Follow Him to Church
Congregants and Perpetual Pilgrims of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage participate in a Eucharistic Procession around the parish of St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church in Granbury, Texas,Saturday, June 7, 2025. (NTC/Richard W. Rodriguez)
GRANBURY — The logistics of planning a Eucharistic pilgrimage around the grounds of St. Frances Cabrini Parish in Granbury took weeks of planning: obtaining a processional canopy, setting up prayer stations, arranging parking and security, freshening the flower beds, filling coolers with water, and many other tasks.
The purpose, however, was simple. Look at Jesus; follow Him.
About 250 people joined the eight perpetual pilgrims from the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage to process behind the Eucharist at St. Frances Cabrini Parish on June 7. Participants recited a decade of the Rosary at each of five prayer stations and sang as they walked between stations on the large, wooded campus on Acton Highway.
The Granbury parish was the last of four stops in the Diocese of Fort Worth by the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage as it travels from Indianapolis to Los Angeles. Intended to draw attention to the real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the pilgrims journey 3,340 miles across 10 states and 20 dioceses.
Chris Callsen, a St. Frances Cabrini parishioner and Grand Knight of Council 9748, said having the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage come to the parish “is quite the honor. To recognize that this important and critical pilgrimage — focused on reestablishing reverence for the Eucharist within the Catholic faith generally, within the Knights of Columbus, and within the diocese — is a surprising and exciting event, and quite humbling as well.”
Father Brandon LeClair, pastoral administrator of St. Frances Cabrini, agreed that the visit generated a lot of excitement among parishioners.
The priest said, “It's a way to reignite people's faith and show them what it truly means to adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. We don't just come to Mass to receive this Body and Blood, but we can offer up different worship and sacrifices through Adoration, through processions.”
Just over 400 people attended the Mass after the Eucharistic procession. In his homily, Fr. LeClair noted, “As we have followed Jesus today into the church, we are answering the call that we receive from our Gospel.”
He encouraged the faithful, “Be the light of Christ to all that we encounter when we go back home. Be missionary disciples leading others to the same encounter with Christ.”
Afterwards, most remained for an hour of Eucharistic Adoration to conclude the special Eucharistic events in the Diocese of Fort Worth.
Then, the perpetual pilgrims boarded their van for the next stop, the Diocese of San Angelo, to be followed by El Paso, then west through New Mexico and Arizona to complete their journey on June 22, the Feast of Corpus Christi.
Although the pilgrims departed, Fr. LeClair said the focus on Jesus, fully present in the Eucharist, remains. “It's not just a one-time thing. We can do that consistently,” he said.
Congregants and Perpetual Pilgrims of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage participate in a Eucharistic Procession around the parish of St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church in Granbury, Texas, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (NTC/Richard W. Rodriguez)