
Still living out of the clothes she wore on the pilgrimage, Frattaroli has turned her attention to the next phase of her mission: studying for the bar exam, which she has since taken. A recent graduate of Columbia Law School in New York City, the 26-year-old Dallas native brought her law books on the road and studied every chance she could.
Initially, her greatest challenge was learning how to integrate Jesus’ constant presence in the Eucharist with her daily responsibilities. “It was difficult at first,” she recalled. “I always worried about remaining reverent in Jesus’ presence. Over time, I came to understand my prayer life and regular life were not two different things. Being always aware of Jesus’ presence actually made life easier. I could make everything holy.”
Having been raised in a Christian family, Frattaroli was no stranger to mission work, her mother, Tracy Frattaroli, told the Register.
“My husband Chris and I took our three daughters on several mission trips. It didn’t surprise us that Marina wanted to do this,” she said. “However, it did give us pause. We were concerned about her ability to study, but we supported her. We trust in the Lord to grant our children victory.”
Frattaroli has already accepted a position as a corporate lawyer at a New York City law firm. She starts in October. “I plan to keep a picture of the monstrance on my desk at work so that I’m always reminded of him,” she said.
“When I became a Catholic in 2022, I never wanted to go back to being a complacent Christian. I wanted to love Jesus like that forever. I really had no idea what God had in store for me.”
How a ‘Revival’ Sparked a Catholic Conversion
Several years ago, Frattaroli came across an article on the social-media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. It was about a Eucharistic Revival underway in the United States. As a lifelong Protestant, she knew what a religious revival was. “But,” she reasoned, “that wasn’t a Catholic thing.”
Frattaroli wanted to learn more. She researched words like “transubstantiation.”
“This deep, spiritual reality that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist was so precious, so real and so invaluable to the world, there was a movement underway to renew awareness of it,” she discovered. “I was blown away. This was the beginning of my journey to the Catholic faith.”
At Columbia University, Frattaroli sought out the Catholic chaplain on campus, Father Roger Landry.
“We were just beginning a new Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) program,” said Father Landry, a regular contributor to the Register and a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts. “Marina enrolled in the program and, from the beginning, was all-in.”
Frattaroli said Father Landry assured her she would be ready to enter the Catholic Church by Christmas.
“Then he said something I didn’t expect: ‘Get excited!’ I was already excited. What surprised me was that he was just as excited as I was!”
Frattaroli dove deeply into Scripture and prayed the Rosary daily. While waiting to be received into the Church, Frattaroli attended a class given by Father Landry on the Eucharist. The next day, she began to attend daily Mass. “Even before Marina entered into the Catholic faith,” Father Landry recalled, “I wondered whether I might be preparing a saint for the Church. She was immersing herself in the Catholic faith.”
In addition to being chaplain at Columbia, Father Landry was also a “Eucharistic preacher” for the three-year National Eucharistic Revival. Frattaroli heard about the pilgrimage from Father Landry when it was still just an idea. “I wanted to go deeper into my Catholic faith,” recalled Frattaroli. “To become a ‘Perpetual Pilgrim’ was exactly what I was looking for.”
There was an application process for those wishing to become “Perpetual Pilgrims.” In addition to being fully committed, mature Catholics, applicants had to be between the ages of 19 and 29 and in good physical shape. “Applicants also needed to have two months off in the summer of 2024, from May to July,” added Frattaroli. “I was graduating law school a few days before. The timing was perfect!”
Many Parts, One Body
Frattaroli was one of the “Perpetual Pilgrams” chosen for the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Route, which trekked 1,000 miles over the eastern portion of the United States. Departing from New Haven, Connecticut, the route processed through New York City, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., as well as cities and farmlands in Pennsylvania, Ohio and across Appalachia.
“Along the way, we encountered thousands of pilgrims,” Frattaroli said. “Our Church is so multifaceted. We truly are many different parts, and yet one body.”
Madeline Wiseman, a junior at Columbia University and a friend of Frattaroli’s, joined the pilgrimage in New York City.
“This was the most diverse group of people I’ve ever seen,” Wiseman observed. “They were young and old. We said the Rosary in 15 different languages. We visited wealthy cathedrals and churches in the poorest neighborhoods. It was beautiful to see so many different people who make up our Church.”
The Lord Visits a Nursing Home
The pilgrimage wound its way through hard-hit areas of Appalachia. “As we walked by old, rusted steel mills that just weren’t alive anymore,” Frattaroli said, “it was like Jesus wanted to restore all of this and give it new life.”
In one Midwestern city, someone shouted from the side of the road, “What are you protesting?”
Frattaroli yelled back, “Nothing! We’re just bringing you Jesus!”
“I told them about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament,” Frattaroli marveled. “Me, of all people! What an honor to be the hands and feet of God.”
In a nursing home in the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, the pilgrimage encountered some of the most receptive people of all. “It was beautiful to see the residents in their wheelchairs lined up in anticipation,” Frattaroli recalled.
After the procession, there was a Holy Hour. Father Landry approached each of the residents with the monstrance and brought Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament to them, face-to-face.
“I was sitting next to a woman, holding her hand. She was coming in and out of awareness,” Frattaroli said. “Father Landry held the monstrance in front of her, and she seemed to wake up. She turned to me tearfully and said, ‘Heaven was right before my head.’”
Mission Accomplished
The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage triumphantly marched into Indianapolis a few days before the Eucharistic Congress. The “Perpetual Pilgrims” spent the last hour in adoration at St. John the Evangelist Church. “The ceiling was painted sky blue, with angels ascending into Heaven,” Frattaroli recalled. “It was like Jesus was ascending with them. In that moment, Jesus gave me a glimpse of his heart. He was so happy.”
Two days later, to the roar of 50,000 Catholics, the “Perpetual Pilgrims” entered Lucas Oil Stadium. “It was bigger than I’d imagined. It really was a united mission with a single heart. I looked into faces of the audience. I saw so many friends that I’d met along the way.”
“There was so much going on,” said Frattaroli. “There were Holy Hours, Masses, the sacrament of reconciliation, fellowship, incredible talks … and then, just like that, it was over.”
The priests who were in charge of the congress took Jesus into the building and closed the door. “All I could think of was Holy Saturday,” Frattaroli said. “The disciples had been living every single day with the Lord, and then, suddenly, he was behind a tomb.”
The crowd dispersed. Frattaroli started to walk back to her lodgings, alone. There was nothing left to do.
“Just then, a beautiful Dominican sister started a conversation with me. I told her how I was feeling a little empty and how it reminded me of Holy Saturday. Then she said something that made my heart soar.”
The sister responded, “That means Easter’s coming!”
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