The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage of the Catholic Church will enter Iowa today on its way back to the west coast.
Davenport Diocese Deacon Ryan Burchett says the Pilgrimage came through Iowa a couple of years ago on the way from Los Angeles to Indianapolis. “Now it’s moving from Indianapolis back out to LA, and they’re taking time to go through as much of the country as they can on their way back. Now, this isn’t like Forrest Gump running across the country or anything. They’ll take it from site to site and then have planned interactions and encounters along the way,” he says.
Burchett says the Pilgrimage will make a unique entrance into Iowa. “Bishop Tilka from the Diocese of Peoria will be bringing the Blessed Sacrament across the Mississippi River on a boat, and then Bishop Dennis Walsh, the Bishop of Davenport, will be receiving that in Burlington. And then there will be a procession through town in Burlington,” Burchett says. It will leave Burlington on Friday and make a loop east. “Continuing on back up towards Riverside and Mount Pleasant and Iowa City and then eventually ending up in Davenport as we move towards Friday,” he says. The next leg takes the Eucharistic Pilgrimage to Dubuque on Friday and then into Des Moines on Tuesday of next week.
Burchett says there has been a tremendous focus on the Catholic Church with the election of the first American Pope and he expects this pilgrimage to be well received. “And I hope that in some small way that whether folks are other Christian denominations or maybe no denomination at all, that as they’ve turned an eye to what’s going on with the church, that they might feel a little bit closer to things,” Burchett says. Burchett says it is something that everyone is invited to take part in, regardless of their religious affiliation.
“Maybe a procession through town or something might be one of those things that draws someone close enough to want to stop and say a prayer as a community, in a church, to stop in and participate in some of the activities going on,” he says. “Or, you know, just to have a wider awareness of God’s activity in the world up down this all of our streets, whether there’s a procession going on or not.”
The Eucharistic Pilgrimage will move into Missouri after leaving Iowa next week. You can see the full schedule of events at eucharisticpilgrimage.org.