Rain, sun and rainbows mark eucharistic pilgrimage stops in Anne Arundel County

ANNAPOLIS – When U.S. Naval Academy shipman Luke O’Connell, from Connecticut, learned that the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage would be stopping at St. Mary in Annapolis June 10, he thought it seemed like a “fun way” to spend a Wednesday before dinner surrounded by people of faith.

He never expected to see 700 people gathered for eucharistic adoration in Carroll Gardens on the banks of Spa Creek.

“It’s cool to see the strong Catholic community in Annapolis for sure,” said O’Connell, a Catholic Midshipman Club member. “I didn’t know it was this big and that there would be this many people here, to be honest.”

With the theme “One Nation Under God,” the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is celebrating the nation’s 250^th anniversary by visiting historic Catholic centers along the East Coast, from St. Augustine in Florida, up to Maine and back down to Philadelphia. As St. Mary’s was the home of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, Annapolis was a logical stop.

“The beauty of Catholic American citizenship is that we have such an incredible symbiotic relationship from the founding of our country to today. We look at what our predecessors have done and the incredible role that Catholics have had in the formation and development of the United States,” said Christopher Powers, Knights of Columbus, District Master of the Fourth Degree, Archdiocese of Washington District. “This is just the culmination at 250 as a marker that we are not through, that we need to continue. We are one nation under God.”

The Knights, he said, were honored to lead the pilgrimage’s processions while in the Archdioceses of Baltimore and Washington, as they drew “attention to the important message that Catholics are great citizens” and can help a “broken world…through Jesus.”

While a thunderstorm greeted everyone as they arrived at St. Mary, only a few raindrops were falling when the eucharistic procession to the State House began. Singing songs and saying prayers in both English and Spanish, participants waved white flags, carried signs saying “Jesus, I Love You” and smiled at those gathered to watch the procession.

“We are here to spread the Gospel today,” Yahir Dillatorp. 14, of Annapolis said as he marched with friends. “The weather could be better, but it is a thoughtful thing to do.”

As they walked, the nine perpetual pilgrims – the young adults making the complete journey from Florida to Philadelphia – reached out to those lining the parade route asking if they knew what the procession was about and sharing information about the Eucharist.

“It’s part of our ministry,” Raymond Martinez II, said, of the personal encounters with others, noting that he has met both non-Catholics and Catholics who have lapsed in their faith.  A seminarian from the Diocese of San Angelo, Texas, Martinez, 20, said the Lord is with everyone through good and hard times.

“The cross is heavy. The cross is hard,” Martinez said. “The Lord is still there with me. It is such a gift.”

It was a day of tiptoeing through the raindrops for the participants in the pilgrimage. After a rainy start in Baltimore, the pilgrimage arrived at St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park to clear skies. There, they and 500 others participated in “Behold the Heart,” a retreat in recognition of  the U.S. bishops’ plan to consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to mark the country’s 250^th anniversary. The program featured events all around the property, including  talks, prayers, opportunities for confession and service projects to do.

“What a wonderful blessing for the parish. It was amazing to be able to host the pilgrimage here for these hours,” Father Erik Arnold, pastor of St. John the Evangelist, said. “To be able to do it the day before the bishops consecrate the nation to the Sacred Heart, and to be able to have these hours with Jesus and to just receive the outpouring of his love from the sacred heart. Amazing.”

Bethany Meola, of Bowie, was looking for a way she and her family could be part of the pilgrimage when she learned about the stop at St. John the Evangelist through friends she had at the church.

“It was really cool to get to join in on this monumental event from Florida – a special moment of loving Jesus with our whole heart,” she said, as she and her daughters, Grace, 6, and Josie, 2, admired an image of a cross with a heart made with flowers on the sidewalk leading to St. John’s doors.

“I just think it is beautiful. It takes the breath away to see all the people and their love of the Eucharist,” said Anne Donnal, a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist, as she welcomed people.

Father Arnold noted that the rain started to fall just as the Eucharist returned to the van and the pilgrims closed its doors for the journey to Annapolis. According to Gavin Daniels, the facilities director at St. Mary, a weather graph, showed that the rain split around Annapolis during the procession and did not resume when it ended. Instead, as people returned to the church, a vivid rainbow filled the sky.

Email Katie V. Jones at kjones@CatholicReview.org

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