Pilgrims take part in annual 33-mile annual walk for Mary

Polish-American Catholic pilgrims walk through Munster, Ind., Aug. 12, 2023 to the Carmelite Shrine as they complete half of a 33-mile procession from Immaculate Conception Church in Chicago to the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Merrillville, Ind. More than 4,000 people participated in the 29t- annual pilgrimage, a centuries-old tradition brought to the U.S. by Polish immigrants. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Pilgrims make their way down Hohman Avenue in Munster, Ind. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Members of “You Can Be My Angel Foundation” of Chicago carry a banner in the procession. The group raises funds to support childhood cancer. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic
A boy escorts his mom down Hohman Avenue in Munster. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
A child stops to fill up his water sprayer along the route. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Pilgrims sing and they wave bandanas as they near their destination for the first day of the pilgrimage. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
A child holds a fan as her parents push the stroller along the route. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic
Two boys enjoy frozen treats handed out by a Munster resident along the route. Children enjoy frozen pops from a Polish Munster resident who hands out hundreds of the frozen treats to pilgrims as they process by his house each year. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Polish-American Catholic pilgrims walk down White Oak Avenue in Munster near the half-way mark for the day at the Carmelite Shrine. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Two pilgrims share a laugh as they make their way to Carmelite Monastery. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

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