The 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage this week unveiled an ambitious goal as America celebrates its semiquincentennial birthday: to have 250,000 Holy Hours prayed for the renewal and blessing of the country.
“These are prayers for peace in our world, for unity, peace in our country, and for God’s hand to continue to guide all of those in the United States,” Jason Shanks, the president of the National Eucharistic Congress, said in a March 25 press conference.
Shanks also said that the Holy Hours will be presented as a spiritual bouquet at the nation’s capitol.
The cross-country pilgrimage, this year themed “One Nation Under God,” begins May 24. The NEP is seeking volunteers for Holy Hours to help reach the 250,000 hours between the pilgrimage’s start and the Fourth of July.
“As part of this pilgrimage, we are calling Catholics across the country to participate in a shared act of faith and hope for our nation,” the NEP website states. It described every prayer as “a beacon of hope” offered for the country’s renewal and blessing.
“This campaign will be a quiet but powerful witness: a declaration that Christ is not on the margins of our lives or our nation, but at the center,” it adds. “These prayers will be gathered and offered as a sign of our shared dependence on God and our desire for His guidance in the life of our country.”
The perpetual pilgrims traveling along this year’s route will trek more than 2,200 miles from Florida to Maine and finish in Pennsylvania, crossing through most of the original 13 colonies, according to the press conference. A number of the processions and events along the way are designed to help honor the country’s history.
Maria Benes, director of pilgrimages, explained during the press conference that there will be a Eucharistic procession through historical Williamsburg, Virginia; a procession through Washington Monument State Park in Maryland; one crossing the Delaware River with Jesus into New Jersey; another along various parts of the Freedom Trail in Massachusetts; and adoration in Pilgrim Memorial Park, which is near Plymouth Rock.
There will also be a sunrise Eucharistic procession along the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, as well as Mass and a consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus — in tandem with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops — in Wilmington, Delaware.
Mary Carmen Zakrajsek, one of the nine young adults who will be journeying along the entire route, spoke in the press conference about how she anticipates this pilgrimage to be an opportunity of healing for the country.
“I expect the Lord to really remind us who we are and Whose we are on this route, and not just the pilgrimage this summer, but ultimately the pilgrimage of our lives,” she said. “I think that it's really a chance to remind us of our identity.”
She added, “it's an invitation to realign ourselves under Him, under His sovereignty, and so, individually and as part of a community, and as a country, I know He wants to bring about renewal and healing — and that's going to come when we recognize our deepest identity comes from Him.”
There will also be a Eucharistic blessing from Memorial Bridge and a Eucharistic Procession past national landmarks in Washington, D.C.
“I think seeing the Blessed Sacrament atop of that bridge, blessing our nation, I really think that’s going to speak volumes,” Zakrajsek also said. “It’s going to be powerful. This pilgrimage is about praying for renewal and for God’s continued blessings on our country, so to have the Blessed Sacrament bless us from such an important spot in our country is going to be a highlight.”