Over the summer of 2024, pilgrims from the northern, eastern, southern and western United States braved the heat to journey to Indianapolis, Indiana, through four different routes—the Marian, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Junipero Serra and St. Juan Diego—to participate in the nation’s 10th National Eucharistic Congress (NEC), and its first in 83 years. The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage (NEP) caravan, which covered 6,500 miles in total, formed the shape of a cross over the country.
Spurred by the discernment of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Eucharistic Revival is a movement several years in the making—the fruits of the movement include the planning and execution of the NEP and the NEC, both of which were primarily led by Catholic women. The Eucharistic Revival was a direct response to a Pew Research study, released in 2019, which reported that only 31% of Catholics believe in the Real Presence.
Sarah Houde, 37, is the Vice President of Events and Operations for the NEC. She led the congress operations—seamlessly keeping track of the details while also orchestrating the overall event. As the only woman on the leadership team for the NEC, Houde experienced tremendous support and trust from her four male counterparts.
“And I was so honored by the way that they looked to me to lead in a way that was incredibly affirming and encouraging,” Houde said. She emphasized their “Humility in recognizing that I had the skill sets that were needed to be at the helm of executing this congress.”
Post-congress, Houde more clearly recognized the significance of accepting a position of leadership.
“When I stepped into the role, it was made abundantly clear that who I was and the skill sets that I brought were necessary to bring this through to fruition. And it was like God has chosen me to participate in this work with Him,” Houde told FemCatholic. “This was my Marian moment, being invited to give my Fiat to co-create something with the Lord that had an absolutely transformative effect on people. And for that reason, I feel like it has been the greatest honor of my life.”
According to Maria Benes, NEP Project Lead for the Marian and Serra routes, a cross-country Eucharistic pilgrimage has “never been done, to our knowledge, in the history of the church in any country.”
Non-profit organization Modern Catholic Pilgrim (MCP) headed the planning for the NEP, which included coordinating with local dioceses, securing accommodations for pilgrims, and receiving permissions to host Eucharistic processions throughout the nation.
“We stopped at everything from Byzantine Rite parishes to Black Catholic parishes with gospel choirs. We visited a few Indigenous reservations. We had Mass in Spanish, in Vietnamese, in Tagalog,” Benes said. “It was just so beautiful to be able to embrace the universality of our Catholic faith in our country.”
Going forward, Benes, 39, will serve as the Director of Pilgrimages for the NEC, in addition to her ongoing role as a co-director at the Before Gethsemane Initiative, a non-profit that promotes racial reconciliation work guided by Church teaching.
Chenele Shaw, 31, NEP Project Lead for the Juan Diego and Seton routes, lives in Orlando, Florida. Shaw highlighted the leadership of Will Peterson, Founder and President of MCP, as especially influential to the success of the NEP planning team.
“He really empowered our team … he saw our gifts and talents,” Shaw said. Even though there were challenging moments to coordinating such a large-scale event, Shaw mentioned that having an uplifting team made the job a lot easier.
Shaw was responsible for many moving parts, including accommodations and itineraries for the pilgrims on her route. “Being in charge in that respect was really something that made me feel so empowered as a woman to be a part of.”
A community leader in her own right, Shaw is a co-director at the Before Gethsemane Initiative along with Benes.
Sam Vargo, 30, was the Director of Pilgrimage Programming at MCP. Currently, she resides in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, where she serves as the Executive Director of Missed the Boat Theatre. Vargo was part of a small national team tasked with unifying the four routes and supporting the team leads. Having led other pilgrimages in the past, Vargo empathized with the challenges that the team leads faced. “I just know that the work of a pilgrim leader can be very tireless … I would try to make sure they knew how much they were appreciated.”
A group of 30 young men and women were selected as “perpetual pilgrims” who would accompany the Eucharist to the culmination of the journey in Indianapolis. Megan Zaleski, Natalie Garza, MacKenzie Warrens and Madison Michel were perpetual pilgrims selected to be team leads. They each headed up their respective groups, whose paths started in Minnesota, Connecticut, Texas and California.
Warrens, 29, is a graduate student from Houston working on her doctorate in experimental atomic physics at Rice University. Warrens told FemCatholic that she “fell in love” with the Eucharist five years ago and ultimately found her vocation as a consecrated virgin. Her love for the Blessed Sacrament drew her to applying to serve as a perpetual pilgrim. One of her jobs as the team lead was coordinating with local dioceses while navigating changes to plans.
“There was a lot of shifting things around and reorganizing. It was really good. It was a big moment of growth for me, especially in adaptability and flexibility,” she said.
Warrens was struck by the incredible diversity and hospitality that she encountered as a pilgrim. Her team was planning to eat out for dinner on their stop in the Diocese of Atlanta, but were invited last-minute to partake in an authentic Vietnamese feast hosted by some members of Our Lady of Vietnam parish. Warrens said the symbolism of a shared meal was an especially providential part of that experience.
Michel, 25, is a fifth-year missionary for the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, also known as FOCUS. She ministers to students at Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota. As team lead for the Serra Route, Michel was impressed by the providential ways in which the Holy Spirit moved throughout the summer.
“When I first heard about the pilgrimage, I was struck by the idea that Jesus was going to walk across the country. And I had the opportunity to maybe go follow him, and just be with him,” Michel said. “I didn’t really know about the team lead role until I was offered it.”
She was drawn to the discipleship of the perpetual pilgrimage and awed by the turnout for some of the processions.
“Jesus really had some bigger plans than we were expecting,” Michel said. “Four thousand people showed up for the Golden Gate Bridge procession, and that’s certainly not how many were registered.”
Echoing Michel, Vargo also commented on the significant impact of the Eucharistic processions, especially the one hosted in her home city of St. Paul, Minnesota. When the five-mile procession concluded in Adoration, the Cathedral of Saint Paul was jam-packed with worshippers.
“I was so struck by seeing the force, the size, the magnitude of the faithful,” Vargo said. “To get to look around and see the way that this national event brought out the church in my own town was really, really powerful.”
The women who orchestrated the Eucharistic movement offer diverse perspectives, yet their unity in purpose is evident. As leaders, they repeatedly rose to the occasion to achieve a monumental feat: a nationwide call to prayer.
