WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The U.S. Postal Service is issuing a stamp honoring the late William F. Buckley Jr. (1925-2008), a lifelong devout Catholic who was an intellectual, provocative commentator well-known for his sharp wit. Buckley is considered a founder of modern conservatism.
The Postal Service said March 6 that the Buckley stamp is being issued along with other new stamps celebrating the 250th anniversaries of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps and one previewing the 2026 World Stamp Show in Boston. Additional stamps in the Postal Service’s 2025 program will be announced later.

One of the most influential public intellectuals in modern U.S. history, Buckley defined the conservative movement of the mid-20th century and was one of its most recognizable spokesmen. He was the founder of National Review magazine, hosted the weekly “Firing Line” television program for 33 years and wrote more than 50 books.

Greg Breeding, an art director for the Postal Service, designed the stamp, which bears a portrait of Buckley. Dale Stephanos created the original art by hand with graphite and charcoal on hot-press watercolor paper, then refined it digitally.

Born in New York City, Buckley served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Afterward he attended Yale University, where he engaged in debate and conservative political commentary. Upon graduating from Yale with honors in 1950, he worked at the CIA for two years, then went on to found National Review.

He died at his desk in Stamford, Connecticut, Feb. 27, 2008, at age 82. That April more than 2,000 people attended a memorial Mass for him. It was concelebrated by 18 priests at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.
He was remembered as a man of deep faith and unfailing confidence in the Catholic Church who brought people to believe in God and inspired vocations to the priesthood.

“His tongue was the pen of a ready writer” and his “words were strong enough to help crack the walls of an evil empire,” according to Father George W. Rutler, principal celebrant and homilist. “His categories were not right and left, but right and wrong. What graces he had to change a century came by his belief in Christ, who has changed all centuries.”

Buckley’s “life testified that there can be no concord with evil, for evil always seeks to devour the good, and peace at any price is very expensive,” the priest added.

By Jack Figge
(OSV News) – Catholics across the world are embarking on pilgrimages to commemorate the Jubilee Year of Hope.

Many will travel to Rome to visit the four major basilicas and pass through their Holy Doors so as to gain a plenary indulgence.

For those that are unable to travel to Rome, however, they are still able to participate by traveling to one of the numerous Jubilee Year pilgrimage sites across the country.

These sites each have a unique history and hold significance in their local region, helping Catholics to encounter God in new ways.

In the densely populated East Coast, bishops have designated a multitude of jubilee sites located in dense cities and rural countryside.

Surrounded by dense forest, yet only a mere 50 miles away from New York City, sits Graymoor – the Holy Mountain.

Run by the Franciscan Friars of Atonement, Graymoor serves as a home for the friars and a retreat center. It also houses many ministries, such as St. Christopher’s Inn, a residential program for men battling drug addiction.

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York designated Graymoor as one of the eight jubilee pilgrimage sites in his archdiocese.
When Atonement Father Jim Gardiner, director of special projects, and the other friars learned about the designation, they were ecstatic.

“We’re grateful to be named a pilgrimage site because Cardinal Dolan could’ve named all kinds of other places,” Father Gardiner told OSV News. “We see it as a sign of support and encouragement, which is especially needed as these are tough times, since we, like many other places, have been struggling with vocations.”
In Father Gardiner’s own vocation story, a pilgrimage to Graymoor played a significant role. He said it launched his discernment journey.

“In 1948, I was in the first grade when I visited Graymoor,” Father Gardiner recalled. “It was so exciting. We had Mass outdoors and walked around the property. When we were preparing to leave, one of the friars stopped and asked me if I had a good day. I said yes, and he said, ‘I’m going to pray every day that you come back here.’”

“I have no idea who that friar was, but as a result of that pilgrimage, I’ve been here 60-plus years now,” he said.

To commemorate the Jubilee Year, Father Gardiner and other staff members have developed a variety of programs and events.

“We have great staff here that has been meeting regularly, coming up with all kinds of great ideas,” Father Gardiner said. “We have special Masses planned, special retreats; but really, we just have a great space that we want visitors to take part in.”

In the South, Sacred Heart Parish in downtown Tampa, Florida, is preparing to welcome a plethora of pilgrims.

Founded in the early 1850s, the parish became a cornerstone in the Tampa Bay area as the city grew around it.

