Applications open for 2027 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage ‘Perpetual Pilgrims’

Applications are open for young adults to accompany the Blessed Sacrament through communities across the U.S. during the 2027 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage.

Nine applicants ages 19 to 29 will be selected to serve as Perpetual Pilgrims throughout the journey, which will run from May 12 through June 30, 2027, according to a Sept. 15 press release from the National Eucharistic Congress. 

The pilgrims will live and travel together, and their days will be centered on Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, processions, service, and evangelization, according to the announcement.

“The Perpetual Pilgrims are not simply traveling across the country—they are being invited to live the life of the Apostles, staying close to Our Lord and bringing Him to people wherever they are,” Maria Benes, director of pilgrimages, said in the release.

Beyond taking part in the public events, the pilgrims will help with daily ministry and logistics as they travel, sometimes walking as many as 15 miles and relying on hospitality from local communities.

The announcement also highlighted encounters from the 2026 pilgrimage, including Mary Carmen Zakrajsek, a Perpetual Pilgrim who met with an elderly man in a wheelchair during a Eucharistic procession through a retirement community. 

“I wanted him to know he was seen. Not just by me, but by our God,” she said according to the release. “To be seen by God, that is the cry of our heart.”

The 2027 journey will mark the fourth year of the Perpetual Pilgrim program. Organizers said the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage has passed through 40 states and 98 dioceses over the previous three years, with more than 466,000 people estimated to have attended events. Past routes have included stops in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, New York, and Los Angeles.

The route for the 2027 pilgrimage has yet to be announced. More information about the program and applications is available here.