Pope Leo to pilgrims: ‘Strong; Eucharistic heritage of US must continue as source of renewal, unity’

PHILADELPHIA (OSV News) — Participants in the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage carry on the “great legacy of faith” that has crucially shaped the U.S., now marking its 250th anniversary, said Pope Leo XIV in a message to those gathered for the pilgrimage’s concluding liturgy in Philadelphia.

And, said the pope, the “strong, though largely unknown, Eucharistic heritage” of the nation “must continue to serve as source of both renewal and unity.”

Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia introduced Pope Leo’s words to the faithful — shared by the pope in a pre-recorded video — during a July 5 Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in that city.

Amid an ongoing heatwave, hundreds filled the cathedral’s pews for the liturgy, which was to be followed by a Eucharistic procession to the National Shrine of St. John Neumann, located at St. Peter the Apostle Church some two miles away.

With a theme of “One Nation Under God,” the pilgrims arrived July 2 amid the Independence Day holiday weekend in Philadelphia, home to several key sites in the nation’s founding. The Declaration of Independence was signed in the city, which served as the nation’s capital from 1790 to 1800, when the new city of Washington became the nation’s seat of government.

Launched on May 24, the pilgrimage wound through most of the nation’s 13 original colonies — passing through 18 dioceses and archdioceses, as well as two Eastern Catholic eparchies — as the U.S. marked its 250th anniversary.

The journey had been placed under the patronage of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the woman religious and Italian immigrant who became the first U.S. citizen to be canonized after a lifetime of work ministering to immigrants. Stops along the Cabrini Route highlighted sites significant to Catholicism’s contributions to U.S. history.

In his message, Pope Leo described the pilgrimage as “particularly appropriate” for the commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary, since the journey “centered on our Lord.”

He pointed out that “pilgrimages are deeply rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition,” and “often undertaken to mark significant anniversaries as the community comes together in prayer.”

The pope noted the pilgrims, walking through many of the nation’s original 13 colonies, had “prayed for unity, renewal and healing for the country,” under the pilgrimage’s motto.

“These intentions are also close to my own heart,” said Pope Leo, who expressed “sincere gratitude” to the U.S. Catholic bishops, pilgrimage organizers and both in-person and online participants.

The U.S., “united ‘under God,’ has been imbued with a sense of faith that recognizes God’s
sovereignty even before its formal establishment,” said Pope Leo.

He observed that the pilgrimage’s starting city, St. Augustine, Florida, recalled a Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated on the feast of Mary’s nativity by Spanish explorers and settlers, who then joined the local Seloy tribe for a meal.

That event and “many others,” said Pope Leo, attests to a vibrant but little-known “Eucharistic heritage of the United States of America.”

He urged a continuation of that heritage as a “source of both renewal and unity,” adding that “with the blessing of Almighty God, this heritage has continued to bear fruit by leading new generations of American Catholics to Jesus Christ.”

The pope focused on “certain men and women” who bore “witness to the Gospel in a radical way.”

He cited “the martyrs in New York and Georgia, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Katharine Drexel, St. John Neumann and Venerable Fulton Sheen, who will soon be beatified.”

The pope also highlighted that pilgrimage patron St. Frances Xavier Cabrini had been “the foundress of a religious congregation whose mission was to care for the spiritual and material needs of poor immigrants.”

The “intense apostolic activity” of such “holy men and women, and others like them,” said the pope, “would not have been possible without the strength they drew daily from moments of silent prayer before the tabernacle.”

Pilgrimage participants “carry on this great legacy of faith,” said Pope Leo.

The pilgrimage’s Masses, Eucharistic processions and hundreds of holy hours provided participants with “the strength and nourishment needed to continue your course,” he said, adding, “The true body and blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ is the life of the pilgrim Church on earth.”

He quoted St. John Paul II’s 2003 encyclical “Ecclesia de Eucharistia,” saying, “The Eucharist, as Christ’s saving presence in the community of the faithful and its spiritual food, is the most precious possession which the Church can have in her journey through history.”

“As the country marks the anniversary of the founding of its earthly homeland, it is my hope that this experience as pilgrims will also help you to fix your eyes on the heavenly one (cf. Hb 11:16), and likewise serve as a reminder that the Eucharist is an invaluable gift, our indispensable sustenance,” said Pope Leo.

He stressed that “it is precisely through her recognition and reception of this gift that the Church in the United States will find strength to carry on her charitable service to the wider society.”

In particular, said Pope Leo, that service includes “the areas of education, healthcare and basic social services, while at the same time continuing her mission to evangelize.”

With the pilgrimage concluding, Pope Leo encouraged pilgrimage participants “to place your lives under God’s loving providence as you return to your homes,” and “to cultivate a strong Eucharistic life among your families, friends and communities.”

He expressed his confidence that “the Eucharistic Pilgrimage will bear abundant fruits in the United States of America,” which he entrusted to Mary’s intercession before conferring his apostolic blessing.

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