INDIANAPOLIS, July 16 — The Seton Route pilgrims of the National Eucharistic Congress are accustomed on Saturdays during their journey to saying and singing thanks to members of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal for their accompaniment over the previous week and to getting ready to welcome new members of the CFR to take their place.
What normally takes place on the day weekly dedicated to Mary took place instead on the Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a Tuesday, as they thanked Father Giuseppe Siniscalchi, CFR, for his accompaniment over the previous ten days. Father Giuseppe joined the pilgrims in Cincinnati and, together with Seton Chaplain Father Roger Landry, accompanied and served the pilgrims all the day to the formal completion of the Pilgrimage in Indianapolis, where today there will be the closing Mass of the Pilgrimage at noon at the Church of St. John the Evangelist and where, tomorrow, the tenth National Eucharistic Congress will take place.
Father Giuseppe is a native of Springfield, Massachusetts and entered the CFRs as a postulant in September 2002, made his first vows a year later, his final profession in 2007, and was ordained a priest in 2011.
He presently serves in Newburgh, New York, working with the poor, "especially with the young people in a very rough and difficult neighborhood, where there is a lot of violence and drugs, shootings, kids dropping out of school, and a lot of hopelessness," he said.
He's been working with some kids to get them into private school. He says he also does "a bit of preaching and evangelization" and work with a group that does Unbound prayer ministry. "We also have a prayer event once a month we called Revival, which we started before the USCCB started this [National Eucharistic Revival], in which we strive really to revive the faith." He said he also some administration for the community.
About his ten days on the Seton Route, he said he had two great highlights.
The first was the perpetual pilgrims. "Seeing their faith, their fidelity, their concern, and their care for each other, because I know that they suffered a lot and various aspects of the pilgrimage have been a struggle. I know the realities of community living can really weigh people down. But they seem really to forgive and to love each other and to work together. I've been really impressed that they're so full of joy still, after being weighed down by so many things over so much time. Their faith seems to grow stronger as they spend more time in front of the Lord, which hasn't become routine. The more they spend time with Jesus, the deeper and more alive their faith becomes."
The second was his encounter with people along the pilgrimage.
"Another big thing that I've really enjoyed, which has been edifying for me, is just seeing the Catholic Church alive in different places. People have received us excited about the Eucharist. I've seen how the presence of Jesus going through the streets has had an efficacious impact on people. When they see Jesus, something happens to them. That encounter draws something out of them."
He added, "I feel inspired just as a priest, as a Catholic. We need more pilgrimages, to get out into the streets, to show the world our joy, our faith, our devotion, and to provide the world the chance to encounter Jesus in this way, so that people can be transformed and come to know the love and the presence of the Lord."
He said he was a little surprised that "we didn't walk as much as I thought we're going to be walking." Regardless, he said, "I think pretty much everybody came back full of excitement and joy, seeing people in different parishes, their faith, and what it does to everybody in the neighborhoods."
He spent a lot of time hearing confessions during the Pilgrimage, in the various Churches where Mass and adoration were taking place and also at the back of Eucharistic processions on the streets. He said the experience of hearing confessions on pilgrimage "has been a powerful reminder of the efficacy of the Blessed Sacrament and of the Sacrament of Confession, how Jesus gives us these gifts to be a blessing to his people, to lift burdens, to give hope, to shatter the darkness, to come into our life, and to lift us up. This week has been a clear manifestation that this is real, that this works, and that humanity needs this."
He said he won't forget some images. "We're just moving past people who are driving by as we're doing a procession and they stop to make the sign of the Cross, or one guy along the way who stopped videotaping to bless himself. Other guys look like they're from the hood, rough looking characters, and they saw us and responded with a big smile, joy and hope. That's what Jesus does: he breaks down the barriers and gives us hope."
He said he was very proud of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal's involvement in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage providing priests and religious brothers to all four Routes of the Pilgrimage, to accompany Jesus, the Pilgrims and the crowds who joined the journey.
"I'm very honored and grateful to be part of this community," he said, which is something really special and wonderful. I'm very proud of our community because of all the work together to arrange our involvement. Most friars took one week, and so that was a lot of movement and organization. But it all happened and the friars all participated in desiring to do it."
He added, "In a way, this is right up our alley, because our life is like this. We're constantly going different places, doing different things. Our whole life really is a pilgrimage, going to encounter different people in different situations. So I'm very hopeful that this will set a spark in a lot of places, a lot of dioceses and a lot of hearts. God willing, maybe in the future, the CFRs can be part of keeping this going and fanning this into a flame. I've already heard that there's a desire to do this one diocese and they're gonna try to reach out to CFRs to do it there. Who knows, but I think it's a great beginning and a great hope. God is real. Jesus is alive. He's present in the Eucharist. And we just got to get Him out there. And he'll do what he does."