“Sacred Heart was founded in the infancy of Tampa Bay as a city,” Rob Boelke, director of communications at Sacred Heart, told OSV News. “John Jackson, an Irish immigrant, and his wife, Ellen, arrived in the area as a surveyor. He surveyed the majority of our downtown and the older areas of the city itself, and those streets largely stand in the same grid that he had put together. Soon after arriving, he and his wife sent a petition to the Diocese of Savannah asking for a parish to be founded.”

In the 1850s, the area that now comprises the St. Petersburg Diocese was part of the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia.

Soon after the Jacksons’ request, a small wooden church was built, served by Jesuit missionaries. By the late 1800s, the parish had outgrown it and began constructing a new Romanesque-style church. Completed in 1905, the church remains today as a unique architectural fixture in Catholic Florida.
“Most of the churches in Florida were built in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and they are not architecturally significant,” Boelke said. “Sacred Heart has very unique architecture that is much more in line with churches that you would see across the Northeast or in the Midwest. It’s largely Romanesque with beautiful stained-glass windows so people are drawn to the parish for its beauty.”

Sacred Heart is one of six Jubilee pilgrimage sites in the Diocese of St. Petersburg. Already, pilgrims are flocking to the church to commemorate both the Jubilee Year and the parish’s 120th anniversary.

“We are hosting lots of tours for both Catholic and secular schools; other parishes are calling us to set up times for large group visits,” Boelke said.

Located in the Midwestern small town of Perryville, Missouri, the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal is preparing to welcome pilgrims to its vast property for the Jubilee Year.

One of nine Jubilee sites in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, the national shrine has a robust history dating back to 1818, when a small log cabin church was founded on the property. The shrine encompasses 55 acres and includes a large church, a rosary walk and a grotto.

Run by Vincentian priests, Father Jim Osendorf, superior of the community, told OSV News that he hopes pilgrims will develop a deeper relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary after visiting the site.

“Our facility is dedicated to the Blessed Mother and to commemorate the appearances of Mary to Catherine Labouré,” Father Osendorf said. “This just seems to be one of the perfect places to come just to kind of get away to pray, to meditate and to deepen our relationship with Mary, who leads us to Jesus.”
To commemorate the Holy Year, the community has planned various events throughout the year that include speakers, music and special liturgies.

“We have a number of guest speakers who will be coming and will have musicians regularly,” Father Osendorf said. “But really, we just want people to come and encounter God on our property. From my office, I can see people coming to pray, pray the rosary on our walk or sometimes just getting away to think, to ponder, to meditate. And it brings me so much joy to see this happening.”

Out in the West, historical shrines and churches are abundant, as they have been ministering to locals since Franciscan missionaries established them centuries ago.

One such church is Mission Basilica of San Buenaventura in California, which was founded in 1782. Since its founding, the basilica has played a critical role in the local community, Father Tom Elewaut, pastor of the mission, told OSV News.

“There are 21 original missions established by the Franciscan padres in what is now the state of California,” Father Elewaut explained. “The significance of our particular parish is that we were the last of the nine missions founded by St. Junipero Serra.”

The town of San Buenaventura, located 70 miles from Los Angeles, grew around the parish. The original church built in 1809 and refurbished in 1812 after an earthquake remains as the primary worship space.
“The church building that we have today was originally finished in 1809,” Father Elewaut said. “The artwork, the statues, the back altar – that is all original from 1809. Everything that was used to decorate the church had been shipped up from New Spain (today’s Mexico) … so there is a lot of history in the church.”

Father Elewaut is excited to welcome pilgrims from the surrounding area to the basilica. Everyday, pilgrims visit the historic church, and the priest uses these interactions and Sunday Mass as an opportunity to remind them to be pilgrims of hope.

“We are pilgrims of hope, and we certainly are including that message in our homilies weekly, and encouraging people to be hopeful in a world that sometimes wants to cast darkness; that we are to be people of hope in the light of Christ,” he said. “And not only for eternal life, but to be hope-filled in this life as well.”

(Jack Figge writes for OSV News from Kansas.)

By Kimberley Heatherington
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Catholic agencies including Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Relief Services and Jesuit Relief Service/USA are facing major setbacks in the wake of the Trump administration’s 90-day pause and review of federal funding to numerous nonprofit organizations providing domestic and overseas aid to migrants, refugees and people in need.

Reversals, litigation and appeals have followed – but funds remain in limbo, and contracts have been terminated.

On Feb. 26 – after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops filed suit challenging the funding suspension of its refugee admissions program – the U.S. State Department informed the USCCB its financial agreement would be terminated the next day, because the arrangement “no longer effectuates agency priorities.”

