Jesus isn’t just coming to St. Louis. He’s coming to St. Stephen Protomartyr Church!
Our parish is honored to have been selected as one of the few stops on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s journey through St. Louis on its way to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.
The Eucharistic Revival is a program of our nation’s bishops to renew our love for Jesus in the Eucharist here in the United States. It includes many initiatives, one of which is the event in Indianapolis, with pilgrimages heading there from the north, south, east, and west. Little by little, in stages, pilgrims have given their summer to walking and praying with Jesus in the Eucharist, making a huge cross over our nation in blessing. You can learn more online at www.eucharisticcongress.org/pilgrimage-2024.
On Sunday, July 7, the pilgrims who have been traveling the Serra route from the West Coast will be walking from the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis (the “New Cathedral”) to SSP Church for Eucharistic Adoration and a bit of rest before they continue east. I plan to join them, and I hope you will, too.
How can you participate?
You can join me at Mass at the Cathedral on Sunday, July 7, at 10 a.m.
You can walk with me in the 5.4-mile pilgrimage as it processes with Jesus to our parish church. The pilgrimage will leave the Cathedral at 11 a.m. and is estimated to arrive at SSP Church around 2 p.m. The route runs generally from Lindell down Tower Grove Ave., jogging over Arsenal to Morganford, and then east down Concordia and Wilmington to our church. Walk all of the route or just part of it.
You can witness the procession from any point along the route, praying with Jesus as he passes.
You can volunteer at a water station along the route by contacting Jane Guenther at [email protected].
You can stand along Wilmington and outside of SSP Church to welcome the pilgrims and the procession as they arrive.
You can join the pilgrims in about 30 minutes of Eucharistic Adoration at SSP Church. They are expected to arrive around 2 p.m., although the precise time will be hard to predict. Adoration will be followed by a reception the SSP Parish Center.
RSVPs are requested for the adoration and the reception at SSP so that we can plan accordingly.
We extend our gratitude to our own Parish Missionary Disciples group, who has been working with the Archdiocese on the coordination of these events. If you have questions, please contact SSP parishioner Cathy Baumann at [email protected].
I see this as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I hope you will join me in walking with the pilgrimage or in welcoming them to our parish. God bless you!