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Well, after months of announcements, it’s finally here! This week, the perpetual pilgrims carrying the Blessed Sacrament along the St. Junipero Serra Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will arrive in Pettis County! Walking along a route that has taken them from California, through Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas, the pilgrims enter Missouri on June 29th and come into the Diocese of Jefferson City and our parish on Monday, July 1st.

Our prayerful preparation for their arrival begins during the day on Monday. We will gather to pray Midday Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours at 12pm, to pray the Rosary at 1pm, to pray with reflections on the Eucharist by the Fathers of the Church at 2pm, to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3pm, to pray the Stations of the Cross at 4pm, and to pray the Litany of the Eucharist at 5pm, all in the Parish Center at Sacred Heart Chapel.

At 6pm, we will gather for fellowship and a potluck dinner in the McGremlin Gym at Sacred Heart School: last names A-M bring salads or appetizers, last names N-Z bring desserts.

After dinner concludes, we will separate into English and Spanish-speaking groups, for an opportunity to hear testimony from some of the perpetual pilgrims about their experience walking with the Blessed Sacrament for the last several weeks on their way to Indianapolis for the Eucharistic Congress in July. We will have the opportunity to hear reflections on the Eucharist from Fr. Joseph Luzindana (in English) and Fr. Greiven Rodriguez (in Spanish), both missionary priests currently serving in the Diocese of Jefferson City. We will also hear short testimonials from some of our own St. Vincent de Paul Parishioners about the place of the Eucharist in their own lives.

Around 8pm, the two groups will come together again for a Eucharistic Procession straight down 3rd Street from Sacred Heart School to St. Patrick Chapel. The Blessed Sacrament will remain exposed on the altar for adoration upon our arrival at St. Patrick, and several priests will be available to hear confessions, in both English and Spanish. Around 9pm, two shuttles will begin to run between St. Patrick and Sacred Heart, for those who would prefer not to walk back to their vehicles parked at Sacred Heart. The Blessed Sacrament will remain exposed for adoration all through the night at St. Patrick Chapel until just before Mass the following morning.

On Tuesday, July 2nd, we will gather to celebrate Mass at 6:30am at St. Patrick Chapel, which will be followed immediately by a Eucharistic Procession through town (south on Washington Ave, west on 7th St, north on Ohio Ave, and west on 3rd St) to Sacred Heart Chapel. After Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament at Sacred Heart, all are invited to Coffee and Donuts in the Parish Center.

Please join us for as much as you are able to, and if you’re interested in participating in the other events while the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage visits the Diocese of Jefferson City, you can visit https://diojeffcity.org/eucharisticrevival. It has been 83 years since the last Eucharistic Congress was celebrated in the United States of America, so the events of this National Eucharistic Pilgrimage leading up to it are once-in-a-lifetime. So please consider coming to walk with Jesus as he passes by!