Eight "perpetual pilgrims" are planning to journey from Indianapolis to Los Angeles May 18 to June 22 in the second National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. They hail from several states and include both college students and young professionals.
The young adults plan to follow the Drexel Route through 10 states and 21 dioceses, accompanying the Eucharist. Along the way, they will stop at parishes and other sacred and secular places for Mass, Eucharistic processions, Eucharistic adoration, prayer and charitable works.
The pilgrims include Arthur "Ace" Acuña, a Las Vegas native who is pursuing a degree in chemical and biological engineering at Princeton University in New Jersey; Stephen Fuhrmann, who grew up in Texas and is studying agricultural business at Texas A&M University; Johnathan Silvino Hernandez-Jose, who helps run his family's construction company in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Cheyenne Johnson, a Florida native who serves as the director of Catholic campus ministry at Butler University in Indianapolis; Rachel Levy, who grew up in Indiana and works for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in young adult and college campus ministry; Charlie McCullough, a mechanical engineer in Austin, Texas; Leslie Reyes-Hernandez, an Illinois native and public high school math teacher in Phoenix; and Frances Webber, who was raised in Virginia and is a college senior in Minnesota.
McCullough was a perpetual pilgrim on last year's St. Juan Diego Route through the southern U.S. and will help lead this summer's pilgrimage.
Jason Shanks, president of National Eucharistic Congress Inc., which organizes the pilgrimage, said there were more than 130 applicants to be perpetual pilgrims this year.
"We selected the final eight for their deep love of our Eucharistic Lord and regular prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, their willingness to embrace sacrifice and adaptability for this mission, and their commitment to community life, demonstrated responsibly in past commitments, and enthusiastic passion for evangelization," he said.
The first National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in 2024 included 30 perpetual pilgrims who traveled four routes that launched from the nation's North, South, East and West on Pentecost weekend May 18-19 and converged in Indianapolis ahead of the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, July 17-21. The pilgrimage and congress were highlights of the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, an initiative of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that began in 2022.
This year's pilgrimage follows a shorter time frame, beginning on Pentecost and ending on the feast of Corpus Christi, and a single route. The route is named for St. Katharine Drexel, an American socialite who founded a religious order and used her inheritance to educate Native American and African American children.
"Our hope is that the perpetual pilgrims walk away from this journey with a renewed heart of the Eucharist and Jesus' desire for intimacy and vulnerability with each person," Shanks said. "Our focus this year is on Eucharistic hope and healing in honor of Pope Francis' Jubilee Year of Hope."
The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is accepting prayer requests -- submitted online at eucharisticpilgrimage.org -- for the eight pilgrims to take with them on their journey.
