National Eucharistic Pilgrimage ends, but ‘the best is yet to come’
The monstrance holding the Eucharist gleamed in the midday sun July 16 as pilgrims on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s northern Marian Route turned a downtown corner and came into view of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, the pilgrimage’s final destination.
They had removed their shoes a mile earlier for the last stretch of the six miles they had walked that day, beginning at Holy Angels Church, three miles north of downtown Indianapolis. They had walked barefoot once before after rain soaked their shoes, but this time, it was an act of humility.
“The last mile was very special,” said Kai Weiss, a Marian route “perpetual pilgrim” and one of 30 20-year-olds who have traveled along the pilgrimage’s four routes since its kickoff May 18-19 — Pentecost weekend — from four cities in the nation’s North, South, East and West.