The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage (NEP) exited the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis May 31, concluding more than a hundred miles of pilgrimage with thousands of people and more than 35 stops over seven days, some of them not on the public schedule.

The pilgrimage was received at St. Micheal in Pine Island after a seven-and-a-half-mile procession with more than 100 participants from St. Paul in Zumbrota. St. Micheal hosted adoration of the Eucharist, a rosary and Benediction with Archbishop Bernard Hebda before the monstrance traveled by van into the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. The pilgrimage will travel in that diocese through June 7, when Bishop Robert Barron will hand the monstrance to Bishop William Callahan of the Diocese of La Crosse on a bridge over the Mississippi River.

The procession is part of the northern Marian Route of the NEP, which launched May 19 from Lake Itasca in the Diocese of Crookston. On the same day, three other processions departed from the east, west and south. All four groups will converge in Indianapolis for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21.

Monica Tschann, 58, who completed the walk from St. Paul to St. Micheal and attended a Pentecost weekend Star of the North Eucharistic Congress in Bemidji that culminated in the launch of the Marian Route from Itasca State Park, said the U.S. bishops’ three-year National Eucharistic Revival has drawn her closer to Christ in the Eucharist.

“I felt the Holy Spirit (on pilgrimage) more than I ever have before,” said Tschann, whose husband, Paul, is a deacon at Sts. Peter and Paul in Mazeppa and will help with an upcoming Eucharistic procession in the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. “We just want to partake in as much as we can because it is just such an amazing event.”

Archbishop Hebda, who spoke to the congregation after Benediction at St. Micheal, said graces that the pilgrimage bestowed on the archdiocese will take years to unfold.

“It has been such a privilege to encounter Jesus in the Eucharist on this Eucharistic Pilgrimage at different points in our archdiocese,” the archbishop said. “Now that we have come to the conclusion of our pilgrimage in our archdiocese here in Pine Island, I am just overwhelmed with joy and with gratitude that we have been blessed in this way. I think that it will really be a long time until we really know all the fruits that come from this experience,” the archbishop said. “Here in Pine Island, a small community, we see so many young families that have come out. I just hope that the children who were here today will be able to speak about this in their future, that they were there in this historic event, and it was one of those times that they knew that Jesus was present and alive.”

While members of the public accompany the Eucharist at various points on each of the four routes, a group of 24 perpetual pilgrims — six on each route, as well as two seminarians on the Marian Route — are tasked with accompanying the Eucharist for the entirety of the pilgrimage. They travel by foot or in their support vehicle when walking is not possible.

On of the perpetual pilgrims, Mason Bailey, 24, a seminarian at St. Meinrad Seminary in St. Meinrad, Indiana, said he was impressed with the attendance at pilgrimage events in the archdiocese. Other perpetual pilgrims commented on the diversity of attendees.

“The people have really shown up in the archdiocese,” Bailey said. “That has been amazing to see.”

The key event on the Marian Route as it coursed through the archdiocese was the 4.5-mile Source and Summit Eucharistic Procession on Memorial Day May 27 along historic Summit Avenue in St. Paul. Roughly 7,000 people encountered the Eucharist in that procession, which began at The St. Paul Seminary and ended at the Cathedral of St. Paul.

Stops May 28 included unannounced prayer time for legislators in front of the Minnesota State Capitol building in St. Paul and public adoration of the Eucharist at the oldest parish in the archdiocese, St. Peter in Mendota.

The procession will maintain its busy schedule in the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. Most notably, to commemorate the feast of Corpus Christi on June 2, there will be a procession from St. John the Evangelist, Rochester’s co-cathedral, to the Mayo Clinic Civic Center for Mass with Bishop Barron. And on June 3 pilgrims will accompany the Eucharist on a 10.5 mile walk from Rochester to Eyota.

To see a full schedule of events on the pilgrimage route in the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, visit here.