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Bishop-elect Gary Studniewski distributes Holy Communion during a June 6 Vigil Mass for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi he celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception as part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage\u2019s visit to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. (Catholic Standard photo by Mihoko Owada)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will never get enough earthly bread. Earthly bread will never totally satisfy our hunger,\u201d Bishop-elect Studniewski said at the National Shrine Mass. \u201cWhat we really want is the bread of God\u2019s life that satisfies our deepest hunger.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Eucharist, he said, is the \u201cparticular way\u201d Catholic Christians remember all that Christ has done for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the Eucharist we not only remember what Jesus did to rescue us from sin and death \u2026 but we participate in the saving events which are re-presented here at the altar,\u201d Bishop-elect Studniewski said. \u201cJesus wanted to leave us something \u2013 some way of being present not just to those at the Last Supper, but to all who had come to believe in Him. He left us the Eucharist.\u201d<\/p>\n
He noted that \u201cwhat Jesus did in the Upper Room for His Apostles, He does now for us at the altar through the ministry of a priest.\u201d<\/p>\n
In receiving Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, the bishop-elect said, \u201cwe partake of the Body and Blood of Christ to participate in the very life of Jesus \u2013 to have a share in the life of God Himself. It is to participate in eternal life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mass was one of several archdiocesan events held in conjunction with the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t The faithful pray during a June 6 Vigil Mass for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi he celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception as part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage\u2019s visit to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. During the Mass, they were reminded that those who partake in the Eucharist \u201cparticipate in the very life of Jesus \u2013 to have a share in the life of God Himself.\u201d (Catholic Standard photo by Mihoko Owada)<\/p>\n The pilgrimage \u2013 with the theme \u201cOne Nation Under God\u201d \u2013 began May 24 in St. Augustine, Florida. It will have processed more 2,200 miles through most of the 13 original colonies before concluding July 4th weekend in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n The pilgrimage has been placed under the patronage of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American citizen to be canonized a saint.<\/p>\n Prior to the Mass at the National Shrine, the nine perpetual pilgrims who are accompanying the Most Blessed Sacrament on the 43-day pilgrimage were at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Northeast Washington, D.C. to participate in an afternoon of prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, recitation of the rosary and a Divine Mercy holy hour.<\/p>\n Several perpetual pilgrims spoke during the event at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine.<\/p>\n John Paul Flynn, a native of the Washington, D.C., area who is a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Bowie, Maryland and a student at The Catholic University of America, said, \u201caccompanying Jesus is a one-of-a-kind experience, a really beautiful experience.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t John Paul Flynn, one of the nine young adult \u201cperpetual pilgrims\u201d traveling with the Eucharist along the East Coast during the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, speaks June 6 at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Northeast Washington, D.C. A native of Washington and a parishioner at Sacred Heart Church in Bowie, Flynn said \u201cthe call is for all of us to become a saint, to go to heaven, and to be with Jesus forever. And the best way to do that is through the sacraments.\u201d (Catholic Standard photo by Mihoko Owada)<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t Zachary Dotson and John Paul Flynn, two of the nine young adult \u201cperpetual pilgrims\u201d traveling with the Eucharist along the East Coast during the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, pray during a Vigil Mass for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ on June 6 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. (Catholic Standard photo by Mihoko Owada)<\/p>\n \u201cWe are having Jesus in the very center of our nation\u2019s capital,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are bringing Jesus to where all the decisions are made.\u201d<\/p>\n Saying he was blessed to \u201ctravel with Jesus every single day,\u201d Flynn called it very special to \u201csee Jesus walking our streets, walking the same steps I have walked.\u201d<\/p>\n As he travels up in the East Coast, he said it has become \u201cvery transparent to me these past couple of weeks, the universality of the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n He said, regardless of what part of the country he is in, \u201cthe call is for all of us to become a saint, to go to heaven, and to be with Jesus forever. And the best way to do that is through the sacraments.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that one of his goals was for the pilgrimage to \u201cspark a revival and spark a desire\u201d in people to go to the daily Mass and to spend time before the Blessed Sacrament in their own parish.<\/p>\n Zachary Dotson, a parish employee in Indiana and one of the perpetual pilgrims, said it was hope that people recognize the true presence of Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament because \u201cwe don\u2019t fall in procession behind a piece of bread. This is our Lord and Savior.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone asks, \u2018What is the path, what is the northern light?\u2019 And I say, \u2018It is Jesus\u2019,\u201d Dotson said.<\/p>\n Perpetual pilgrim Raymond Martinez II, a seminarian for the Diocese of San Angelo, Texas, called it \u201ca powerful witness to our faith to unite our country under God.\u201d<\/p>\n As he travels with the Blessed Sacrament, he said \u201cseeing people\u2018s faith and desire for the Lord is very powerful to me\u201d and has fostered a \u201csense of deeper trust in Him (Jesus). He is here with me in my fears and my struggles.\u201d<\/p>\n For perpetual pilgrim Mary Carmen Zakrajsek, a youth faith formation director in Indiana, her goal in accompanying the Eucharist on this journey is to help people understand that \u201cJesus in the Eucharist is the answer to every lonely heart. Jesus in the Eucharist is the only answer to everything.\u201d<\/p>\n She added that accompanying the Eucharist also proves that \u201cJesus walks this earth. He has not abandoned us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe doesn\u2019t come to us only when we are worthy. He comes to us simply because He wants to be with us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The stop in the nation\u2019s capital as the United States prepares for its 250th birthday is especially poignant, the perpetual pilgrims said.<\/p>\n Dotson noted that commemorating the nation\u2019s history ties together with bringing the Eucharist across the country because \u201cour nation is on pilgrimage. We strive every day to make a more perfect union.\u201d<\/p>\n Zakrajsek noted \u201cthere was something so powerful when God comes to you. It is powerful to know our God is not a distant God.\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah Houde, the vice president of events and operations for the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, noted that \u201cwe are one nation under God. Love of God and love of country go hand-in-hand and should go hand-in-hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
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