The 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage ends in Philadelphia

 

National Eucharistic Pilgrimage ends, but ‘the journey continues’

written by Gina Christian 

Faithful sing hymns as they participate in a July 5, 2026, Eucharistic procession through the streets of Philadelphia that marked the conclusion of the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in that city amid the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations. (OSV News photo/Gina Christian)

PHILADELPHIA (OSV News) — As the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage concluded amid the U.S.’s 250th anniversary, “the journey continues,” said Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia.

And, he added, “we’re all walking to one place,” with the path leading to the “powerful, transformative and lifegiving” love of God.

The archbishop was the principal celebrant and homilist at the final liturgy for the pilgrimage, which took place July 5 at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, the second to last stop on the pilgrimage route. 

At the start of the Mass, Pope Leo XIV — the first U.S.-born pope — addressed the faithful in a pre-recorded video message, saying that the “strong, though largely unknown, Eucharistic heritage” of the nation “must continue to serve as source of both renewal and unity.”

Pilgrims wrap up six-week tour

The pilgrimage arrived in Philadelphia July 2, having traveled through most of the nation’s original 13 colonies — spanning 18 dioceses and archdioceses, as well as two Eastern Catholic eparchies — since its May 24 launch.

With a theme of “One Nation Under God,” the pilgrimage had been placed under the patronage of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the woman religious and Italian immigrant who became the first U.S. citizen to be canonized after a lifetime of work ministering to immigrants. Stops along the Cabrini Route highlighted sites significant to Catholicism’s contributions to U.S. history.

 

Seminarians from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Ambler, Pennsylvania, along with several Knights of Columbus led a July 5, 2026, Eucharistic procession through the streets of Philadelphia, marking the close of the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. (OSV News photo/Gina Christian)

Despite an ongoing heatwave, hundreds filled the cathedral’s pews for the July 5 liturgy, overflowing into aisles and side chapels and joining in the hymns led by multiple multicultural choirs. 

Following the Mass, attendees braved temperatures above 90 degrees and high levels of humidity for a Eucharistic procession through the streets of Philadelphia to the National Shrine of St. John Neumann, located at St. Peter the Apostle Church some two miles away.

Archbishop Pérez held the monstrance as he processed under a canopy held aloft by attendants, with the Knights of Columbus forming an honor guard and choir members, in full choral robes, leading pilgrims in multiple hymns.

Pilgrim voices

Walking along the route, Kevin DePaulo and Helen Chalhoub — young adult Catholics from the Philadelphia suburbs — told OSV News that participating in the Philadelphia stop of the pilgrimage was a source of joy.

DePaulo described the Eucharistic procession as “a meaningful opportunity to really do something that shows our faith outside of just going to church on Sunday. It’s a public witness.”

Chalhoub, who carried a banner with the image of the Divine Mercy and the text of the Hail Mary, said that she looked forward to continuing “to lean on the Lord through everyday life, through challenges, and even when things are going well. Just to always lean on the Lord and be with him.”

Patrick McNabb, a Philadelphia-area native now living in Rhode Island, brought his young children Grace and Brendan to the Mass and procession, having already attended earlier pilgrimage events in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

As a father, said McNabb, he hoped his kids would “grow closer to God” as a result of their participation.

Joshua Brooks, currently in his fourth college year at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Ambler, Pennsylvania, said the day’s Mass and procession “really shows how the Eucharist is the source and summit of our Catholic faith.”

As he prepared to help carry the main banner at the front of the procession, Brooks said, “We’re going to bring Christ into the streets of Philadelphia, to give witness to people that Jesus is here with us on earth in the Blessed Sacrament.”

Brooks, who converted to Catholicism in high school after being raised Baptist, added, “The Eucharist really means everything. And when we go out together as a Catholic family, we show that the Eucharist is for all of us.”

Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia processes with the Blessed Sacrament July 5, 2026, during the final Eucharistic procession of the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which concluded in that city amid the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. (OSV News photo/Gina Christian)

Several members of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters of Wichita, Kansas, told OSV News after the procession that the liturgy and the journey to the St. John Neumann Shrine — at which Benediction took place — were an experience of oneness among Catholics.

“We certainly saw the universal Church in our procession today,” said Sister Mary Monica. “It was beautiful coming together, because Christ is unity, and so our nation needs to come together. And it’s only through Christ that will happen.”

From start to finish

Bishop Erik T. Pohlmeier of St. Augustine, Florida — whose diocese hosted the start of the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage — said that “what binds us all together is the Eucharist.

“Our greater identity is unity with each other, (more) than anything else,” he told OSV News.

Bishop Pohlmeier said the nine young adults who accompanied the Blessed Sacrament throughout the 2026 pilgrimage — known as “perpetual pilgrims” — had gotten “a glimpse into the bigger reality of the Church” as a result of their journey.

Several pilgrims affirmed the bishop’s insight during a post-procession press conference.

“I think it’s so beautiful going through so many different parts of the country, so many different dioceses,” said Cheyenne Johnson, who had also been a 2025 perpetual pilgrim.

Johnson said she and her fellow pilgrims had experienced “so many different cultures in different places,” adding, “And I think that’s a beautiful thing.”

Yet at the heart of such diversity remains a divine unity, said Archbishop Pérez.

The “enduring presence” of Christ’s “body, blood, soul and divinity” in the sacrament of the altar was given as a “gift” that gathers the faithful, he said during his homily at the cathedral.

“It transforms us,” said Archbishop Pérez. “It conquers us.”

U.S. Bishops approve 2029 National Eucharistic Congress

 

Bishops approve new National Eucharistic Congress for summer 2029

Gretchen Crowe

Nov 12, 2025

National/World

Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minn., chairman of the board of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., blesses pilgrims July 17, 2024, during adoration at the opening revival night of the 10th National Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

BALTIMORE (OSV News) -- The U.S. bishops have given the green light to hold the 11th National Eucharistic Congress in the summer of 2029, in a Nov. 12 vote on the final public day of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Fall Plenary Assembly.

The location of the event has not yet been made public. However, the possible cities have been narrowed down to three, according to Bishop Cozzens, and OSV News has learned that site visits have been completed and that the city announcement likely will come next spring.

The 2029 congress follows the successful 10th National Eucharistic Congress that took place July 2024 in Indianapolis, as part of the larger three-year National Eucharistic Revival.

In a presentation to the body of bishops, Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., which will organize the event, said the USCCB's Committee on Evangelization Catechesis in conjunction with Vinea Research conducted a "Revival Impact Study" looking at the fruit of the earlier effort.

He said those findings will be released later this year.

"The results of this national survey are still being finalized," but they found "lasting fruit from the revival," Bishop Cozzens said. Areas of impact include increased reverence for the Eucharist, an increase in youth and family engagement, and a "noticeable increase" in Eucharistic adoration, he said.

The 2029 date works around the 2027 World Youth Day in South Korea and the 2028 International Eucharistic Congress in Sydney in 2028. Bishop Cozzens said it would also help the church "build on the momentum" ahead of the 500th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego Cuauhtloatoatzin in Mexico in 2031.

"Brothers, I believe that the Eucharistic Revival was a great gift to our country from the Holy Spirit, and I believe that continuing the transformative, unitive events every four years can continue to stoke the fires of revival and support the incredible work that you're already doing in your dioceses in evangelization," Bishop Cozzens said.

No questions were asked from the floor.

Following the presentation and vote, Bishop Cozzens told OSV News that he was grateful to the bishops for their approval.

"Based on the feedback I was getting earlier, I thought that this is the way it would go. But it's great to actually have it on the calendar so that we can go forward," he said.

Bishop Cozzens said one of the gifts of the National Eucharistic Congress is the unity it brings the church -- something he saw with the 2024 congress.

