This article, by Amber Baker, appeared June 14 on the website of WTRF.
The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage has begun. From the four corners of the United States, the believers of the Catholic faith will walk with Christ for a two-month pilgrimage that ends in Indianapolis on July 16 for the National Eucharistic Congress.
According to the Diocese of Wheeling, the procession began on the weekend of the Pentecost, May 17-19.
The Diocese says that while pilgrimages have a long legacy within the church, this is the first undertaken at such a scale—walking coast-to-coast.
The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston is part of the pilgrimage’s St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Route.
According to the Diocese of Wheeling, there are 13 dioceses along this east-to-west journey.
The procession will arrive in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia on June 20.
The Diocese of Wheeling says the official welcome to West Virginia we be with the parish community of St. Joseph the Worker in Weirton.
Mass will be celebrated at the church at 8 a.m., June 20, and all are invited join.
Following the celebration, the Diocese of Wheeling says the procession will then join a Eucharistic Procession from St. Joseph to Sacred Heart of Mary Church.
The parish will host a meal and a program in the cafeteria to reflect on their faith experiences and the impact of the pilgrimage.
Following the itinerary, the Diocese of Wheeling says the pilgrims will head to St. Paul Parish in downtown Weirton for Eucharistic Adoration at 7 p.m. The procession will be crossing the Ohio River to bring the pilgrimage to the Diocese of Steubenville, Ohio, as well as visiting Franciscan University.
On June 23, The Wheeling-Charleston and Steubenville dioceses will come together for a Eucharistic Procession down the Ohio River called “Put Out into the Deep.”
The Diocese of Wheeling says this will be a significant experience for both dioceses, as Bishop Mark Brennan and Bishop Paul J. Bradley, apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Steubenville.
Bishop Brennen and Bishop Bradley will board a sternwheeler that day and lead the Eucharistic Procession down the river, departing from the Steubenville Marina at noon.
At specific sites on both sides of the river, the faithful can receive a blessing.
From there, the Diocese says the pilgrimage will continue by boat to the Bellaire Marina in Bellaire and then back on land to St. John Church, where a prayer service and reception will be held.
Afterward, the procession will return to Wheeling’s Cathedral of St. Joseph, arriving at 7:30 p.m. The cathedral will then host an All-Night Eucharistic Prayer Vigil beginning at 8:30 p.m.
According to the Diocese, on June 24, Bishop Brennan will celebrate Mass at the cathedral at 8:30 a.m.
Immediately following the celebration, the bishop will lead a Eucharistic Procession at 9:30 a.m. from the cathedral through downtown Wheeling to St. Alphonsus Church.
A breakfast will follow benediction.
After their stop in the dioceses of Wheeling-Charleston and Steubenville, the perpetual pilgrims, who are traveling the entire length of the Seton Route (from Connecticut to Indianapolis), will take the National Eucharistic Procession to Columbus, Ohio.