The National Eucharistic Procession, a prelude to this summer’s highly anticipated National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, will come through the diocese in late June and make eight stops before traveling on to western Ohio and eventually to the final destination.

The Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Route, one of four Eucharistic processions crisscrossing the country, will begin in New Haven, Connecticut, on May 17 and move through New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia before entering Ohio on June 21 in the Diocese of Steubenville.

The first of eight stops in the Diocese of Columbus will be at Somerset St. Joseph Church on Monday, June 24.

Over the following six days, the procession will travel west to Newark Blessed Sacrament and St. Francis de Sales churches on Tuesday, June 25; Pickerington St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish on Wednesday, June 26; Columbus Christ the King Church on Thursday, June 27; Columbus St. Charles Preparatory School on Friday, June 28; Westerville St. Paul the Apostle Church on Saturday, June 29; and Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral on Sunday, June 30.

The schedule, which varies at each location, will be made available through parishes, organizations and diocesan media outlets. 

Bishop Earl Fernandes is scheduled to celebrate Mass at five locations, including three that will be bilingual (Spanish). Many of the parishes will offer Eucharistic Adoration, processions and picnics.

Parishioners and guests are encouraged to register to attend at www.columbuscatholic.org/revival to allow organizers to estimate the size of the crowd at each stop. Visitors from outside the diocese are also expected to attend.

The Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Route is one of four 60-day processions headed for Indianapolis and the National Eucharistic Congress on July 17-21 at Lucas Oil Stadium. After the Columbus visits, the Seton Route will move southwest into the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

The Marian Route starts in northern Minnesota and cuts across Wisconsin into Illinois and the Chicago area before crossing over into Indiana. 

The St. Juan Diego Route launches from Matamoros in south Texas on the Mexican border and journeys north through Houston and then into Louisiana and New Orleans before continuing east through Mississippi and Alabama. In Georgia, the procession will stop in Atlanta before turning north again toward Tennessee (through Nashville) and Kentucky (through Louisville) on the way to Indiana.  

The Junipero Serra Route goes from west to east, beginning in San Francisco and passing through Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and downstate Illinois.

Small groups of young adults called Perpetual Pilgrims will travel the entire route, covering 10-15 miles per day, over two months. One of the pilgrims on the Marian Route will be Matthew Heidenreich, a Columbus Bishop Watterson graduate who attends the University of Alabama.

Father Roger Landry, a priest in the Diocese of Falls River, Massachusetts currently who is serving as a chaplain at Columbia University in New York, will make the entire 1,500-mile trek on the Seton Route. Members of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, based in New York, will join the pilgrims on a rotating basis during the pilgrimages.

The culmination of the four processions is the five-day National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis that will feature speakers, activities, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Masses, prayers, vendors and exhibits. For more information, visit www.eucharisticcongress.org.

Bishop Fernandes will offer a special Mass at the Congress in Indianapolis on Wednesday, July 17. More details will be announced at a later date.

Updates related to the Eucharistic Revival in the Diocese of Columbus can be found by visiting www.columbuscatholic.org/evangelization/national-eucharistic-revival. Registration and full Eucharistic Congress passes or day passes can also be accessed through the diocesan site.