Alison Girone
CV NEWS FEED // Utah’s minority Catholic community made an impressive showing at National Eucharistic Pilgrimage stops in their community along the western Junipero Serra route.
Pilgrims spent May 31 through June 5 in Utah, where the number of Catholics is estimated to be around 300,000, making up 10% of the state’s population, according to the Salt Lake City Diocese.
Reflecting on her experience of the pilgrimage in Utah, Intermountain Catholic Editor Marie Mischel wrote:
Every parish had wonderful participation in the events. Having 50 in the procession in Vernal may not seem like very many, but it was when you take into consideration the size of the Catholic population in that area, the fact that it was at 5 p.m. on a weekday when many people had to work, and that the walk was in 80+-degree heat.
Mischel described the abundance of opportunities to receive Sacraments and attend processions, Adoration, and even a talk on Thomas Aquinas’ theology of the Eucharist. She also noted the opportunity for pilgrims to receive plenary indulgences.
The largest Pilgrimage in Utah took place in Park City and was headed up by First Communicants scattering rose petals, according to another report from Mischel. It included participants from several local parishes, the Knights of Columbus honor guard, and members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Mischel described her experience of the last day of the pilgrimage’s sojourn in Utah:
Then came Adoration on the last day, mere hours before the pilgrims departed for Colorado.
Kneeling before the monstrance, I was overcome by the certainty that Jesus was present, and he forgave my sins, and that fleeting moment of grace erased all my frustration and gave me peace that still comforts me today.
At the time of this article’s publication, pilgrims along the Junipero Serra route are making their way through Nebraska.
