CHESTER, MD – Nearly 400 years ago, Catholics first celebrated the Eucharist on the shores of Kent Island in the Chesapeake Bay.
On the same island, Catholics from across the Diocese of Wilmington and beyond gathered shortly before noon Thursday, June 11, at St. Christopher Catholic Church in Chester, Maryland, to greet Jesus following his voyage across the famous estuary.
About 600 worshipers filled the sanctuary as the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage arrived. The van parked at the church’s entrance, and the nine young perpetual pilgrims emerged and knelt as Most Rev. William E. Koenig carried Christ in the monstrance into the sanctuary, accompanied by diocesan priests and seminarians.
Bishop Koenig said it was “wonderful” to see the large crowd who attended.
“And the responses, the ways that people just participated in Mass was just a great experience and so uplifting. We certainly gave praise to God,” he said.
The 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, with the theme “One Nation Under God,” is under the patronage of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American citizen to be made a saint. The pilgrimage is traversing the diocese Thursday and Friday, making seven stops along the way.
“It’s a good opportunity to bring Christ to the people, especially throughout our whole diocese, and especially during this June month for the Sacred Heart,” seminarian Joe Lewis said. “It’s a really good remembrance of what it is that we’re here celebrating as Catholics.”
From very young to very old attended the Mass.
“We’ve never been able to come before, so it’s awesome to see it at our own church,” said Amanda Freelander of Stevensville, a member of St. Christopher Church. She brought her six children, including an infant daughter to both the earlier landing at the marina and the Mass.
“I was very happy to see all the families here, but especially at the crossing and at Mass,” said Daniel Pin, Director of Youth, Young Adult, and Family Ministry. “It’s beautiful to see, especially down on the Eastern Shore.”
Following the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress’, this pilgrimage further fortifies young Catholics, Pin said. “We’re seeing families passing on this faith and this practice of this deeper devotion. There’s a generational growth that I can see happening, which is pretty cool.”
Following the Mass the procession traveled to Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Easton, Maryland, for a 2 p.m. holy hour and Adoration followed by a reception for the perpetual pilgrims. Attendees brough canned goods for Catholic Charities.
As Father James Nash, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul Church, carried the monstrance into the church, the pilgrims sang the chorus of “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
One of those pilgrims was John Paul Flynn of Bowie, Maryland, who attends Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and is named after St. John Paul II.
“Getting to bring Jesus home and getting to walk with people I know through the streets with Jesus has been really impactful for me to see,” Flynn said.
Many Catholics from churches in the mid-Eastern Shore area braved temperatures in the upper 90s and high humidity to be part of the pilgrimage.
“It was wonderful, and it was nice to be a part of it,” said Jenny Rhodes, a member of Mother of Sorrows Parish in Centreville, Maryland, who attended with her mother Pat.
Some worshipers said it was especially meaningful to welcome the pilgrimage the 250th anniversary of the United States. The theme of the pilgrimage is “One Nation Under God.”
Knights of Columbus from both sides of the Bay led the procession. For Knight Bob Rouse, the pilgrimage “is a pretty big deal,” he said. “Jesus is crossing the Chesapeake.”
Father Nash said he had “never seen it done before, but Eucharistic processions is such a long tradition in our church, and with it being the 250th anniversary of the country, and they’re consecrating the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
Most important, Fr. Nash said, was recognizing “our strong belief in the Real Presence, but also to make that available to so many other people, and recognize also that we are one community. Even though we come from different areas, we’re one community.”
Perpetual Pilgrim Mary Carmen Zakrajsek of South Bend, Indiana, described what the pilgrimage means to her as she visits historic sites.
“Jesus really is blessing the land,” Zakrajsek said. “Eucharistic processions – they really are a distinct public act of faith. It’s not a relic of the past – it’s something that we do today. It’s a way to go out and spread the good news that Jesus walks among us.”
