One of the most significant national events in the history of the Diocese of Wilmington is coming together with details of 11 stops on the local leg of the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage that passes through our area June 11-12.
A special “St. Francis Xavier Cabrini Route” will travel the East Coast from St. Augustine, Florida, to Portland, Maine beginning May 24 and includes a trip through the Diocese of Wilmington, ending in Philadelphia July 4 weekend as part of the nation’s 250th birthday.
“I think it says we’re all one, we’re all one church,” said Bishop William E. Koenig. “It goes from diocese to diocese from Florida all the way up to Maine. In many ways, the Catholic faith was part of the foundation of our country and continues to be a guiding light in our country.”
Bishop Koenig said he plans to be along the shore of the Chesapeake to receive the Holy Eucharist from Archdiocese of Baltimore officials June 11 and will escort the Eucharist through every local stop along the way, a 24-hour trip from the Chesapeake in Maryland to the Delaware River in Wilmington.
The Diocese of Wilmington confirmed the trip beginning on Kent Island, Maryland June 11 at 11 a.m. as the monstrance carrying the Holy Eucharist is as handed off to the bishop of Wilmington.
The archdiocese will make the handoff along with nine young adults who have been selected as “perpetual pilgrims” for the tour of the eastern U.S. shoreline. Bishop Koenig will begin the Diocese of Wilmington portion of the tour with Mass set to begin at 11:30 a.m. in nearby St. Christopher’s Church in Chester, Maryland.
The pilgrimage will travel from there to Easton, Maryland, where a service will be held at SS. Peter and Paul Parish for Eucharistic Adoration. The perpetual pilgrims along with staff from the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Wilmington will have time to meet visitors.
The pilgrimage travels from Easton to Georgetown, Delaware for a procession followed by Mass with the Catholic community of St. Michael the Archangel and Mary Mother of Peace in Georgetown. The procession will follow the blocks surrounding the church — Robinson Street, James Street, N. Front Street, and Edward Street — followed by a bilingual Holy Mass. Following the Mass will be an evening of fellowship and refreshments. The last stop of Thursday evening will be back in Maryland where the Holy Eucharist will be present for late-night adoration at St. Mary Star of the Sea Church in Ocean City.
Friday morning will be an early rise in Ocean City on June 12 as the pilgrimage invites people to join in prayer and procession beginning at 6 a.m. near the Ocean City Lifesaving Museum at the southern tip of the boardwalk. Pilgrims will escort the Eucharist along the boardwalk to 17th Street where it will exit toward Holy Savor Church at 1705 Philadelphia Ave. for Benediction at 7:15 a.m.
Members of the pilgrimage will then travel north to Wilmington and the Cathedral of St. Peter for Mass and to commemorate the consecration of the Sacred Heart here in New Castle County and for the entire Diocese of Wilmington in union with the consecration of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
Bishop Koenig is encouraging those who are able to find a location to pray along the pilgrimage.
“It’s certainly an opportunity to pray and to be fed at Mass through the Eucharist. To support one another in the ways that we are a pilgrim people and to continue to help others by our living as people of the Eucharist.”
Bishop Koenig and the perpetual pilgrims will depart from Wilmington via boat across the Delaware River to meet officials of the Diocese of Camden.