"I think we'll experience that again in 2029," he said. "I think it's actually one of the gifts that the congress gives. It's like the whole church gets together as one, and people get to see us united. And especially united around the source of our unity, which is Jesus and the Eucharist.

A theme is in progress, Bishop Cozzens said.

"I know that it will be a beautiful experience of the power of the Holy Spirit, and especially the power of evangelization when we honor Jesus and the Eucharist," he said.

"I hope everybody comes," Bishop Cozzens said.

Speaking of everybody, the U.S.-born Pope Leo XIV might be at the top of that invitation list. But Bishop Cozzens would not confirm whether or not the USCCB has formally issued an invitation.

"Let's just put it this way: If the pope wants to come, we would welcome him," Bishop Cozzens said.

The National Eucharistic Congress Inc., a nonprofit formed in 2022 to support the bishops' vision for the congress and accompanying National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, has been a key collaborator for the revival as a whole.

Revival efforts included the development of catechetical resources and the training of both lay leaders and clergy to articulate the truth of the Eucharist and how that impacts Catholics' lives.

April 2022 saw the commissioning of 58 Eucharistic preachers -- priests formed during a retreat to give missions at parishes around the United States. It also included five National Eucharistic Pilgrimage routes, four in 2024 and an additional one in 2025.

The 2024 National Eucharistic Congress included nationally known Catholic speakers and musicians alongside opportunities for service, fellowship and varied forms of Catholic liturgies at the Indiana Convention Center and adjacent Lucas Oil Stadium. Each evening culminated in Eucharistic adoration in the stadium.

While more than 50,000 people are estimated to have attended the congress, thousands more joined for a Eucharistic procession through the streets of downtown Indianapolis -- the largest of its kind in decades.

Jason Shanks, president of the National Eucharistic Congress, told OSV News the bishops' overwhelming approval for a 2029 National Eucharistic Congress "really is a recognition of all the work the Lord has done over this revival."

He noted there has been extensive discernment on the part of the bishops over the past year, between their conversations and examination of the impact study.

"I took it as a real positive affirmation of the fruits that we're seeing and starting to see in the impact study," he said.

Shanks said he's going for "bigger and better" as they look toward 2029.

"I think there's a lot of people that have said, 'I wish I was there. I wish I was a part of it,'" he said. "We're excited about it. We're already planning for growth, not only growth in terms of numbers, but programming space and things."

He said, "I can't tell you the city yet, but I'm excited by where I think this is going."

Bishop Cozzens says the Eucharistic Congress exceeded expectations

 

Bishop Cozzens: The Eucharistic Congress “exceeded our expectations…”

The “more you encounter Jesus in the Eucharist,” says the chairman of the 10^th National Eucharistic Congress, “… the more you’re going to want to receive him in Holy Communion as often as you can…”

Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who spearheaded the National Eucharistic Revival and congress taking place in Indianapolis from July 17-21, 2024, takes questions from the media. (Credit: Zelda Caldwell)

Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens is bishop of the Diocese of Crookston, in northwestern Minnesota, and was chairman of the 10^th National Eucharistic Congress, which was held July 17–21, 2024, at Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Bishop Cozzens recently spoke with Catholic World Report about the Eucharistic Revival, the National Eucharistic Congress, and how we can continue to promote devotion to the Eucharist going forward.

Catholic World Report: With the National Eucharistic Congress in the rearview mirror now, how do you think it went? Did it meet your expectations and those of all the organizers?

Bishop Andrew Cozzens: I think it exceeded our expectations in every regard. It’s hard to describe, actually, the sense of the Holy Spirit’s power at the event. It was clear that we were doing something, and were part of something, that was bigger than us.

Through the event, God was pouring out his grace. We were just caught up in something that was a beautiful work of God. We had hoped it would be the case, but I don’t think we anticipated the degree to which people would encounter and experience God in his mercy, in his goodness, through the event.

CWR: Over the course of the Congress, did anything surprise you?

