Archdiocese of Dubuque to host cross-country pilgrimage

The Archdiocese of Dubuque will host a rare cross-country pilgrimage coming to Iowa this Memorial Day weekend. Deacon Brian Zeman, who is helping coordinate the pilgrimage as it passes through the archdiocese, said he believes the pilgrimage will offer local Catholics a unique opportunity to celebrate their faith and draw closer to Jesus in the Eucharist. 

"There has never been anything like this before in our archdiocese,” Deacon Zeman said, “and it is likely there never will be again."
 
"Our archdiocese is extremely blessed to be included on the route of the 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage,”  said Deacon Zeman. “Only 21 dioceses between Indianapolis and Los Angeles were chosen for this honor to host the Blessed Sacrament, with our archdiocese hosting it more days than any other on this monumental journey."
 
The pilgrimage will begin with a Mass of Thanksgiving on Sunday, May 18, in Indianapolis. It will continue for more than 3,300 miles on a route named after American-born saint Katharine Drexel, before reaching its conclusion in Los Angeles on June 22, the feast of Corpus Christi. As the pilgrimage passes through the Archdiocese of Dubuque May 23-27, it will make stops at parishes in eight locations along the way: Dubuque, Dyersville, New Vienna, Petersburg, Cedar Rapids, Tama, Marshalltown, and Ames.  
 
“There will be so many wonderfully diverse events happening across the archdiocese,” said Lynne Chapman, who is working with archdiocesan coordinators, priests and parish representatives to organize hospitality for the local part of the pilgrimage. 

Chapman said, “The hosting parishes are planning a variety of events, including vespers, eucharistic adoration, morning and evening prayer, eucharistic processions, English and bilingual Masses, a healing service, simple meals and sacred time spent together in community.”
 
“We're excited to have this pilgrimage come through our parish at St. Patrick,” said Father Michael McAndrew, pastor of the church hosting the pilgrimage in Tama. Father McAndrew said one of the highlights of the pilgrimage’s visit to St. Patrick will be a eucharistic healing service. 

“During that time,” he said, “we'll be invoking the grace of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament for his healing power for those who attend, whether physical, mental or spiritual.”
Father McAndrew said he and his parishioners are “looking forward to seeing how the Lord will bring renewal and healing through his eucharistic presence with us!”
 
The public is invited to join in the journey as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage passes through the Archdiocese of Dubuque. A full schedule of pilgrimage events in the archdiocese can be found at dbqarch.org/eucharistic-pilgrimage. Registration for the pilgrimage events is helpful for planning purposes at hosting parishes, but it is not required. Registration information can also be found on the archdiocese website at dbqarch.org/eucharistic-pilgrimage.
 
Highlights of the eucharistic pilgrimage in the Archdiocese of Dubuque include: 
 

• On Friday, May 23, the Eucharist will arrive by boat at the Port of Dubuque Marina in Dubuque at 4 p.m. A welcoming prayer service and community-wide procession along the Mississippi Riverwalk will follow. The day will end with worship services at the Cathedral of St. Raphael in Dubuque, the newly renovated mother church for the archdiocese. 
• Saturday, May 24, the rural parishes of the archdiocese will be highlighted as the pilgrimage heads to the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier in Dyersville (events begin there at 11:30 a.m.), before continuing north to New Vienna. A nearly six-mile eucharistic procession will take place between St. Boniface in New Vienna and SS. Peter and Paul in Petersburg. The procession will begin at 2 p.m. A light meal and worship services will follow. 
• Sunday, May 25, the diversity of the archdiocese will be celebrated as the pilgrimage makes stops at Immaculate Conception in downtown Cedar Rapids, St. Patrick in Tama, and St. Henry (St. Francis of Assisi Parish) in Marshalltown. The day will include a eucharistic healing service in Tama at 1 p.m. and a bilingual liturgy in Marshalltown at 5 p.m. 
• Monday, May 26, the pilgrimage will make its way to Ames for a vibrant praise and worship service at St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Student Center at 6:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 27, after adoration and morning prayer in Ames, the pilgrimage will depart for the Diocese of Des Moines to continue on the journey toward Los Angeles.