CRS is bracing for massive program cuts as high as 50%. Numerous Catholic Charities offices – including those in California, Kansas, New York and Texas – have scaled back operations and laid off staff. JRS/USA is trying to cover its funding gap, but laid off some 400 employees around the world.

While the cessation of funds has been devastating for these service-providing Catholic agencies, others that do not accept federal funds remain as active as before.

“Has the landscape changed? Absolutely. Has it changed irrevocably? Probably. Are we being asked to pick up where others can no longer function? Of course we will,” said Michael La Civita, communications director for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, or CNEWA.

“This places a huge burden on the local church,” he said. “We work entirely through the local church – the local Eastern churches – and their landscape has been changed irrevocably, because the church doesn’t shut down. The church doesn’t change from one administration to the next. The church is present where her members are.”

Founded by Pope Pius XI in 1926, the New York-based CNEWA – an initiative of the Holy See – works through and with the Eastern churches to provide humanitarian and spiritual support in the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India and Eastern Europe.

As a Vatican agency, it operates independently of U.S. government funding – and instead raises its funds from individuals, family foundations, private grant organizations and partner agencies of the worldwide Catholic community. Material and spiritual aid is provided regardless of faith or religious creed.

While the funding freeze’s impact on other Catholic agencies will ultimately impact CNEWA as it attempts to help where others no longer can, La Civita remains optimistic.

“Things have changed so much and for the good in so many places, sometimes we lose sight of that,” he said. “And much of that has to do with, frankly, American Catholic generosity.”

American Catholics are “members of a global worldwide Catholic communion of churches – we’re not concerned about just what happens in our local parish; we’re concerned about the entire church,” he said.
With that perspective, La Civita is certain the U.S. faithful “will continue to respond to the question that was put to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ I have great faith and hopes in our Catholic family, that it will continue to rise to the occasion.”

The Pontifical Mission Societies USA likewise does not receive government aid for its charitable work overseas. Its fundamental purpose is to share the faith, not specifically humanitarian works, but it does operate Missio, a crowdfunding platform that digitally connects donors with current and emerging projects in the pope’s missions.

“Even though we do fund some of the church’s charitable outreaches in missionary territories, most of the time we do so through church structures – dioceses, parishes, seminarians, religious orders, etc. – in missionary lands, building churches, seminaries, converts, charitable centers and other ecclesiastical infrastructure, so that they can better minister to their people,” said Msgr. Roger J. Landry, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies USA.

Current Missio projects include helping flood victims in Nigeria, providing food and clothes to Holy Land residents, and aiding earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria.

“We are grateful for the missionary zeal and charitable generosity of American Catholics that make this work possible,” Msgr. Landry said in an email to OSV News. “We’re not asking them to do so through their taxes.”

Edward Clancy, outreach director for Aid to the Church in Need-USA – an international papal charity supporting persecuted and suffering Christians around the world – said a certain amount of autonomy accompanies a decision not to receive government funding.

“It’s a long-standing policy of the organization – both in the United States and internationally – not to create alliances with governments,” Clancy said. “Obviously, they have their pluses and minuses. Governments are going to have great power and great money. But oftentimes that comes at the cost of the freedom of what we’re supposed to be doing with the money as a Catholic organization.”

Under the guidance of the pope, Aid to the Church in Need has provided pastoral and humanitarian assistance for nearly 75 years to the persecuted church around the world. It proudly notes its donors have helped “the suffering, the distressed and the poorest of the poor” in over 145 countries.

“We prioritize certain objectives that might be accepted, or not, by governments,” Clancy said. “And again, we don’t want to be beholden to them for long-term aid.”

Clancy shared an example involving the U.S. Agency for International Development, America’s now-dismantled overseas aid bureau.

“We were funding a project in Nigeria; the church was supporting victims of Boko Haram after their recovery and renewal from many years of torture,” he said. “And when the USAID initially said they were interested in supporting a project, the local project partner was happy to accept the funding — but they didn’t want to allow themselves to be subject to some of the strings attached. And then when it was decided not to be sent, Aid to the Church in Need, thankfully, was able to find donors to help them and to make up the difference.”

Echoing La Civita, Clancy confirmed that Aid to the Church in Need remains untouched by the uncertainty that can accompany political shifts.

“Aid to the Church in Need continues to work regardless of any administration or decisions at government levels – because we do the work of the church,” Clancy said. “That’s our mission.”

Mary’s Meals – an international charity founded in 2002 that establishes school meal programs in some of the world’s poorest communities and is currently feeding almost 2.5 million children every school day – also said its operations would not suffer disruption.

