On the weekend of May 18-19 — Pentecost weekend — pilgrimages for the National Eucharistic Revival will begin at four different points around the country and start making their way to Indianapolis, the site of the National Eucharistic Congress in July. One of those pilgrimages — the Marian route — will begin in Minnesota and travel through Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana, traveling through the archdiocese June 26-30. Catholics can take part in daily events at various locations, including a Mass and eucharistic procession with Cardinal Cupich at Holy Name Cathedral on June 30. The local pilgrimage begins with a youth-focused event the afternoon of June 26 at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. On June 27, people of all ethnic backgrounds are invited to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe for events from noon to 9 p.m. On June 28, cultural communities will hold Masses at various locations and young adults will gather for an event at St. Alphonsus Church, 1429 W. Wellington Ave. Also of interest... Schedule of events (As of Feb. 15) June 26-30: The Marian Route of the pilgrimage will travel through the Archdiocese of Chicago. June 26: 4-7 p.m., Mass and eucharistic procession in late afternoon/early evening at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. This will be a youth-focused event. June 27: noon to 9 p.m., bilingual Mass, adoration and eucharistic procession in the evening at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines. June 28: 6:30 to 10 p.m., young adult event at St. Alphonsus Church, 1429 W. Wellington Ave.; 6:30 p.m., evening Masses hosted by cultural families: Asian Catholics: Holy Child Jesus Parish in Chicago; Black Catholic Initiative: location forthcoming; Consejo Hispano: location forthcoming; Polonia: Our Lady Mother of the Church, Willow Springs June 29: 9 a.m. to noon, Day of Service and eucharistic adoration at Mission of Our Lady of the Angels, 3808 W. Iowa Ave., and various parishes and Catholic institutions across the archdiocese Vicariate Masses with eucharistic adoration and processions: - Vicariate I: 5 p.m., National Shrine of St. Maximillian Kolbe at Marytown, Libertyville. - Vicariate II: 5 p.m., Queen of All Saints Church, Chicago. - Vicariate III: 4 p.m., St. Frances of Rome Church, Cicero - Vicariate IV: 4 p.m., St. Rosalie Church, Harwood Heights - Vicariate V: 4:30 p.m., Sacred Heart Church, Palos Hills - Vicariate VI: 4:30 p.m., St. Augustine Church, Midlothian June 30: 12:30-3 p.m., Mass and procession at Holy Name Cathedral with Cardinal Cupich June 29 will focus on service, with volunteer opportunities in the morning at Mission of Our Lady of the Angels, 3808 W. Iowa Ave. Parishes also are being invited to host their own service days. Eucharistic adoration will also take place at various locations to be announced. That evening, each vicariate will host a Mass along with eucharistic adoration and a procession. The local pilgrimage will culminate on June 30, with the Mass and procession at Holy Name Cathedral. Parishes are being asked to invite one first Communion and one confirmation family to represent them at the Mass. “It is very exciting that this is coming to our archdiocese,” said Father Rob Ryan, associate pastor of Sts. Joseph and Francis Xavier Parish in Wilmette and one of the local organizers. “This is not something that every Catholic in the United States gets to experience and it’s unique that it is happening in this way leading into the 10th eucharistic congress here in the United States. We think that the opportunities that we are providing are a good survey of the archdiocese as well as touch all the different areas of the archdiocese, whether it be by location, or culture or the other different variables.” Having the local portion of the pilgrimage begin at Mundelein Seminary connects it to the eucharistic congress held there in 1926, he added. "The way that we are kicking it off is a beautiful testament to the eucharistic relationship that we have here in the archdiocese,” Ryan said. The service day on June 29 will be a highlight of the local pilgrimage, said Franciscan of the Eucharist of Chicago Sister Alicia Torres, one of the local organizers and a member of the executive team for the National Eucharistic Revival. “We’re cultivating it so that it is regionally accessible so that we’ll have two to three major sites in each vicariate, but also regionally accessible eucharistic adoration so we can make a connection between the corporal and the spiritual works of mercy,” she said. “So someone might not have the physical ability to bag food or to tutor a child or to visit the elderly but they can pray in adoration.” Todd Williamson, director of the archdiocese’s Office for Divine Worship and a local pilgrimage organizer, agreed. “Making the connection between the Eucharist, the celebration of the Eucharist, being sent out and building the kingdom, continuing the mission of the salvation that Christ won on the cross is key,” Williamson said. “I think, overall, our structure really speaks to the vision of the cardinal of it beginning from Mass and flowing outward then returning back to the Mass, that we’re meant to be a living sacrifice and Eucharist for others as well,” Ryan said. “Even our structure begins with these eucharistic events then flows into this day of service and then flows back to the Mass and eucharistic devotion. It really speaks to the overall vision the cardinal has and what we’re doing here in the archdiocese.” All of it ties into the spiritual renewal the archdiocese is undergoing through Renew My Church, Williamson said. “They are interwoven. This comes at a great moment in the renewal of the archdiocese,” he said. The National Eucharistic Revival began June 19, 2022, on the feast of Corpus Christi, in order to increase Catholics’ understanding of the Eucharist. For updates on the local pilgrimage, visit archchicago.org.
Book by Cardinal Cupich inspires new series on the Eucharist Inspired by Cardinal Cupich’s book “Take, Bless, Break, Share: A Strategy for a Eucharistic Revival” (Twenty-Third Publications), the archdiocese’s Office for Lifelong Formation and Office for Divine Worship produced “Remain In Me,” a five-part series on the eucharistic revival.
Parishes in south suburbs hold eucharistic caravan More than 200 people from seven parishes in the Orland-Tinley Park area gathered Oct. 22 to worship and adore the Eucharist together with a car pilgrimage visiting four of the seven churches.
Local events for National Eucharistic Revival underway The National Eucharistic Revival is in its diocesan phase, so in March, each vicariate will host afternoon or evening prayer services at which the episcopal vicars will offer reflections on the Eucharist.