Maria Benes, director of pilgrimages for the National Eucharistic Congress, joins The Catholic Morning Show to reflect on the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which concluded July 5 in Philadelphia after months tracing historic sites up the Eastern Seaboard in honor of America's 250th anniversary. She explains how the pilgrimage grew out of the National Eucharistic Revival and the 2024 Congress in Indianapolis, and why bringing the Eucharist into public spaces creates real encounters with the faith. Maria also shares how listeners can follow along, apply as a future "perpetual pilgrim," and look ahead to the 2029 National Eucharistic Congress.
Maria Benes, director of pilgrimages for the National Eucharistic Congress, sits down just after wrapping the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, a months-long journey timed to the 250th anniversary of the United States. The route began at the Our Lady of La Leche Shrine in the Diocese of St. Augustine — near the site of the first documented Mass in the country — and traveled north through the original colonies, including a Eucharistic procession along Boston's Freedom Trail and a special blessing of the nation near the Washington Monument over Corpus Christi weekend, before concluding over Fourth of July weekend in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pope, even sent a video address ahead of the closing Mass on July 5.
Maria traces the pilgrimage's roots back to the USCCB's three-year National Eucharistic Revival and the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, and shares a story of young adults encountering the Eucharistic procession on a boardwalk in Ocean City and recommitting their lives to Christ. She also looks ahead: applications for the next class of "perpetual pilgrims" (ages 19–29) open in the coming weeks, with the next National Eucharistic Congress planned for 2029.
Listen to The Catholic Morning Show weekdays at 7 a.m. Central on the Catholic Radio Network, IowaCatholicRadio.com, or the Iowa Catholic Radio app.
#CatholicPodcast #NationalEucharisticPilgrimage #Eucharist #RealPresence #CatholicFaith #AmericanCatholic #IowaCatholicRadio #CatholicMorningShow #OneNationUnderGod #EucharisticRevival