Each of the four routes of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage weaves through a variety of cities before it reaches Indianapolis in July for the Eucharistic Congress.
The Marian Route in particular began in Minnesota and now continues through Wisconsin, visiting dozens of small rural cities along the way.
One of the primary goals of this stretch of the Marian Route is to reach theonly locally approved Marian apparition site in the United States, Our Lady of Champion, near Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The Our Lady of Champion Shrine is located in the unincorporated community of Champion, Wisconsin, which is home to only 300 residents, most of whom live on farms scattered across the countryside.
Visit to Central Wisconsin
Before reaching the Champion Shrine, the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage made its way through many different cities and villages in Central Wisconsin.
One place it stopped at was in the community Wisconsin Rapids, at the parish of SS Peter and Paul.
There, a few hundred pilgrims followed the pilgrimage along a sidewalk near the Wisconsin River. The Eucharist was escorted by members of the Knights of Columbus as well as a local group of the Federation of North American Explorers.
A Eucharistic holy hour was then held inside the parish church, conducted by the local deacons.
After the holy hour concluded, a Sunday Mass was celebrated by area priests and a social was held outside the church. Many children enjoyed the presence of an ice cream stand, even though the weather was relatively cold for this time of the year.
A slideshow of the events can be seen below.
One of the reasons for stopping at this particular community is the presence of a perpetual Eucharistic adoration chapel called the Marian Center for Peace. The chapel is celebrating its 20th anniversary of perpetual adoration.
The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage plans to stop at a variety of places where there are perpetual adoration chapels.
After visiting this small community, the Pilgrimage continued to wend its way through the Wisconsin countryside, and visited the grave of Bl. James Miller.
Currently Bl. James Miller is buried in a small cemetery near family members. The cemetery is located in Ellis, Wisconsin, another unincorporated community that is a collection of farms.
It is hoped that the Pilgrimage will help fan the flames of Eucharistic devotion throughout the country.
And today we celebrate...