PHOTO COURTESY OF JAELLA MAC AU

ATLANTA—Six months ago, Jaella Mac Au filled her backpack with her rosary, journal, water bottle, book and sunscreen, and flew 3,000 miles across the country to San Francisco. There, the University of Georgia student started her journey as a perpetual pilgrim in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage.  

The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage was a movement created with the National Eucharistic Revival and Congress. Thirty young adults, including Mac Au, carried the Blessed Sacrament with them across the country, in hopes of transforming communities and inspiring others with the power of the Eucharist.  

The pilgrims were divided among four routes and all ended in Indianapolis, where they met up for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Lucas Oil Stadium. The Marian Route started in Minnesota, the St. Elizabeth Seton Route in Connecticut, the St. Juan Diego Route in Texas and the St. Junipero Serra Route, Mac Au’s route, in California.  

All routes started on May 19, Pentecost Sunday. From state to state, each group walked, hiked and drove to several dioceses, parishes and chanceries. The journey to the National Eucharistic Congress was, “hard, but worth every second,” Mac Au said.  

Mac Au was joined by Chima Adiole, Madison Michel, Patrick Fayad, Chas East, Jack Krebs and seminarians Dereck Delgado and Jimmy Velasco on the western route.  

At their kickoff in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the group attended an 11 a.m. Pentecost Mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco, and then walked on the Golden Gate Bridge.  

Mac Au and fellow pilgrims were asked to hold the canopy over the Blessed Sacrament as they walked across the bridge. None of them had ever held, let alone walked, with a canopy before, she said. But facing the task as a group made it clear on that first day that they worked well together, Mac Au said.  

“The first day was chaotic, but it was one where we were very grateful to be a very flexible and adaptable group,” she said.  

Nearly 2,600 people attended the Mass, and almost 5,000 processed with the perpetual pilgrims at the iconic bridge. 

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco is photographed with the Eucharist at the Golden Gate Bridge, during a May 19 national pilgrimage stop. Photo by Brother Chris Garcia, OFM CONV., Diocese of Oakland

The longest route 

The St. Junipero Serra route took the pilgrims across all types of terrain and diverse communities. As the longest route—covering over 2,000 miles—the journey took the pilgrims through the Sacramento River in California, dry deserts in Nevada, the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and the Great Plains of the Midwest.  

One of Mac Au’s favorite days occurred early on in their journey, at the Folsom State Prison in Sacramento. Mac Au entered the prison alongside three other pilgrims.  

“The bishop was going to just say a few words to the prisoners, but then they came up to us as we were entering and asked if we could pray the rosary,” Mac Au said. “The prisoners were all so grateful that we came and had brought Jesus to them.”  

The group celebrated Mass with the prisoners and had adoration.  

At their stops, the pilgrims were able to testify and speak to the crowd about their journey with the Blessed Sacrament. Mac Au spoke at the cloistered Carmelite Monastery in Utah, and she recalls it being a “warm moment” for her.  

“One side of the chapel was completely open, and I could see everyone, but the other side with the sisters was closed off, so only I could see the sisters,” she said. “They would nod and smile at me, and I appreciated it so much.”  

Another unforgettable testimony for Mac Au occurred at St. Susanna Church in Plainfield, Indiana. She got to speak to the students of the church, who wrote letters of encouragement to the pilgrims.  

“One of my letters from a third grader said, ‘I’m praying for you, don’t give up. Do you have a house to stay at? You can stay at my house!’ I loved that so much,” she said.  

During a dinner at Holy Name Parish in Denver, Mac Au gained an unexpected friendship with a young parishioner.  

“I saw a playroom and in it was a three-year-old, and I asked, “Whose kid is that?’” she recalled. “His mom was actually at our table and told me he was shy, but she encouraged me to play with him.” 

Mac Au eventually earned his trust, and the two played for some time. 

Jaella Mac Au sits with her young friend, Wynn Soals, in Denver, Colorado. The pair shared a moment of eucharistic adoration together and bonded over their excitement for Jesus. Mac Au was selected to participate in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. Photo courtesy of Jaella Mac Au

Later that night during eucharistic adoration, Mac Au noticed her new friend running up and down the aisle. After calling him over to her, the boy ran to sit next to her. 

“He and I got to have that time of adoration together, and I whispered to him, ‘That’s Jesus. What we’re doing is adoring Jesus,’” she said. “And he immediately ran back to his mom to tell her that’s Jesus. I hold that moment tender to my heart because he was so excited to tell people that Jesus was there.”  

Though the western landscape was beautiful, the communities and people she met there caught her eye most, Mac Au said. Seeing the Catholic faith in all these different places made her appreciate the church’s diversity, she said.  

“I visited traditionally and historically Black Catholic churches and Catholic churches on Indian reservations,” she said. “I visited Folsom Prison and cloistered convents. It was so great to see a small portion of the church as a whole.” 

Perpetual pilgrims Jaella Mac Au, of the University of Georgia, and Chas East hold the banner of their route in Vallejo, California. Photo courtesy of Jaella Mac Au

The hardest part of the journey for her was making connections with the West because she was the only pilgrim native to the South. In times of stress, she found peace with her community of pilgrims.  

The group consistently prayed for unity for each other and had weekly one-on-one conversations. Forming individual relationships was important to them, and they “fought for each other in a lot of different ways,” Mac Au said.  

“We always said we’d get to Indianapolis as a group, and we would dissipate as a group,” she said.  

During the days leading up to the Congress, Mac Au said she was in disbelief thinking about how something so pressing and beautiful was coming to an end so quickly.  

On her last day, Mac Au felt gratitude for the journey, and said this spiritual experience changed her life.  

“The Lord had done something incredibly transformative for so many people, and so much for me,” she said. “All of my expectations I had were shattered in such a good way. I felt that our group had got to witness so much of the diverse heart of the church and learned how to rely on the Lord in so many ways. It was surreal. I was just grateful.”  

Nearly 60,000 Catholics united in Indianapolis for the Congress, and the four routes converged with pilgrims sharing stories with each other.  

“It was beautiful to see the culmination of all our efforts, and we were in disbelief that this was done,” she said.  

Mac Au graduates from the University of Georgia in December with majors in human development and family sciences. She plans to work for a ministry and begin discerning missionary years.  

“I think that I’m not quite done yet, and I’m very excited to co-labor on this journey with the Lord,” she said.  

Mac Au encourages anyone who feels called to join next year’s National Eucharistic Pilgrimage to apply. 

“After leaving, I can confidently say that the church is alive in its entire body,” she said. “It was a life-changing experience that truly nothing will ever be like again.”