"O Jesus, if only I could open my arms wide and embrace the whole world to give it to you. Oh! How happy I should be!" (Mother Cabrini)
We can imagine Mother Cabrini’s soul overflowing with these desires while she prayed before Jesus in the Eucharist. Even as she sat in a chapel alone with Jesus, the world was crowding into her heart. Not as distraction. But as deep attraction.
Even as she sat with the Lord in silence, she longed for the moment when every single person without exception would feel with her this same attraction to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Eucharist. From her profound relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist sprang forth an incredible energy to share him with the world.
We are just a few days before the launch of the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which kicks off on May 24 at the Our Lady of La Leche Shrine in St. Augustine, Florida. We've asked Angelina Marconi and Eduardo Gutierrez—two of the Perpetual Pilgrims who have been preparing for the past few months to make the full journey from St. Augustine to Philadelphia—as well as Natalie Garza from the 2024 pilgrimage, to help us get an insider's glimpse of what it is like to be chosen to be on a 60-day pilgrimage with Jesus in the Eucharist.
It Was Like Getting a Hug
Eduardo described one of the first times he spent with Jesus before the Eucharist in adoration. “I did not know the feeling of just being with the Lord in his presence. During that hour, I remember so vividly experiencing a love and peace that ran through my heart and body. And when I felt it, it was something I knew I had to stick around forever. I didn't know how to describe it, so I mentioned to one of our sisters at the Newman Center, ‘It felt like I was getting a hug.’ She responded so warmly, ‘Yes, Jesus wants to hug everyone, Eddie.’”
Jesus, who loves us more than we could ever know, has this way of entering even into our fragile places where we most need his comfort, challenge, and grace. “I have found myself being called—and even challenged—by Jesus in the Eucharist to let him deeper into my heart,” Angelina shared with us. “I have started to invite him into those areas of hurt and hardness that are hard to confront. He has also shown me the ways he provides through every circumstance, no matter how hard the task seems. The most beautiful thing I’ve found is that we can come to the Eucharist as we are, but we will not leave the same. There is so much beauty in allowing Jesus in the Eucharist to come into your heart and transform you.”
When Eduardo reflected on how Jesus had been preparing him for a very long time for the gift of being a Eucharistic pilgrim, he recalled that he had always been the shy kid. “I wouldn't talk much in social settings, and I was always nervous to speak. If you had told me in my freshman year of college that I would be serving as a perpetual pilgrim, I would have said, ‘No way, Jose.’ But when I think about the opportunities the Lord has given me, the places he has taken me through these years, and the gifts he has revealed to me, it is cool to see how much I have grown. To me, it is amazing how much I now love to talk, especially about what the Lord has done in my life. This moment in my life feels like I have been prepped for it through all the Lord has led me through. And now I get to run into the world and share with others the gifts and talents the Lord has given me.”
Love Stays Present
“Remember that the Blessed Sacrament is like a pillar of fire that is our light and guide” (Mother Cabrini to her sisters).
Natalie Garza, one of the pilgrims on the 2024 National Pilgrimage, knows what it is like to spend 60 days in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Not every day is easy. “I remember one day on the pilgrimage being particularly frustrated and angry about something. We were gathering together to get back into the van to travel to our next pilgrimage event. The van contained a Tabernacle just behind the driver’s seat. You have to understand that one of the challenges on the pilgrimage is that there isn’t lots of time to talk and basically no time to distract yourself with phones or conversations. You’re in silent prayer most of the day. Basically, ‘all’ you have is Jesus. When things are tough, you go right to him and say, ‘Show me, Lord, where you are in this situation that I’m so upset about.’ That day, however, I didn’t even want to look at Jesus, so I deliberately took the passenger seat in the front so I wouldn’t have to. I wanted to be angry. I wanted to stay in that space. I remember after an hour, I turned around and was struck by the fact that Jesus was still there present in the van. At that instant, I got to see in a very real way that even when I feel unbearable to be around and am upset, God doesn’t leave. He chooses to remain with me. Love stays present. He chooses to remain when things are easy and when things are hard. He wanted to be with me in that experience. Seeing that God doesn’t leave me at a moment of weakness was really profound.”
