National Eucharistic Pilgrimage was in Washington, D.C., on the weekend of June 5-6
WASHINGTON — While flashy events are planned in the U.S. capital for the Independence Day weekend, a prayerful commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary unfolded June 5-6 as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage came to Washington to renew and deepen faith in Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
The pilgrimage included a special blessing of America near the Washington Monument on the evening of June 5 and a eucharistic procession through downtown Washington the next day, followed by a Vigil Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for the solemnity of Corpus Christi.
“Today we walk with Jesus Christ our Redeemer, our Savior. We walk with Him in the streets of our nation’s capital,” Father Charles Trullols, the director of the Catholic Information Center, said in his homily during a June 6 Mass outside the center before leading its fourth annual eucharistic procession through the city.
This year’s procession was held in conjunction with the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s arrival in Washington. An estimated crowd of 1,000 people attended the Mass and then prayerfully processed through the city, following Father Trullols and other priests who held the Eucharist aloft in a monstrance beneath a canopy, passing the city’s office buildings, public squares and landmarks, including within sight of the White House. Hundreds of people knelt reverently on the sidewalk and on closed-off sections of streets.
The 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage — with the theme “One Nation Under God” — began May 24 in St. Augustine, Florida, and will wind through most of the 13 original colonies, traveling about 2,200 miles before arriving in Philadelphia July 4 to commemorate with prayer and eucharistic devotion the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The pilgrimage’s St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Route is placed under the patronage of the religious sister and Italian immigrant who in 1946 became the first U.S. citizen to be canonized.
In his homily at the Mass, Father Trullols said the phrase “one nation under God” should be more than a patriotic slogan.
“A nation remains ‘under God’ only if its people place God first,” said Father Trullols, a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei.
The priest said that ways Catholics can put God first include through daily prayer, attending Mass, receiving the sacrament of confession, caring for the poor, remaining faithful in marriage and pursuing holiness in everyday life.
“Today’s procession is not a parade,” he said, emphasizing that it would offer a public witness to the Catholic belief in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist.
Father Trullols said early Christians understood that the Eucharist is not just a symbol — it is Jesus, the Bread of Life who transforms people’s lives. He noted how Mother Cabrini worked tirelessly to minister to poor immigrants, drawing her strength from praying before the Eucharist in the tabernacle, and he also pointed out how Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, who evangelized millions through his radio shows and TV programs, prayed before the Eucharist in a daily Holy Hour, no matter how busy he was.
Noting the importance of such eucharistic devotion, Father Trullols said, “There is where saints are made.”
The evening before, Father Trullols received the Blessed Sacrament at the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria, Virginia. Then he joined the nine young adult “perpetual pilgrims” accompanying the Eucharist in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage as their van crossed the Arlington Memorial Bridge to Washington.
After the pilgrimage vehicle arrived on the National Mall on the evening of June 5, Father Trullols led a eucharistic procession toward the grounds near the base of the Washington Monument, and he offered a symbolic blessing for the nation within sight of that illuminated monument and the U.S. Capitol in the distance.
Later that day, the perpetual pilgrims visited the St. John Paul II National Shrine in northeast Washington before attending Mass at the adjacent basilica, where Bishop-elect Gary R. Studniewski was principal celebrant and homilist.
By instituting the Eucharist, Jesus “wanted for us to know, to see and to even feel that He is still among us not just a symbol, not just half a locket with the promise we will get the other half when we get to heaven, but His real Body and Blood right here,” said Bishop-elect Studniewski, whose episcopal ordination as an auxiliary bishop of Washington is scheduled for July 7.
“And we do more than just see and touch His Body and Blood: We take Jesus into ourselves as food for our perilous journey,” the bishop-elect said.
