CHARLOTTE — The 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is stopping at four parishes in the Diocese of Charlotte on a special route that will travel the East Coast from St. Augustine, Florida, to Portland, Maine, ending in Philadelphia.
The pilgrimage – the third of its kind – will begin in May on Memorial Day weekend and end July 5. This year’s pilgrimage celebrates America’s 250th anniversary with the theme “One Nation Under God,” and its route incorporates key sites in the history of the country and its Catholics.
Locally, the pilgrimage will journey from Our Lady of Grace in Indian Land, South Carolina, to Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Monroe on the afternoon of Saturday, May 30. Stops will follow at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte, St. Philip the Apostle Church in Statesville and St. Pius X Church in Greensboro.
Non-public events that are not advertised on the pilgrimage website, are still being planned. Initial plans include a “Meet the Pilgrims” event from on Sunday, May 31, at St. Peter Church in Charlotte, and a young adult event later that evening at a time and location to be determined. A service project in Greensboro is in the works for the morning of June 2 before the pilgrims continue on to Richmond, Virginia.
Organizers described the pilgrimage as “a nationwide call to renewal, unity and mission rooted in the Eucharist.” They noted that 2026 marks the 75th anniversary of the lobbying campaign, led by the Knights of Columbus, to add the phrase “One nation under God” to the nation’s Pledge of Allegiance.
“One Nation Under God is not a borrowed slogan; rather, it is an invitation to realign our lives, our communities and our country under the sovereignty of Jesus Christ,” said Jason Shanks, president of the National Eucharistic Congress.
The nonprofit National Eucharistic Congress organizes the pilgrimage, which first took place in 2024 ahead of the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis as part of the National Eucharistic Revival.
“Our hope is that Catholics will come together on this significant anniversary to give thanks for our country and to pray for our future,” said Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress.
The pilgrimage has been placed under the patronage of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, an Italian-American immigrant and the first U.S. citizen to be canonized a saint. It will also take place in solidarity with the U.S. bishops’ call to consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The pilgrimage will start Memorial Day weekend in St. Augustine, the site of the first Mass on American soil in 1565, and end in Philadelphia with events planned July 4-5.
The pilgrimage will also connect with a national prayer campaign and digital lecture series “that highlights themes and topics of America through a Catholic lens and framework,” organizers said.
— OSV News and Catholic News Herald
How to participate
The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will make these official stops in the diocese, with additional events still in the planning stages:
1. Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Monroe: Eucharistic Adoration from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., followed at 5 p.m. Mass on Saturday, May 30
2. St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte: 2 p.m. Mass followed by Eucharistic Adoration on Sunday, May 31
3. St. Philip the Apostle Church in Statesville: 9 a.m. Mass, followed by Eucharistic Adoration until 10:30 a.m. on Monday, June 1
4. St. Pius X Church in Greensboro: Eucharistic Adoration from 4 to 5 p.m., followed by a 5:15 p.m. Mass on Monday, June 1