Eucharistic pilgramge to make a stop in Kankakee

The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage 2025, St. Katherine Drexel Route, will begin in Indianapolis and make its first stop in the Diocese of Joliet Sunday.

The pilgrimage will stop Sunday night at St. John Paul II Catholic Parish at 907 S. Ninth Ave., Kankakee, on its way to Los Angeles. The St. John Paul II Parish will be the third parish to receive the monstrance from the chaplains and pilgrims of the Drexel Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in the Diocese of Joliet.

Parishioners and guests will gather in the Settles Center at 6:30 p.m. before participating in a Eucharistic procession around the parish property, concluding at the church. Following the procession, a Eucharistic Holy Hour of adoration with evening prayer, prepared by the parish community, will be held in the church.

“This is great,” said the Rev. Matt Pratscher, pastor at St. John Paul II. “It’s a great honor. It’s exciting to be a part of this national devotion to the Eucharist. ... It’s an honor.”

Nocturnal adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will begin immediately after the Holy Hour and will conclude at 7 a.m. Monday. At 7:30 a.m. Monday, Bishop Dennis Spies, auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Joliet, will celebrate the Votive Mass of the Most Holy Eucharist.

Following the Mass, the pilgrimage will proceed by car to Bishop McNamara Catholic High School at 550 W. Brookmont Blvd. in Kankakee for the fourth stop in the Diocese of Joliet, where there will be a Eucharist procession and Holy Hour of adoration.

The pilgrimage will be at Bishop Mac from 9 to 10:30 a.m., a time for prayer, worship and fellowship.

Also in the Diocese of Joliet, the pilgrimage will stop in Paxton, Gilman and Morris, before being transferred to the Diocese of Peoria. All are invited to participate in this pilgrimage at any of the stops.

Additional information about the pilgrimage, including the route, can be found at eucharisticpilgrimage.org.