When Eduardo thinks about the upcoming pilgrimage, he agrees that being around Jesus in the Eucharist for so much of every day for a couple of months means that he is bound to change. “The Lord molds us into what he sees for us, and as a true gentleman, he does not do so without our permission. That being said, it is slightly intimidating to know that change is bound to happen in my heart, and it might hurt. But even if it hurts, the Lord is a kind and loving Father who will take care of my heart as this happens.”
Go Often to the Feet of Jesus
Most of us may not be walking the pilgrimage route up the Eastern seaboard, but will be living with greater intensity the pilgrimage of life right where we are.
We’ll be looking for quiet ways to spend extra time with Jesus in Eucharistic chapels throughout the country.
We’ll experience in our own hearts what these pilgrims are experiencing with their lives.
We, too, can hear these words of Mother Cabrini whispered to us: “Go often dear ones and place yourself at the feet of Jesus. He is our comfort, our way, and our life” (Mother Cabrini to her sisters).
At Mass and in prayer before the Eucharist, we might begin to notice faces. Stories. Wounds. Longings. We will begin to carry people in prayer. Like Mother Cabrini, we’ll discover that intimacy with Jesus does not close us in on ourselves—it opens our arms to the whole world.
There may be times when we feel distant, numb, or unsure when we come before the Blessed Sacrament. For these moments, Angelina offers these words, “As someone who has been there and has felt this way, I would say go to Jesus and just sit in his presence. It may not make any sense to you at the time, or you may still not feel his light, but he hears you and sees you. He wants to hear even about your bad days. You don’t have to have a perfect way of prayer. He will be pleased with you seeking out his presence through it all.”
The Joy that Comes from Jesus’ Love
Along dusty roads, in crowded churches, in moments of exhaustion and joy, pilgrims often discover that Jesus is not only present in the monstrance they walk behind, but also mysteriously present within their own hearts—healing, calling, and enlarging them—as well as in the interactions they have with people along the way. Natalie remembers that one of the greatest blessings she received on the 2024 pilgrimage was the gift of hospitality. As she witnessed the way others received her into their homes, she learned how to receive the generous kindness of others and how to give the gift of herself in return through conversation and personal presence to them. “I learned that I really am a Christian, that is, ‘a little Christ,’ and am called to be Christ for others, not just for these 60 days but for the rest of my life.”
For Angelina, as she reflects on the months of preparation she has put in for this 2026 pilgrimage, it has become all about joy. “I have always understood that the Eucharist was the constant presence I could seek. Now I am beginning to experience in my heart the joy that comes from Jesus’ love. I have prayed about having joy even through suffering. During these months of intense spiritual and even physical preparation, the Lord has shown me where I can find joy each day.”
And Eduardo agrees, “Once you are near the Eucharist for an extended amount of time, you can physically see the joy in people, and it is amazing! I can't wait to see that in my team, myself, and the people who join us for the route. The best part about this joy is that it is contagious, so I hope it spreads far!”
The Eucharistic pilgrimage becomes a living encounter with the Heart of Christ—a Heart that continues to seek every person, draw near to every ache, and gather humanity to himself with tender and tireless love.
And perhaps this is why so many pilgrims return home changed. They set out thinking they were accompanying Jesus, only to realize that all along, Jesus had been accompanying them. Eucharist after Eucharist. Mile after mile. Faithfully. Teaching them again and again that the love received in the Eucharist is never meant to remain our own. Jesus longs for it to become presence, welcome, compassion, and mission in the world.
“Truly, nothing is more beautiful than to know Christ and to make him known to others” (Pope Benedict XVI, SC 84).
