July 16, 2024 // Bishop

Historic Pilgrimage Leaves Lasting Mark Throughout Diocese

Christopher Lushis

Freelance Writer

Following a wildly successful couple of days on the South Bend side of the diocese in early July – including stops at the University of Notre Dame and parishes in South Bend, Bristol, and LaGrange – the Marian Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage continued to progress through the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend on its journey from Minnesota toward the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.

‘He’s Coming Now’

Having arrived in Angola the previous evening, the route’s perpetual pilgrims joined parishioners from St. Anthony of Padua for the celebration of Mass on the morning of Monday, July 8. Father Malachy Napier, a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, a perpetual pilgrim on the Marian Route, spoke about the Gospel in light of the Eucharistic pilgrimage.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus had healed a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for 12 years, and He also raised a man’s daughter from the dead.

“It’s really awesome to think about what Jesus has done, but honestly, what Jesus has done is not enough for me in my life today unless somehow this mystery, this presence, this love, this power is here for me now, in my life,” Father Napier said.

Finally, Jesus was processed from the altar of the rural church to Old U.S. 27. The procession stretched down the road, with pilgrims claiming an entire lane of the old highway. Mason Bailey, a diocesan seminarian who has been traveling along the Marian Route from its beginning, held a canopy over the Blessed Sacrament as the pilgrims processed and sang songs of praise, with Father Napier providing accompaniment with a guitar slung over his habit.

It took several hours for the pilgrims to arrive in Auburn. With sweat-drenched shirts, they gathered for a brief period of adoration and Benediction led by Father Drew Curry, Pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, and had an opportunity to refuel with snacks and drinks before their departure to St. Vincent de Paul in Fort Wayne.

After a potluck dinner and adoration at St. Vincent to close out the long day, Bishop Rhoades celebrated Mass and led a procession around the parish’s campus on the morning of Tuesday, July 9. 

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More photos from Joe Romie.

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From Pierceton to Warsaw

After leaving St. Vincent, the pilgrims traveled with the Blessed Sacrament to St. Francis Xavier Parish in Pierceton, where the faithful gathered for a brief time of adoration before an eight-mile procession to Sacred Heart Parish in Warsaw. During this portion of the pilgrimage, the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament was carried by Father Daniel Chukwuleta, Pastor of St. Francis Xavier, and then by Father Jonathan Norton, Pastor of Sacred Heart.

While 150 people registered, in total about 225 participated at some point in the venture to walk and pray with the Eucharistic Lord, even braving a steady light rain that fell throughout the day.

Nearly halfway through, a stop was made at a pavilion across from Stonehenge Golf Course in Winona Lake, where the Blessed Sacrament was reserved for extended adoration while pilgrims had the opportunity to get snacks and rest before finishing the route.

For the last substantial leg, Bishop Rhoades arrived from Fort Wayne, having partaken in a separate Eucharistic procession earlier, and carried the Eucharist the rest of the way to Sacred Heart Parish for Benediction and additional adoration.

Throughout the walk, Father Napier played music and led prayers for the pilgrims. He joyfully remarked afterward: “Who else would you walk eight miles in the rain for? It was wonderful to see the people out there [walking through the rain], and it was such a powerful moment when Bishop Rhoades joined us. This is the Church, and you could see it clearly: journeying together toward heaven, following Jesus, and the shepherd of this diocese leading his people; I almost started crying at the power of that witness!”

Afterward, Father Norton shared his gratitude for having been able to participate in the pilgrimage. “There were only 533 stops, and for us to be one of them was very special,” he said. “With the diocesan pilgrimage in 2022 and now this, we have twice shut down Warsaw for Eucharistic processions. I am already noticing how the parishioners are evangelizing through these events, and I am excited that we have been able to bring Jesus into our neighborhoods and communities in such a powerful way!”

Danny Tran, a pilgrim walking in the procession for a little more than a week, said: “I have never done anything like this before, but this is a message the world needs to hear: Jesus is present in the sacrament. This pilgrimage is for people like me. I grew up Catholic but eventually came to deny my faith outright, becoming Protestant for a time. It was the Eucharist that brought me back. I kept reading passages that addressed the Eucharist and was told another interpretation, but no matter what, my conscience kept telling me ‘No, I think Jesus is being serious when He speaks about the Eucharist’ – for instance, in John 6. But it was Church history that really sent it home, seeing that everyone believed it.”

Leaving the Diocese

As the Marian Route’s time in the diocese drew to a close on the morning of Wednesday, July 10, a fierce downpour from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl drenched the western half of the diocese. Still, many gathered for Mass at St. Michael the Archangel in Plymouth.

During the homily, Father Napier compared the faithful to the monstrances being carried as the four routes of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage drew nearer to Indianapolis.

“We’ve been carrying Jesus in a monstrance … what is a monstrance?” Father Napier asked. “And what does it exist for? To make the Eucharist visible. And what is our vocation as disciples of Jesus as members of this Church? To allow our lives to become a life in which Jesus becomes more visible. How? Through me. Through the way I live. Through the way I act. Through the way that I love. That has to begin in our homes and our families, but we’ve also got to take it out into the streets, which is why we’re doing this Eucharistic pilgrimage. We’re taking Jesus into the streets, literally, because this world needs to see Him.”

While a final outdoor procession to bring Jesus to the streets of the diocese one final time was planned to take place in Plymouth, the continued downpour prevented it from happening. The priests and pilgrims who were gathered at St. Michael opted instead to process Jesus inside the church before the Blessed Sacrament departed to the Diocese of Lafayette.

Joshua Schipper contributed to this story.