National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and Procession
Comes to
St. John the Evangelist Church
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Come away with our Lord for a time of peace and reflection resting in his love with silent prayer, adoration, praise, worship, reparation, and reconciliation.
St. John the Evangelist is honored to welcome and host the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.
Join us on June 10 from 12:30—4:30p.m. as we welcome the Lord Jesus, nine perpetual pilgrims accompanying Jesus from St. Augustine to Philadelphia, and hundreds of others from around the Archdiocese who come to celebrate.
Our Theme: Behold The Heart
In a historic moment, as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. bishops will consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 11, 2026.
On June 10, we will help pilgrims prepare for this historic consecration as we focus our afternoon of prayer during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage on the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Inspired by our patron, St. John the Evangelist, who rested against the heart of Jesus at the Last Supper, we will offer the pilgrims who join us the opportunity to:
Encounter the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Eucharist.
Experience His love, mercy, and healing.
Prepare for the historic consecration of our nation to the Sacred Heart on June 11.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart:
Burning Love, Heartfelt Sorrow for Sin, Overflowing Mercy
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus over the centuries is captured in three powerful movements we find in Scripture, the teachings of the Church, and in Jesus’ words to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque:
1. Burning Love– “Behold the Heart that has so loved man!” These words spoken by Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, as he revealed his Sacred Heart to her, capture the essence of the devotion: the overwhelming, burning love that God has for His people.
2. Heartfelt Sorrow for Sin– In the face of such great love, our hearts are moved to sorrow for all of the ways that we haven’t welcomed His love, returned it, and shared it with others. We are meant to “return love for love,” as St. Margaret Mary put it. So we pray for a spirit of reparation, to begin again in our love for God and neighbor.
3. Overflowing Mercy– The Lord’s response to our heartfelt sorrow for sin is to pour out His overflowing mercy into our hearts, especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. His Divine Mercy, not our sinfulness, must always have the last word.
SCHEDULE
(Tentative schedule. More details coming soon.)
Arrival
12:30 p.m.
Procession into the Church
Greet Jesus as he arrives at St. John the Evangelist and join in the procession into the church beginning out on the church’s parking lot.
Scripture verse for reflection:
“Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day.”
John 1:38-39
Resources:
Campus Map
Adoration
12:45 p.m.
Eucharistic Adoration in Silence
Take a moment of silence and reflection adoring the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Eucharist.
Scripture verse for reflection:
“Then the Lord said: Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord—but the Lord was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the Lord was not in the earthquake; after the earthquake, fire—but the Lord was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, ‘why are you here, Elijah?’”
1 Kings 19:11-13
Burning Love
1:00 p.m.
Receiving the Love of the Heart of Jesus
Talk by Fr. Jeffrey Dufresne, Chaplain to the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage
“Behold the Heart that has so loved man!” Jesus’ heart burns with incredible love for us, but we often struggle to receive that love. Our own wounds and hurts can block the flow of love, and many spend their lives wondering whether they are truly loved by God, while others struggle to share that love with others.
Join us for a powerful talk by Fr. Jeffrey Dufresne on God’s burning love for us revealed in the Eucharist.
Following his talk, while Adoration continues, prayer teams will be available to pray with pilgrims for healing from the various obstacles and wounds that prevent us from fully welcoming God’s love for us and generously sharing it with others.
Scripture verse for reflection:
“…and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:17-19
Resources:
Map of Prayer Teams
Heartfelt Sorrow
2:00 p.m.
Consoling the Heart of Jesus:
Reparation for Our Sins and Indifference
Drawing from Scripture and the Lord’s words to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, we pray for a sincere sorrow for our sins and a spirit of reparation.
Following a reflection, we will spend time in prayer, offering a litany of reparation and sorrow for sin, for ourselves, our Church, and our nation.
Scripture verse for reflection:
“He came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, ‘He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.’ But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I shall repay it four times over.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.’”
Luke 19:1-10
Resources:
Litany of Reparation
Service project: (2-4p.m.)
Activity TBA
Overflowing Mercy
3:00 p.m.
Mercy from the Heart of Jesus
The Lord’s response to our sorrow for sin is to pour out his Divine Mercy upon us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Fr. Erik Arnold, Pastor of St. John the Evangelist, will offer a brief reflection on the Lord’s overflowing mercy and prepare us to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
A large number of priests will be present to share the Lord’s mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation with confession stations available around the church and campus.
Scripture verse for reflection:
“Now this is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say, ‘We have fellowship with him,’ while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin. If we say, ‘We are without sin,’ we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. If we say, ‘We have not sinned,’ we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
1 John 1:5-10
Resources:
How to Go to Confession
Map of Confessionals
Procession
4:20p.m.
Process Out
Departure
4:30p.m.
Jesus Departs
Prayer Requests
Let us unite our prayer intentions as we pray together before our Lord.
Thank you for praying with us!
For more information about the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and other locations holding events, visit the national site at
https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/.