Greg Wood / Camino de California pilgrimage
Priests, brothers, and seminarians with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal are shepherding a 17-day Eucharistic pilgrimage through California that is set to merge next week with the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which is approaching its final destination in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Angelus News reported June 10 that more than 200 local Catholics are participating in the Camino de California Eucharistic Pilgrimage. It is primarily a driving pilgrimage, rather than a walking one, which enables pilgrims to visit all 21 California Missions within the allotted timeframe. Along with daily Mass and Eucharistic adoration and processions at the various stops, the pilgrimage is also holding Daily Work of Mercy opportunities at food banks, women’s shelters, and prisons.
The Franciscans are bringing Jesus in the Eucharist through the route in a designated van, according to a May 9 press release from the pilgrimage.
One Los Angeles Archdiocesan priest spoke this week about how the pilgrimage offers a unique opportunity and time of reflection for those discerning the priesthood and religious life.
Angelus News reported that Father Jonathan Meyer, who is also a coordinator for first-year seminarians at Camarillo’s St. John’s Seminary, told the outlet that the prayerful journey invites the discerners “to walk in the footsteps of their spiritual fathers who first announced the redeeming love of Jesus to California. We will be participating in the dioceses that formed them, encountering the communities from which they originate and to which they may, one day, serve.”
He added, “I hope our time exposes them to the rich diversity and aliveness of the Church and helps them experience their belonging to the Body of Christ as the beloved children of God.”
The pilgrimage began June 6 at St. Francis Solano Church in Sonoma, California. The pilgrimage route traces down the state’s western side and reaches its most southern stop in San Diego June 16. Here, it convenes with the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which kicked off in May in Indianapolis, Indiana. Once the Camino pilgrimage merges with the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, both routes turn northward back toward Los Angeles.
The national route runs through 10 states and is set to conclude with Mass, a Eucharistic procession, and a festival in downtown Los Angeles on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, June 22.
Capuchin Francisan priest Father Will Tarraza, who is guardian for San Lorenzo Seminary for Capuchin Francisan novices, is one of the hosts for Camino pilgrims coming through the Santa Ynez Valley, according to Angelus News.
Fr. Tarraza told the outlet, “We are blessed to do what little we can to serve the pilgrims who have sacrificed so much to witness to this tremendous grace given to mankind.”
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