“Mary’s Meals is not currently receiving any U.S. government aid, and so our programs are not directly impacted by this news,” Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, the Catholic CEO and founder of Mary’s Meals, told OSV News in an email. “We have diverse income streams through affiliate organizations and fundraising groups in more than 20 countries, who help to guide our grassroots movement and philanthropic activity.”

That does not mean, however, that Mary’s Meals will not feel the funding freeze’s effects.

“The communities we serve will still be impacted, though, and at a time of acute need, any reductions in aid budgets are devastating and likely to cost many lives – including the lives of children,” MacFarlane-Barrow said. “Right now, the world’s poorest communities are urgently in need of more life-saving assistance, not less.”

A lack of reliance on government funding instead means dependence upon everyday charity.

“Being largely reliant on the generosity of individuals, through our thriving grassroots support, allows us to make free choices on where to deliver our programs based on where need is greatest and allows us to stay free from politics,” MacFarlane-Barrow said. “We will continue to build our movement based on our confidence in the innate goodness of people and their little acts of love. Mary’s Meals is – and has always been – a movement of people who are not going to sit and do nothing in the face of child hunger, even if governments fail, or are not able, to act.”

(Kimberley Heatherington writes for OSV News from Virginia.)

By Kate Scanlon

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Catholic immigration advocates sought ways to respond to some anti-immigration or false narratives about their work during a conference in the nation’s capital.

Participants in the event, “Understanding Migration from a Catholic Perspective” held at The Catholic University of America, examined current and historical narratives around U.S. immigration, seeking new ways to dialogue with those skeptical about the church’s work in this area, including some Trump administration officials.

“If the narrative is wrong, the actions that are based upon that narrative will be wrong,” said Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, in a keynote address.

Bishop Seitz, also the chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, said that some of the Trump administration’s actions on immigration should concern Catholics.

“I really don’t think we can over exaggerate the seriousness of these measures,” he said, expressing particular concern about a Trump administration policy rescinding long-standing restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from making arrests at what are seen as sensitive locations, including houses of worship, schools and hospitals, as well as the suspension of a federal refugee resettlement program.

The USCCB is in ongoing litigation with the federal government over the suspension of funding for refugee resettlement assistance and payments the USCCB says it has not yet received for completed work. The Trump administration also terminated two USCCB refugee resettlement agreements with the USCCB, that group said.

Claims circulated by officials, including Vice President JD Vance, that the conference profits from that work were “shocking,” Bishop Seitz said.

“All I can really think of when I hear that kind of assertion is ‘Animal Farm,'” Bishop Seitz said in reference to the 1945 novella by George Orwell. “Because the truth is just turned upside down. You know, what is being done in a selfless way by so many dedicated people is characterized as just an effort to get money, like that’s what the church is about? Not the church I know.”

In a January interview, Vance questioned the motives of the U.S. bishops’ criticism of some of Trump’s immigration policies, suggesting their objection to the suspension of a federal refugee resettlement program had more to do with “their bottom line.” But outside audits of the bishops’ work with refugees show the USCCB does not profit from that work and, in fact, has spent the church’s funds to cover what the government would not.

The additional suspension of U.S. foreign aid, Bishop Seitz added, presents another concern for those seeking to reduce “irregular migration.”

“The drastic cuts to foreign aid, especially visible with the dismantling of USAID, has had devastating consequences,” Bishop Seitz said. “While this may not seem directly tied to migration, it is of central importance. Migration should be a choice, not a necessity. When people can build stable lives in their homeland, fewer are forced to depart their home country in search of a new home where they can better provide for their families. Investing in local economies, infrastructure and essential services is key to addressing the root causes of irregular migration.”

Julia Young, a historian of migration, Mexico and Latin America, and Catholicism at CUA, said during a panel discussion that there was a great wave of immigration to the United States that took place between about 1870 and 1910 of Irish, Italian, and Southern and Eastern European immigrants that led to significant demographic changes in the U.S. and helped increase the U.S. Catholic population.

“Immigration surged to the point that the United States became a country where over 14% of the population had been born in another country by 1910 which, interestingly, we’re again at that moment,” she said, noting that about 15% of the U.S. population was born in another country.

Young said “as that immigration wave surged, there also surged a huge wave of nativism, nativist sentiment,” she said, expressing concern that similar trends may again occur.

But panelists also stressed that underlying concerns about issues including economic stability and cost of living, or other concerns tied to immigration issues should not be dismissed as nativism when advocating for migrants.

