People participating in the Marian Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage (NEP) visited Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul on May 28. They were met with Spanish praise and worship and a line-up of kneeling parishioners, many of whom were Latino.
Founded in 1931, the parish was Minnesota’s first national Mexican parish and the first church in the state to offer Masses in Spanish. First generation immigrants gravitate toward the church, which was designated a shrine in 2019 — the only diocesan shrine in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Bishop Joseph Williams, who has served as the archdiocese’s vicar for Latino Ministry since 2018 and was appointed this month as the coadjutor bishop of Camden, New Jersey, spoke in Spanish and English to about 100 people gathered inside the Church at the beginning of adoration.“Jesus is the perfect bread … broken on Calvary and given to us for the life of the word,” Bishop Williams said. “What a blessing, then, to be here. What a blessing it is to be a part of this procession.”
Part of the NEP, the Marian Route began May 19 from Lake Itasca. Also on May 19, three other processions departed from the East, West and South of the United States. All four groups will converge in Indianapolis for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21.
While members of the public accompany the Eucharist at various points on each of the
four routes, including the May 28 procession, a group of 24 perpetual pilgrims — six on
each route — are tasked with accompanying the Eucharist for the entirety of the pilgrimage. They travel by foot or in their support vehicle when walking is not possible.
Illiana Saldivar, 40, immigrated to the United States 20 years ago. She and her family volunteer at Our Lady of Guadalupe, including two of her sons who served as altar servers for the May 28 event. She said she felt honored that the pilgrimage visited the shrine.
“It is an honor and great blessing to receive the Lord here today, though I wish we would have filled the church,” she said. “It is a very important moment for all Catholics.”
On a busy day that also saw the pilgrims visit the Cathedral of St. Paul and the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, among other stops, they visited the Holy Family Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, a home that provides skilled nursing care for the elderly, including priests who have served the archdiocese.
When the monstrance and pilgrims arrived at the home, residents lined the hallway leading to the chapel, many of whom leaned on walkers or were seated in wheelchairs. Deacon Joe Michalak, director of the Office of Discipleship and Evangelization, received the Eucharist at the residence and spoke in the chapel.
“Jesus is always already with us, and he always comes still more to us,” he said. “The Eucharistic procession is about realizing that he is always with us … that he is bringing us to our Father’s house.”
Sister Joseph Marie, 72, from Denver, Colorado, who recently celebrated 50 years as a religious sister and serves as vocations coordinator in the residence, was moved to tears as the Eucharist entered the home.
“It is amazing. There aren’t any words,” she said, choking with emotion. “It reminds me of the Gospel when everyone ran to see Jesus, even just to touch the hem of his garment.”
Full schedule of NEP events
The Little Sisters of the Poor were originally founded in the late 1800s by St. Jeanne Jugan, a French woman who was inspired to serve the elderly poor. In 1883, then-Bishops Thomas Grace and John Ireland petitioned the motherhouse to send their sisters to St. Paul. Six Little Sisters of the Poor came to St. Paul, according to the Little Sisters’ website.
Brother Paul Grass, 89, a member of the Christian Brothers, also known as the De La Salle Brothers, and a resident at the Little Sisters’ home, watched and prayed as the procession entered the residence. He said the procession reminded him of the last National Eucharistic Congress, which was held in St. Paul in 1941, when he was 6 years old. The procession in St. Paul stretched from the Cathedral to the State Fair grounds, he said, where his parents took him to watch Benediction from the State Fair grandstand, which was packed full. Every parish in the Twin Cities was represented, he said.
“I realized that this is the first time since 1941 (that there has been a Eucharistic Congress),” he said. “And that has given me a special connection to it.”
