LACRESCENT, Minn. – The Catholic bishops from the Winona-Rochester Diocese and the LaCrosse Diocese met on the Mississippi River bridge for a ceremonial exchange of a vessel of sacramental bread symbolizing the body of Christ. The vessel, called a monstrance, had begun its journey at the headwaters of he Mississippi at Lake Itasca and been carried south through 20 Minnesota parishes, each with a local ceremony. In LaCrescent, the Winona-Rochester bishop, Robert Barron, presided at an 8 a.m. service at Crucifixion Church. A procession followed to the bridge, where the monstrance was passed to LaCrosse Bishop William Battersby. He carried the monstrance to a service and rally at the LaCrosse Event Center. The monstrance will continue to a national gathering in Indianapolis, where three similar monstrances all will arrive after journeys from Maine, Texas and California. Although thousands of Catholics are joining local services along the way, only eight of the faithful, called “perpetual pilgrims,” all young, are making the whole route from Lake Itasca to Indianapolis.
Confluence of the faithful. On July 17 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. For American Catholics this is the first national Eucharistic Congress since the 1840s, although there have been interim regional and international Eucharistic congresses.
Lake Itasca. The blue Marian Route procession had a metaphorically fitting start on the wooden bridge over the Mississippi River headwaters near Bemidji on May 19.