Peter Skerry, a professor of political science at Boston College, said during a panel discussion, “I don’t think (calling it) racism is a very helpful response or answer to this kind of question.”

“I don’t deny that racism exists, but I think as an answer, it’s much too vague, too facile and basically unfair to the situation and certainly unfair to our fellow citizens,” he said of those who raise concerns about “real challenges.”

In considering challenges to the church’s work with migrants, Bishop Seitz said, “I am a person of hope because I know who wins.”

“I believe that the Lord will not leave us,” he said, adding, “And I don’t mean just wishful thinking, right? Hope is, for a Christian, not wishful thinking. I’m hopeful that this, in God’s plan, will become a moment of reawakening for our country, a recommitment to those principles that are the best of our country.”

The event was hosted by CUA, the USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services and Jesuit Refugee Service/USA.

Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.

By Maria-Pia Chin
(OSV News) – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sued the Trump administration Feb. 18 over the suspension of funding of refugee resettlement assistance.

In the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the bishops called this suspension “unlawful and harmful to newly arrived refugees,” The Associated Press first reported. A USCCB spokesperson told OSV News that the lawsuit urges the government “to uphold its legal and moral obligations” to refugees and to restore the funding needed to ensure that faith-based and community organizations can continue their work with refugees.

The USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services is one of 10 national resettlement agencies that work with the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, which was established by Congress in 1980, formalizing the process by which refugees are legally resettled in the United States.

USRAP was suspended through executive order signed by President Donald Trump Jan. 20 and is being evaluated to see whether refugee resettlement “is in the national interest.” The State Department issued suspension notices to domestic resettlement agencies, including the USCCB, on Jan. 24, which has impacted resettlement agencies’ ability to carry out services for refugees, including those under the Reception and Placement Program, according to an alert to support refugee resettlement seen in USCCB’s Action Alert Center.

The R&P program is a domestic effort that provides assistance to newly arrived refugees to meet initial needs such as housing and job placement during the first 90 days that they are in the country.

According to AP’s reporting on the lawsuit, the USCCB’s president, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, said that “the conference suddenly finds itself unable to sustain its work to care for the thousands of refugees who were welcomed into our country and assigned to the care of the USCCB by the government after being granted legal status.”

Chieko Noguchi, USCCB spokesperson, told OSV News Feb. 18 that the lawsuit filed by the USCCB “challenges the suspension of the funding for refugee assistance we have run for decades.”

“Refugees are individuals who have undergone special screening and vetting procedures by the U.S. government and are fleeing hardship and persecution in their home countries to resettle in the United States,” she said in an email. “Throughout this long-time partnership with the U.S. government, the USCCB has helped nearly a million individuals find safety and build their lives in the United States.”

Under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, refugees are persons who have left their countries of origin and are unwilling or unable to return due to actual or well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, social group or political opinion.

As previously reported, the USCCB website states that its Migration and Refugee Services “is the largest refugee resettlement agency in the world,” and that in partnership with its affiliates, it resettles approximately 18% of the refugees that arrive in the U.S. each year.

“We are urging the government to uphold its legal and moral obligations to refugees and to restore the necessary funding to ensure that faith-based and community organizations can continue this vital work that reflects our nation’s values of compassion, justice, and hospitality,” Noguchi said.

This is a developing story.

(Maria-Pia Chin is the Spanish editor for OSV News.)

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The 11th National Eucharistic Congress will be held in 2029, building “on the grace” received in Indianapolis at the 10th congress, said Jason Shanks, CEO of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc.

The 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17-21 drew more than 60,000 attendees and included a Eucharistic procession of tens of thousands of Catholics through the city’s downtown streets. The congress was a high point of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative by the U.S. Catholic bishops.

“The National Eucharistic Congress Inc. is thrilled to share that we have begun the initial steps in preparing” for a 2029 congress, Shanks told OSV News in an email late Feb. 7.

“We look forward to reuniting as an American church to celebrate our shared Eucharistic faith,” he said. “We are eager to build on the grace we received during our gathering in Indianapolis this past summer.”

“We recognize that the success of the previous congress can be attributed to the countless individuals who prayed and interceded for the event,” Shanks continued. “So, we invite the church to join us in praying not only for the planning of this future Congress, but that we might continue to Walk with One through this year of missionary sending. We will provide more details about the 11th National Eucharistic Congress in the future.”

