The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage has announced that this summer, several Catholic young adults will accompany Christ in the Eucharist in processions along a route passing through the majority of the original 13 colonies, as America celebrates its 250th anniversary. 

As a continuation of the United States Catholic bishops’ National Eucharistic Revival initiative that began in 2022, the 2026 pilgrimage builds on the momentum of previous pilgrimages to renew belief in and devotion to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. 

In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, the National Eucharistic Congress (NEC) has chosen the theme “One Nation Under God,” with St. Frances Xavier Cabrini named as patroness of this year’s pilgrimage, according to an emailed Jan. 8 press release. Over the course of approximately six weeks this summer, Jesus in the Eucharist will be carried in pilgrimage from St. Augustine, Florida, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The pilgrimage invites the faithful to re-center the country around the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. 

“One Nation Under God is not a borrowed slogan,” NEC President Jason Shanks said in the release. “Rather, it is an invitation to realign our lives, our communities, and our country under the sovereignty of Jesus Christ.”

The route, named the Cabrini Route in honor of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American citizen to be canonized, will pass through many of the original 13 colonies. Beginning at the historic Our Lady of La Leche Shrine in St. Augustine — site of the first Catholic Mass on U.S. soil — the pilgrimage will weave through 18 dioceses and archdioceses across the East Coast, including:

• Savannah (GA)

• Charleston (SC)

• Charlotte (NC)

• Richmond (VA)

• Arlington (VA)

• Washington

• Baltimore

• Wilmington (DE)

• Camden and Paterson (NJ)

• Springfield (MA), Manchester (NH), Portland (ME), Boston, Fall River, and Providence (RI)

From Memorial Day through July 5, a core team of eight young adult “perpetual pilgrims,” along with a media missionary, will be traveling by bus and holding processions at daily stops for public Mass, Eucharistic processions, Adoration, witness talks, and service projects. A mid-point retreat will take place at the St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Shrine in New York City.

In the release, Bishop Andrew Cozzens, chairman of the NEC, framed the pilgrimage as a missionary moment: “Our hope is that Catholics will come together on this significant anniversary to give thanks for our country and to pray for our future. We want all Catholics to be inspired with missionary zeal to bring revival through the light and love of Jesus Christ.”

Key stops will commemorate the Georgia Martyrs — currently on the path to beatification — and honor historic Catholic milestones, including visits to the Archdiocese of Washington for the Feast of Corpus Christi and the first Catholic diocese in the United States, Baltimore.

In Philadelphia, the pilgrimage will culminate with youth-focused outreach, all-day Eucharistic Adoration on July 4, and a closing Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. A Eucharistic procession to the National Shrine of St. John Neumann will follow.