Pope Leo XIV praises U.S. Eucharistic pilgrims, highlights country's 'strong Eucharistic heritage'

Pope Leo XIV on July 5 praised Eucharistic pilgrims in the U.S. for walking thousands of miles with Christ as part of a “great legacy of faith” amid the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations.

The pilgrimage, which carried the theme “One Nation, Under God,” began in St. Augustine, Florida in May and went as far north as Portland, Maine, before turning south and finishing in Philadelphia.

In a video message played at the concluding Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Leo XIV — the first pope in Catholic Church history from the United States — said the pilgrimage, which traced a route through the original 13 colonies that rebelled against England in 1776, was “particularly appropriate” to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary of its founding.

The U.S., the pope said, “has been imbued with a sense of faith that recognizes God’s sovereignty even before its formal establishment.” The Holy Father cited a Mass of Thanksgiving held in 1583 in Saint Augustine, Florida, by Spanish explorers.

“This historical event, accompanied by many others, attests to the strong, though largely unknown, Eucharistic heritage of the United States of America,” the pope…