Shanks told The Pillar Feb. 7 that a decision to hold the next national gathering in 2029 was made “in consultation with the bishops” and that a formal presentation on plans for the congress will be presented to the body of the bishops during their fall plenary assembly in November.

The revival is now focusing on its Year of Mission, in which Catholics are encouraged to become “Eucharistic missionaries” who share the reality and impact of Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist with others. This is especially realized through the revival’s “Walk with One” campaign, which asks Catholics to identify one person whom they can accompany on their faith journey and deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ.

The National Eucharistic Congress Inc. nonprofit was formed in 2022 to support the bishops’ vision for the revival. It oversaw not only the congress but also the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, two major components of the National Eucharistic Revival.

The pilgrimage involved 30 young adult “perpetual pilgrims” crossing the country over eight weeks with the Eucharist via four routes, which ended in Indianapolis ahead of the congress.

Pilgrimage-related events, such as Mass, Eucharistic adoration and public processions, drew in some cases thousands of people, with the largest perhaps being the 5-mile procession in St. Paul, Minnesota, with crowd estimates exceeding 7,000 adorers.

At the conclusion of the congress, Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, board chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., announced there would be another National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in 2025 from Indianapolis to Los Angeles and possibly an earlier National Eucharistic Congress than 2033.

2033 is when the church will mark the 2,000th anniversary of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection, which Pope Francis called “another fundamental celebration for all Christians.”

While the bishops’ initiative is slated to end with the feast of Corpus Christi, which is June 19, the organization expects to build on the revival’s momentum beyond 2025 and continue to support Eucharist-centered efforts, including future national Eucharistic pilgrimages and congresses.

By Maria Wiering
(OSV News) – The 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will begin in Indianapolis May 18 and travel through 10 states before reaching Los Angeles June 22.

The 3,300-mile St. Katharine Drexel Route has stops planned in 20 dioceses and four Eastern Catholic eparchies across Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

Eight “perpetual pilgrims” and several chaplains have been selected to travel with the Eucharist throughout the 36-day route, which begins on Pentecost and ends on the feast of Corpus Christi.
“We are thrilled to be gearing up for the 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. We trust that God has profound blessings and graces in store for us as we journey with Jesus through cities and towns nationwide again this summer,” said Jason Shanks, president of the Denver-based National Eucharistic Congress Inc., in a Feb. 18 media release announcing details of the route.

The pilgrimage builds on the success of the first National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which took place in 2024 ahead of the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17-21. The 2024 pilgrimage launched from four points near four U.S. borders May 18-19 with a combined 30 perpetual pilgrims, all in their 20s. Over two months, they traveled, often on foot, toward Indianapolis with the Eucharist. Their route included simple and solemn Eucharistic processions, and stops for Mass, Eucharistic adoration, prayer, charitable service and social events along the way, often in local parishes.

The 2024 procession drew more than 250,000 participants, according to organizers – with an estimated 7,000 people joining a single 5-mile Eucharistic procession in St. Paul, Minnesota, likely the effort’s largest crowd before arriving in Indianapolis. Across the U.S., people offered their homes and other accommodations for the pilgrims to stay.

On the final day of the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress, Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, board chairman of National Eucharistic Congress Inc., announced that another national Eucharistic pilgrimage was planned for 2025, culminating in a closing Mass with Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles.

The 2025 route will include the tomb of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen in Peoria, Illinois; the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine in Oklahoma City; and missions in Southern California. In Iowa, a Eucharistic procession will begin at the baseball field featured in the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams.”

“This year’s pilgrimage will again focus on Eucharistic encounters with marginalized communities, bringing the Blessed Sacrament to assisted living facilities, food banks, a juvenile detention center, a hospital, and a federal prison along the route,” the Feb. 18 media release stated.

Pilgrimage stops will also celebrate the 2025 Jubilee Year and mark recent U.S. tragedies, including the Jan. 29 Washington crash of American Airlines Flight 5342, which originated in Wichita, Kansas, and the January wildfires that ravaged parts of Los Angeles, killing at least 29 people.

“In honor of the Jubilee Year of Hope, there will be an additional focus on Eucharistic healing. Events are planned in Wichita to honor the victims of the plane crash and their families, at the border of Mexico with a special Benediction and prayers for all migrants and refugees, and in Los Angeles, where organizers hope to bring our Eucharistic Lord to the communities impacted by the wildfires,” the media release stated.

A full event listing and registration to participate will be posted later this spring, organizers said.

(Maria Wiering is senior writer for OSV News.)

(For more information on the Drexel Route visit: https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/)