Following the wisdom of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, we should do exactly what the Second Vatican Council’s “Dogmatic Constitution of the Church” has asked us to do, namely, recognize the reality that the Church makes the Eucharist and the Eucharist makes the Church!

The U.S. bishops determined that there should be a National Eucharistic Pilgrimage to lead us to the National Eucharistic Congress in July.

There are four different journeys: from the East, the West, the North, and the South, all named for saints from our U.S. experience: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Junípero Serra, St. Juan Diego, and Marian (Blessed Virgin Mary). This is a perfect example of the Church in the U.S. responding to the popular piety of our nation.

The St. Elizabeth Seton Route that passed through the Diocese of Brooklyn began in the Archdiocese of Hartford, in Connecticut. Archbishop Christopher Coyne of Hartford was the first to receive the Most Blessed Sacrament in procession.

From there, along the Seton trail, the Eucharist was received into the Archdiocese of New York. Eventually, the Eucharist was received at St. Joseph’s Seminary and College, Dunwoodie, our diocesan seminary, where seminary professors Father Charles Caccavale, Father Ignatius Schweitzer, and Father John Cush gave dogmatic, moral, and spiritual catechesis to the pilgrims.

After leaving our seminary, the pilgrimage processed to New York City. Here we took the opportunity to acknowledge the great spiritual example of Father Roger Landry, who serves as the full-time chaplain of Columbia University.

Not only has Father Landry been pastor to the students at Columbia during this tense period, he has attempted, as a true pastor, to minister to both the Israeli and the Palestinian sides. We could not have a better, more balanced pastor as chaplain of the Seton Route.

When the Eucharistic Lord in the monstrance entered the Diocese of Brooklyn, Bishop Robert Brennan was pleased to receive Our Eucharistic Lord.

Bishop Brennan, ever aware of the Eastern Catholic (Maronite, Ukrainian, Ruthenian, Greek, Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankar) arms of the Church, processed with Our Eucharistic Lord to the Maronite Catholic Cathedral in Brooklyn, before eventually going to the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph and the Cathedral Basilica of St. James to pray with and to greet the pilgrims.

Father Bryan Patterson, rector of the cathedral, and Father Christopher Henue, rector of the co-cathedral, need o be thanked for their organizational skills, as do Father Joseph Gibino and all who worked so hard for us in bringing the Eucharistic Lord through our Diocese of Brooklyn.

We need to acknowledge the pastors, parochial vicars, deacons, and parishioners who made all of this possible.

Despite the traffic and the rain, Cardinal Timothy Dolan received the Eucharistic Lord on a boat and blessed Liberty Island, the place where so many pilgrims/immigrants entered our beloved Diocese of Immigrants.

The Lord, whom we adore and worship and receive in the Eucharist, is living and present in the Living Taberacle. In this Eucharistic Pilgrimage, let’s take the time to acknowledge and revere the Eucharistic Christ, present in our brothers and sisters who need to rest in a tabernacle of Catholic faith.