Pope Leo XIV says "cultivate a strong Eucharistic life among your families, friends and communities" to the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage - FULL TEXT

Pope Leo XIV sent a video-message for the conclusion of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in the United States and encourages the participants to draw from the Eucharist a source of renewal and unity.
VIDEO MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
ON THE OCCASION OF THE CONCLUSION OF THE
NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC PILGRIMAGE
[UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 5 JULY 2026]
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I am happy to greet you at the conclusion of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. As you know, pilgrimages are deeply rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition and are often undertaken to mark significant anniversaries as the community comes together in prayer. In this light, it has been particularly appropriate to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States of America with a pilgrimage centered on our Lord.

As you walked through many of the thirteen original colonies, you have prayed for unity, renewal and healing for the country, under the motto “One Nation Under God.” These intentions are also close to my own heart. For this reason, I express sincere gratitude to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and all who have contributed to organizing this event, along with everyone who has participated in person or virtually.

This Nation, united “under God,” has been imbued with a sense of faith that recognizes God’s sovereignty even before its formal establishment. Your pilgrimage began in Saint Augustine, Florida, where on September 8, 1583, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Mass of Thanksgiving was celebrated by Spanish explorers and settlers upon their arrival, followed by a feast shared with the local Seloy tribe. This historical event, accompanied by many others, attests to the strong, though largely unknown, Eucharistic heritage of the United States of America. This heritage, far from being forgotten, must continue to serve as source of both renewal and unity.

With the blessing of Almighty God, this heritage has continued to bear fruit by leading new generations of American Catholics to Jesus Christ. The Lord also inspired certain men and women to bear witness to the Gospel in a radical way. I think for example of the martyrs in New York and Georgia, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Saint Katharine Drexel, Saint John Neumann and Venerable Fulton Sheen, who will soon be beatified. The route you followed was named after another saint, Frances Xavier Cabrini, the foundress of a religious congregation whose mission was to care for the spiritual and material needs of poor immigrants. The intense apostolic activity of these holy men and women, and others like them, would not have been possible without the strength they drew daily from moments of silent prayer before the tabernacle.

Brothers and sisters, by participating in this Eucharistic Pilgrimage, you carry on this great legacy of faith. Along your journey, the celebration of Mass, Eucharistic processions and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament were not lacking, providing you with the strength and nourishment needed to continue your course. Perhaps you have even experienced for yourselves a hunger for “the living bread that came down from heaven” (Jn 6:51). Indeed, the true body and blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ is the life of the pilgrim Church on earth. Saint John Paul II expressed this beautifully in his Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia: “The Eucharist, as Christ’s saving presence in the community of the faithful and its spiritual food, is the most precious possession which the Church can have in her journey through history” (No. 9). As the country marks the anniversary of the founding of its earthly homeland, it is my hope that this experience as pilgrims will also help you to fix your eyes on the heavenly one (cf. Hb 11:16), and likewise serve as a reminder that the Eucharist is an invaluable gift, our indispensable sustenance. It is precisely through her recognition and reception of this gift that the Church in the United States will find strength to carry on her charitable service to the wider society, especially in the areas of education, healthcare and basic social services, while at the same time continuing her mission to evangelize.

As this pilgrimage comes to an end, I encourage you to place your lives under God’s loving providence as you return to your homes, as well as to cultivate a strong Eucharistic life among your families, friends and communities. Confident that the Eucharistic Pilgrimage will bear abundant fruits in the United States of America, I entrust all of you to the maternal intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary.

And may Almighty God bless all of you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.