CV NEWS FEED // The eastern route of the four simultaneous National Eucharistic Pilgrimages entered the Diocese of Brooklyn on May 26, making it the fourth diocese to host the Pilgrimage as it travels across America to Indianapolis and the National Eucharistic Congress in July.
The Tablet, the Diocese of Brooklyn’s newspaper, reported that Bishop Robert Brennan received the monstrance from Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Colacicco of the Archdiocese of New York, then carried the Eucharist across the Brooklyn Bridge.
Referring to the moment that he saw the Pilgrimage coming towards him from the Archdiocese, Bishop Brennan told the Tablet: “The thought that came to mind was, every time we celebrate the Eucharist we meet Jesus, so it’s not as if He doesn’t come to us in the Eucharist every single day, but there was just something very vivid in welcoming Jesus to Brooklyn, welcoming Jesus among us and then carrying Jesus into Brooklyn.”
The Eucharist was taken into Brooklyn and to Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral, where Bishop Gregory John Mansour of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn gave a Eucharistic blessing.
“It was a joy to see my brother bishops, to see priests, deacons, religious women and men, and lay faithful with deep devotion to God kneeling in tears, in reverence,” Bishop Mansour said, according to the Tablet. “We truly believe after Ascension Thursday that this is how Jesus wanted us to meet him, in the breaking of the bread, and we’re doing it, and we are encountering the same Jesus that walked the earth here for 33 years.”
According to The Tablet, the procession included thousands of Catholics from several different dioceses, as well as six perpetual pilgrims. The pilgrims, who are five lay people and one priest, will walk the entirety of the Pilgrimage, from its starting point in New Haven, Connecticut, to its final destination in Indianapolis.
The Tablet additionally reported that the Pilgrimage continued through the Diocese of Brooklyn on May 27, taking a boat across the Hudson River to Jersey City and stopping on the way to give a Eucharistic blessing to those on Liberty Island at the Statue of Liberty.
Two perpetual pilgrims, Dominic Carstens and Zoe Dongas, told The Tablet about their experiences of making a Eucharistic pilgrimage through large cities.
“I grew up on a farm with trees and not in the urban jungle, but there’s so many people who are on the sidewalk and they look and they just hear the music and then they see the Lord and they’re just put in awe and stunned, and are curious,” Carstens said. “It’s those sort of interactions that I’m going for — just for people to start to be curious about who our Lord is, who He is in the Eucharist, and from there they can build their own relationships with Him.”
Dongas, who is from New York City, added that both the pilgrimage and the support shown for it have been “wild.”
“Getting to walk through the Archdiocese of New York and now the Diocese of Brooklyn is just such a gift since this is my home,” she told The Tablet. “We’ve just received so much support from all of the dioceses coming out to praise the Lord.”
Bishop Brennan told The Tablet that witnessing and participating in the Pilgrimage reminded him that “we’re a part of something larger than ourselves.”
“A procession that started elsewhere is going to Indianapolis and then three other processions are taking part around the country,” Bishop Brennan added. “We’re not alone. We’re not alone in our faith, but we’re never alone whenever we’re walking with the Lord.”
