FLUSHING — The Diocese of Brooklyn’s 2026 Lenten Pilgrimage reached its halfway point on March 12, and participants said their faith has grown with each step. 

“The journey is very fulfilling,” said Joyce Peters-Natter, a parishioner of Holy Innocents Church in Flatbush. “We all have to do this journey.  

“There’s nothing like Christ who carried a cross for us.”  

Rebecca Armstrong uses the Lenten Pilgrimage app created by DeSales Media Group to check in at St. John Vianney Church in Flushing, the stop for March 12. “I think this was easy,” she said. DeSales Media Group simplified the check-in process this year, allowing pilgrims to enter a four-digit code. (PhotoS: Paula Katinas)

St. John Vianney Church in Flushing was the official pilgrimage station for March 12.  

This year marks the diocese’s Fourth Annual Lenten Pilgrimage, which was introduced by Bishop Robert Brennan in 2023. As part of the pilgrimage, the faithful are invited to visit a designated church each day during Lent to attend Mass, participate in Eucharistic adoration, Stations of the Cross, and other offerings of faith. 

There are 37 churches along the 2026 pilgrimage route.  

The first pilgrimage stop was the Cathedral Basilica of St. James on Ash Wednesday, which marked the start of Lent. The last stop will be St. John the Baptist – Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish on April 1, the Wednesday before Easter.  

RELATED: Ash Wednesday Marks First Step in Lenten Pilgrimage for Faithful in Diocese of Brooklyn

Lorraine Collazo, a parishioner of St. Teresa Church in Woodside, has visited all the stations so far. She said she is struck by the diversity of the diocese’s churches.  

“I love going to all the different churches and experiencing the different communities — how they worship, the beauty of the church,” Collazo said. “They are all so different, and I appreciate that.”  

Collazo has walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain, one of the most famous religious pilgrimages in the world. “It was a life-changing experience,” she said, adding that the local pilgrimage is especially important. “I try to do it physically and spiritually as well.”  

For many participants, the pilgrimage also offers a bonus — the chance to spend time in churches away from home.  

“I was in Brooklyn, and some of the older churches are magnificent that I never would have known,” said Rebecca Armstrong, a parishioner of St. Margaret’s Church in Middle Village.  

Aldemar Cagua, a parishioner of Blessed Sacrament in Jackson Heights, was impressed by the beauty of the churches he visited.  

“It’s been a blessing so far,” he said. “The architecture of the churches and the spiritual feeling once you are inside are different.” 

Despite differences in the look and feel of various churches, Cagua noted the pilgrimage has one common thread. 

“You’re following Jesus,” he said. “That’s the purpose.” 

The noon Mass at St. John Vianney Church was well attended for the halfway point in the diocese’s Lenten Pilgrimage, as parishioners from many different parishes came to the church to continue their pilgrimage.