MANHATTAN, May 25 — The eighth day of the Seton Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage began with a private event at the Convent of the Missionaries of Charity in the Bronx, in which Seton Route pilgrims assisted the Sisters in their shelter and soup kitchen for homeless men.
Each Saturday of the pilgrimage routes normally feature a corporal or spiritual work of mercy, something that underlines the connection between loving the Lord Jesus in the Eucharist and loving those for whom he gave his Body and Blood.
Since the Sisters could only accommodate six pilgrim volunteers at a time, the other pilgrims on the Route remained in the Sisters' chapel in Eucharistic adoration. They also were able to see the small room dedicated to objects from St. Teresa of Calcutta's life, since the Bronx convent was the first founded by St. Teresa in the United States and it is where she generally stayed when she was in New York City.
From there, the pilgrims journeyed with their support van to Washington Heights to pray before the mortal remains of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American to be canonized (she was naturalized, having been born in Lodi, Italy), and to celebrate Mass. The Shrine was filled to capacity for the bilingual Mass, which was celebrated and preached by Fr. Roger Landry, chaplain to the Seton Route.
After Mass, a giant procession formed to walk with the Eucharistic Lord Jesus for three-and-a-half hours down the West Side of Manhattan to and through Central Park. The Eucharistic procession stopped at the Naumberg Shell for 20 minutes of adoration and benediction. From there, the procession continued to St. Vincent Ferrer Church for a holy hour featuring reflections by Bishop Gerard Colacicco, auxiliary bishop of New York, Fr. Peter Martyr Yungwirth, OP, and Sr. Mary Pietrina Busse, OP, from the Congregation of St. Rose of Lima in Hawthorne, New York.
The Holy Hour featured the extraordinary music of the parish's Schola Cantorum for exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, motets in between the meditations and sung compline.
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