Bishop Cozzens: It kind of felt like I was surprised at every turn. I was surprised in some ways by how well it was received by the bishops, and how many of the bishops said to me that it was a personal blessing for them and they felt spiritually renewed by it. I experienced the same degree of gratitude from the priests, especially those who took the “Priests Track”.

I was surprised by the beauty and the magnitude of the procession. The police counted on their cameras and said we had over 60,000 people at the procession! I hadn’t seen the park where it ended, at the War Memorial; I had looked at it on a map, of course, during the planning, but that’s it. So, when I got there at the end of the procession and was carrying the Blessed Sacrament and saw that massive crowd, I thought “Wow…this is epic!” It was really, really beautiful. Thousands upon thousands of people there.

And it was beautiful to see many young people, as I walked by with the Blessed Sacrament, they were in tears. So many people were just so grateful to have the opportunity to experience and profess publicly their joy and love for the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

The beauty and simplicity of the procession, as we gathered together to proclaim our love for the Lord, was very moving. And seeing all of the groups, especially over 900 religious women in full habit, it was like seeing the renewal of the Church before our eyes.

CWR: It was also great to see a variety of beautiful liturgical expressions – Novus Ordo, Traditional Latin Mass, Holy Qurbana, Byzantine Rite. Why is it important to incorporate some of the Church’s liturgical variety in a Congress such as this, and what does that say about the universal Church?

Cozzens: Well, it says the Church is universal! That’s the key. And we were really trying to highlight the unity of the Church by showing some of the different and beautiful ways that the liturgy can be done, and to show that we’re all part of the same Church and we all worship the same Eucharistic Lord.

We wanted to highlight that, partially because the liturgy can be a divisive thing in our Church today, and we wanted to show that it’s actually a beautiful and unifying thing and that the diversity we have in the liturgy is a great gift. We were able to have many of the main liturgical families celebrated, which was a beautiful thing.

CWR: How did it come about that you were tasked with spearheading the Eucharistic Revival, and the Congress? And how does it feel to have that responsibility?

Bishop Cozzens: In November of 2019, I was elected as the Chair-elect of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). I followed Bishop Barron in that role, and it was Bishop Barron who had an idea that we should do some kind of Eucharistic renewal that would affect all levels of the Church.

We were already talking about that idea before the COVID crisis hit, in February of 2020. Then the COVID crisis made it even more urgent. When I became the active Chair in November of 2020, after spending a year as the Chair-elect, I was given the task of organizing the Eucharistic Revival. We spent about six months actually doing listening sessions. I had been the Director of the Synod of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis on behalf of Archbishop Hebda before this (this was even before the Synod on Synodality, it was a diocesan synod). I basically used that method for these listening sessions with parish and diocesan leaders around the country in 2021. I brought together a group of those leaders in the summer of 2021 at the seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, where we planned the 3-year Eucharistic Revival. Of course, that plan developed over time.

One of the big discernments we made during that summer was, “Should we have a national gathering, a national Eucharistic congress?” There was a lot of discussion and prayer on both sides of the question. In fact, there was a moment where we were at a stalemate, and I said “Let’s go to the chapel and do a holy hour.” And, really, after that it was clear to us that we should do something that would affect the whole country, which became the Eucharistic pilgrimages, and then a gathering, which became the Eucharistic Congress. Those two central ideas came right at that first discernment/planning meeting we had.

Then, of course, we had to present it to the bishops and get their approval, which was not an easy thing. But I did present it to them in November of 2021, and over 90% of the bishops voted in favor of it. And then, with the help of the Holy Spirit, it exceeded all of our expectations.

CWR: So you were spearheading the Eucharistic Revival efforts because of your position as Chair of the Committee.

Bishop Cozzens: Yes, and my time as Chair ran out in November of 2023, but I continued as the Chair of the Eucharistic Congress. In order to run the Congress, we founded a corporation, of which I am the Chair, and I will be for the foreseeable future. It is a majority bishops board, with also several laypeople. We’re planning for the future, and we intend to continue. In terms of how it all will look, we are discerning that with the USCCB. Archbishop Thompson of Indianapolis succeeded me as Chair of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, and he’s asked me to stay on the committee to continue heading up the Eucharistic Revival.

