CT News
May 27, 2026 : The 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage kicked off on Sunday in St. Augustine, Florida, USA as Catholics gathered for Pentecost Mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche at Mission Nombre de Dios, launching a six-week East Coast journey that will carry the Blessed Sacrament to Philadelphia during the United States’ 250th anniversary year.
The pilgrimage, whose 2026 theme is “One Nation Under God,” will travel the St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Route from Florida up the Eastern Seaboard before concluding July 5 in Philadelphia.
The launch site carries historical significance. The Diocese of St. Augustine said the pilgrimage begins in “the nation’s oldest Catholic city,” linking the earliest chapter of Catholic life in what is now the United States with a new generation of pilgrims carrying the Eucharist across the country. The shrine grounds are associated with the Mass of thanksgiving celebrated in 1565 at the founding of St. Augustine, the nation’s oldest continuously occupied European-established city in the continental United States.
The 2026 pilgrimage is named for Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first U.S. citizen to be canonized a saint. Known for her missionary work among immigrants, orphans, the poor, and the sick, Mother Cabrini is also the patron saint of immigrants.
The pilgrimage is scheduled to pass through 18 dioceses and two Eastern-rite eparchies, with public events including Mass, Eucharistic adoration, processions, service projects, and opportunities for prayer.
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