Meet the pilgrims who will travel across the country with the Eucharist this summer

Nine young adult Catholic perpetual pilgrims will walk with the Eucharist this summer during the National Catholic Eucharistic Pilgrimage spanning more than 2,000 miles.

In celebration of the United States of America’s 250th anniversary, the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s theme is “One Nation Under God.” Pilgrims will journey on the St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Route to honor the first American citizen to be canonized.

“The real beauty in ‘One Nation Under God’ is the great humility that it takes to truly believe that … there’s nothing more healing than God’s divine mercy and love, which is open and available to all people,” said Zachary Dotson, one of the perpetual pilgrims, during a press conference about the pilgrimage.

“‘One Nation under God’ shows that, like St. Augustine said, ‘We are a people on pilgrimage.’ We are constantly striving for that end goal, which is, of course, full communion with Christ and with the saints,” Dotson said.

The 2026 pilgrimage is set to kick off on May 24 in St. Augustine, Florida, and conclude on July 5 in Philadelphia. The pilgrims will pass through most of the original 13 colonies and 18 dioceses, which will host a number of events also open to the public.

Meet the young pilgrims who will be bringing Christ across the nation this summer:

Zachary Dotson

Dotson lives in Hammond, Indiana, where he is the city’s “Citizen of the Year” due to his dedication to his community. Dotson pivoted from a career in finance to give himself completely to his parish at St. Joseph Catholic Church.

At the parish, Dotson helps his brothers and sisters in need by working at the parish’s soup kitchen. In his free time, Dotson enjoys reading, biking, and spending time with his younger brother.

“I’m excited to be a part of the pilgrimage, and I feel so honored and blessed,” Dotson said. “I’ve really seen the transformation that Christ’s Eucharistic heart has had on my life … So to be able to open one single heart to Christ, and to his divine mercy, and for the love and salvation that he offers us through his bride, the Church, is the greatest honor of a life.”

“Also to reach our brothers and sisters in the peripheral societies, in the prisons, in the jails, the hospices, and the food pantries, in the soup kitchen. I think Christ was really clear in Matthew’s Gospel when he said: ‘Did you visit me?’ Did you give drink to me? Did you clothe me?’ So the opportunity to do that on a national level is again, one of the greatest honors of my life.”

Marcel Ferrer

Marcel Ferrer is from Akron, Ohio, and is a sophomore at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, where he is pursuing a degree in marketing with a double minor in theology and music ministry.

Ferrer grew up Catholic but fell away from the faith when he was young. When he was a junior in high school, Ferrer had a powerful experience with the Lord during Eucharistic adoration, which brought him back to the faith.

Ferrer has a passion for working with youth ministry and helps lead confirmation retreats across the Midwest. He also enjoys playing guitar, going to concerts, and watching movies.

“I’ve come to know that true happiness and joy cannot be attained in this life without Jesus. I want everyone to experience that joy in the Eucharist,” Ferrer said in a statement shared with EWTN News.

“During this mission, I hope to love well and value the person in front of me as a tabernacle. I want to tell stories of God’s mercy and love in order to turn hearts to his loving care,” he said.

John Paul Flynn

John Paul Flynn is from Maryland and is a sophomore at The Catholic University of America, where he is studying business. He is one of 15 siblings and grew up Catholic but has especially grown in his faith in recent years through mission activities.

Flynn will be serving as the media missionary for the pilgrimage and is looking forward to being able to capture the beauty of the Eucharist in his role as the photographer and videographer of the team.

“I decided to become a pilgrim because of the unique mission that is given to us to share the Eucharist with all those around us,” Flynn said. “Being the media missionary is especially important to me, as I get to reach a broad audience in a new way through media. The beauty that I have found in the Eucharist drives me to share it with anyone I can.”

Eduardo Gutierrez

Eduardo Gutierrez was born and raised in Southern California and moved to Phoenix to attend Grand Canyon University (GCU), where he majored in accounting. Gutierrez works at a local tax firm and serves in youth and college ministry.

“I am serving as a Perpetual Pilgrim to be able to share the most beautiful thing on earth: the love, joy, and peace that can only come from the Eucharist,” Gutierrez said.

As a cradle Catholic, Gutierrez would occasionally go to church growing up, but at GCU he experienced a renewal of faith, leading to his confirmation during Easter 2022.

“Through the witness of the pilgrimage, I hope that people come to the Lord in all that they do. I hope they see that they are beloved sons and daughters, and that their eternal Father knows them personally by name,” he said.