CWR: One of the other things that was noteworthy and exciting was the announcement that, in the lead-up to the next National Eucharistic Congress in 2033, there will be other efforts to continue this Eucharistic Revival. What sort of other efforts are in the works to keep up the momentum from this year’s Congress?

Bishop Cozzens: Yes, we hope to help dioceses and regions sponsor local Eucharistic congresses around the country in the intervening years, as well as continue the Eucharistic pilgrimages. And we also intend to continue to animate Eucharistic missionaries on the local level. We have a few hundred thousand people who have signed up and who desire to be involved as a Eucharistic missionary at the local level, whether that’s in a parish or just on their own.

I’ve written a book on being a Eucharistic missionary with Tim Glemkowski, and we also have a free online video course that’s coming out on how to be a Eucharistic missionary, so we want to continue to animate the grassroots, as well as provide some opportunities at the local and national level.

I think we’ve seen through the Eucharistic Revival, and the Congress, that the Holy Spirit is at work and that the Eucharist is really at the heart of evangelization, and that we can continue to help the bishops in their desire to evangelize.

CWR: There has been some criticism of the Congress here and there online. One that I have seen in many places is that having a large Eucharistic Congress like this downplays the reality of the Real Presence at the parish level because it makes people think they have to come to a huge, elaborate event like a Congress to really experience Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. How would you respond to such a criticism?

Bishop Cozzens: I guess I’d like to meet the person who was at the Eucharistic Congress who then says, “Oh, I guess I don’t need to go to Mass anymore,” or “Going to Mass isn’t important after what I experienced here.” I think the experience of those who attended the Congress is exactly the opposite: they’re going to go to their local church with more fervor and love for the Eucharist because they encountered it so profoundly, and they’re going to be even more grateful for the gift of their parish, whether it’s a small country parish or a large city parish because there they can receive this gift of the Eucharist every week, or every day.

I relate that to a similar critique I’ve heard, which is that we have to be careful not to promote Eucharistic Adoration too much because that might draw people away from the Mass. I’d like to meet the person who goes to regular Adoration during the week who doesn’t go to Mass! I just haven’t met that person, and I think actually the opposite is true: the more you encounter Jesus in the Eucharist, whether at a big event or a small event, whether in a small adoration chapel or inside a stadium with 50,000 people, the more you’re going to want to receive him in Holy Communion as often as you can, and the more you’re going to want to be transformed by Him and become what we eat, and live that Eucharistic life.

CWR: There are so many areas of the faith that are misunderstood, underappreciated, or barely acknowledged. Why is it important to have a specifically Eucharistic Revival?

Bishop Cozzens: Because the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith; or another way to say it is the Eucharist is the heart of the Church. It’s the life of the Church. It makes the Church, as John Paul II said. So, the Eucharistic life of the Church is strengthened as individuals come to understand what the Eucharist is and who the Eucharist is and how it calls them to deeper union with Jesus.

That’s going to affect every area of their life: it means they go to confession more, they seek to live a moral life, they’ll be more charitable. The Eucharist is the heart of all that. It’s the means that Jesus gave us to continue His living presence among us and transform us into his body. The Church needs to be the Body of Christ in the world. How will that happen? It will happen by people being more deeply drawn into the heart of the Eucharist.

You think about the heart: it’s the heart that pumps blood to the body, and if your heart is weak it doesn’t matter how strong your muscles are, right? It doesn’t matter how smart your brain is; if your heart is weak, the body’s not going to be any good. We are strong as a Church when we are united to the Lord in the Eucharist.

This is a huge issue we face, with so many people not going to regular Sunday Mass. That’s why we have so little impact on the culture, when only 17% of Catholics go to Mass on Sunday.

