On Saturday, January 6, 2024, Bishop Gerald Vincke of the Diocese of Salina, KS will complete a 20-mile eucharistic procession and walking pilgrimage for peace from St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Glasco, KS to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Beloit, KS. The faithful are invited to join him in this peace pilgrimage, praying for peace in our world, our country, our communities, families, and hearts. Interested individuals are welcome to join Bishop Vincke for the entire pilgrimage or for pre-determined sections of the route. Shuttle services will be available for pilgrims to return to their vehicles. Bishop Vincke will offer first Saturday Mass at 8 am at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Glasco with the pilgrimage for peace to follow, beginning at approximately 9am. The route has been designed to avoid major highways. The pilgrimage with the blessed sacrament will conclude at approximately 4:30 pm with formal prayers for peace, the recitation of the Litany for peace, and reposition of the blessed sacrament at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Beloit.
“There is so much unrest in the world today,” said Bishop Vincke. “It is my utmost desire that all within the Diocese of Salina would become Apostles of peace in our homes, our workplaces, and communities by drawing from the living font, the most blessed sacrament of the altar. This will be the focus of my prayer during the pilgrimage, and I invite all who are able to join me,” he concluded.
The idea of the pilgrimage first arose as part of a St. John’s initiative to encourage giving during their recent #iGiveCatholic campaign. Bishop Vincke committed to the 20-mile walk if donations reached $250,000. The campaign was incredibly successful netting $321,204, ranking 6th in the nation when combining church and school donations. Three factors further developed the idea of a pilgrimage for peace with the blessed sacrament. United States Catholics are in the second year of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative by the United States bishops to inspire, educate, and unite the faithful in a more intimate relationship with the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. This movement will culminate with two events in the summer of 2024 when thousands are expected to participate in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and attend the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.
Bishop Vincke’s walk, that begins at St. Mary’s Catholic Church and ends at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, can be likened to the visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. This reunion of Mary, miraculously pregnant with Jesus, and her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist, was a truly joyful event and reminds us of our joy in the Christ who dwells among us.
Finally, St. John’s was designated a “Star on the Mantle of our Lady, Queen of Peace,” by Comunità Regina della Pace, Poland, in 2021. Comunità Regina della Pace (The Queen of Peace Community) is a Catholic, international apostolate created in 2008 to foster peace and reconciliation among people and nations of the world through Eucharistic Adoration. St. John’s parish is currently striving to increase eucharistic adoration hours toward perpetual adoration, whereby adorers sign up for designated hours of prayer before the blessed sacrament, both during the day and throughout the night, seven days a week.
It is also interesting to note that Bishop Vincke’s pilgrimage is occurring on the Feast of the Epiphany that celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan by St. John the Baptist, and the wedding feast at Cana.
For more information on the pilgrimage for peace and how you can participate, see the St. John the Baptist website at https://www.stjohnsbeloit.org/stj-media/news/820-join-bishop-vincke.