Cheyenne Johnson

Cheyenne Johnson, who serves as a missionary, is originally from Florida and calls Indiana home. She graduated from Butler University, where she studied music, elementary education, and Chinese.

“I have witnessed the fruits of the pilgrimage with my own eyes and look forward to the ways Our Lord will continue to work this summer,” she said.

Johnson was a pilgrim on the 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and will be returning as the team lead for this year. As a convert to the Catholic faith, she said she understands the power of encountering Jesus in the Eucharist and its ability to bring people to the faith.

“Being a pilgrim on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in 2025 was one of the greatest gifts of my life,” Johnson said. “I was blessed to witness the faith and conversion of so many people throughout our country, as well as the transformation of my own heart.”

“This summer, returning as the team lead, I desire to continue bringing Christ to others, while traveling with Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and leading my brothers and sisters into deeper relationship with Christ,” she said.

Angelina Marconi

Angelina Marconi is from Marion, Arkansas, and lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where she works as a college athletic trainer.

“When I was in high school, I had a personal encounter with the Lord during adoration at a diocesan retreat. From that moment on, I’ve held the truth that I can rely on Jesus in the Eucharist,” Marconi said.

Marconi’s faith led her to participate with FIERCE Athlete and the FIERCE Coach ministry, an organization empowering female athletes to thrive in their God-given identity. When she’s not working, Marconi likes to cook, spend time with friends and family, and participate in her local Catholic young adult community.

As a pilgrim, Marconi said she wants “to share that no matter the circumstance, Jesus will meet us in the Eucharist and transform our hearts through the struggles and joys in our lives.”

Raymond Martinez II

Raymond Martinez II grew up in Midland, Texas, and is a seminarian for the Diocese of San Angelo, Texas. He attends Conception Seminary College in Missouri.

“I am serving as a Perpetual Pilgrim because I want every person to recognize that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist: body, blood, soul, and divinity,” Martinez said. “As I journey with our Eucharistic Lord across the country, I hope to help others grow in their love for the Eucharist through a transformative encounter with him.”

In his spare time, Martinez enjoys reading, swimming, and making pilgrimages to various shrines and churches. Since he was young, Martinez has had a deep love for Christ in the Eucharist and has always desired to share his love of Christ with others.

Martinez shared that he has a lot of intentions that have been entrusted to his friends, family, and community.

“I regard all of them as special,” he said. “Each and every one of the intentions that I’ll be carrying with me, that I’ll be bringing with me to the pilgrimage, is each unique and is coming from a place of desire for growth with the Lord…every prayer intention that I’m going to bring with me is going to be special in its own way.”

Sharon Phillips

Sharon Phillips, from northern California, has a love for finding God in all things, often spending her time exploring new restaurants, learning more about her faith and the human experience, and enjoying daily activity outdoors.

After attending Franciscan University, Phillips moved to Washington to serve as a high school youth minister in the Archdiocese of Seattle. There, she built a program founded on Eucharistic discipleship.

“Jesus shows us his heart in that he gives entirely of himself, not just on the cross, but every time we meet him in the Eucharist,” Phillips said. “I’ve found this pilgrimage to be an invitation to root myself in his presence and, as a perpetual pilgrim, to be a part of bringing him to encounter every person and intention that joins in this pilgrimage.”

Phillips, who enjoys songwriting and worship leading, will provide music for different processions and events along the route.

“Especially with this pilgrimage … serving the universal Church, I think it’s so beautiful that we can take the same approach with our music and really our prayer as well,” she said. “So we will have … opportunities for contemporary praise music, as well as traditional hymns.”

Mary Carmen Zakrajsek

Mary Carmen Zakrajsek, from Carmel, Indiana, is a graduate of Marian University. She worked in the pro-life movement for Students for Life of America and then for a women’s care center. She also has spent time volunteering as a mentor for Catholic high schoolers.

Last year she moved to South Bend, Indiana, to serve as a director of youth faith formation. She also loves to play guitar, rap about God, and bake sourdough bread.

“With so much hurt, suffering, and confusion in our culture, God can be seen as distant from our daily lives. But we know that our God is not distant,” Zakrajsek said. “In the Eucharist, he is so close that we can touch him. By serving as a Perpetual Pilgrim, I hope that my witness will help others come into contact with this life-giving touch of the healer,” she said.

Zakrajsek said she is looking forward to walking alongside Jesus and following him like the early apostles.

“I think that it’s really a chance to remind us of our identity, and it’s an invitation to realign ourselves under him, under his sovereignty. And so individually, and as part of a community, and as a country … I know he wants to bring about renewal and healing, and that’s going to come when we recognize our deepest identity comes from him.”

Read original article