CWR: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Bishop Cozzens: People ask me if I was tired after the Eucharistic Congress. I was, but I wasn’t. I was full of God, I felt so full of God’s grace. I felt like the apostles must have felt the day after Pentecost: “Wow, what just happened?” with a sense of enthusiasm and joy for what God was able to do.

A concluding statement about the National Eucharistic Congress by Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens

 

STATEMENT FROM BISHOP ANDREW H. COZZENS, S.T.D., D.D. CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS

July 27, 2024     “If then my people, upon whom my name has been pronounced, humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven and pardon their sins and heal their land.” (2 Chr 7:14)     Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, At the opening Holy Hour of the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, on Wednesday July, 17, 2024, I prayed these very words, inviting tens of thousands in the stadium and thousands more watching virtually to join me in asking the Lord to pardon our sins and heal our land.    Then on Friday evening, July 19th, we all united around Our Eucharistic Lord again in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to make reparation for our sins. We humbled ourselves in the presence of Jesus, Our Lord and Savior. Recognizing that if one member of the Body of Christ suffers, we all suffer, we prayed together for healing and forgiveness. We were lead through a litany of healing and repentance in the Eucharist by Fr. Boniface Hicks, O.S.B. Many people told me that this moment of communal penance and reparation was a moment of great healing for them. It was amongst the most powerful experiences of grace for me personally during those holy days.     Just one week later, on July 26th in Paris, where the newly restored Cathedral of Notre Dame stands as an iconic reminder to our belief in the importance of the Mass, which makes spiritually present to us the Last Supper, nearly 1 billion men, women and children, in person and through live telecast, witnessed the public mockery of the Mass, the “source and summit of the Christian life”  (LG, 11). During the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics, the famous DaVinci Masterpiece The Last Supper was depicted in heinous fashion, leaving us in such shock, sorrow and righteous anger that words cannot describe it.    Brothers and sisters, we know that what the enemy intends for evil, God uses for good. We know that “where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more” (Rom 5:20).    Throughout salvation history, the Lord and his prophets have called us—the people of God—to respond to the darkness of evil with the light that comes from the Lord. At the heart of this call are prayer and fasting. Jesus told us that some demons “can only come out through prayer [and through fasting]” (Mk 29:9). He modeled this for us when he spent 40 days in the desert before beginning his public ministry, praying and fasting, begging God the Father to prepare him for all that lay ahead—including his perfect gift of self through his death on the Cross.    We believe that the Last Supper is united with the death of Christ on the Cross and, together with the Resurrection, these events are all one in the Paschal Mystery. This passover, which begins at the Last Supper, is the most sacred moment in the life of Jesus. This is when Jesus offered his life for us so that we could share in his divine life forever.    Jesus experienced his Passion anew Friday night in Paris when his Last Supper was publicly defamed. As his living body, we are invited to enter into this moment of passion with him, this moment of public shame, mockery, and persecution. We do this through prayer and fasting. And our greatest prayer—in season and out of season—is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. As the Church throughout the world gathers tomorrow at the Lord’s Altar, let us do so with renewed zeal. Let us pray for healing and forgiveness for all those who participated in this mockery. Let us commit ourselves this week to greater prayer and fasting in reparation for this sin. Perhaps you could attend Mass once more this week or do an extra holy hour? We may also be called upon to speak about this evil. Let us do so with love and charity, but also with firmness. France and the entire world are saved by the love poured out through the Mass, which came to us through the Last Supper. Inspired by the many martyrs who shed their blood to witness to the truth of the Mass, we will not stand aside and quietly abide as the world mocks our greatest gift from the Lord Jesus. Rather, through our prayer and fasting, we will ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen us with the virtue of fortitude so that we may preach Christ—our Lord and Savior, truly present in the Eucharist—for the Glory of God and the Salvation of Souls. Let us, strengthened by Christ, be the Eucharistic Missionaries we are called to be.

+In Christ Jesus, Most Rev. Andrew H. Cozzens, S.T.D., D.D. Bishop of Crookston Chairman of the Board of the National Eucharistic Congress