Holy Name Cathedral was standing room only June 30 for the last Mass and procession of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s five-day visit to the Archdiocese of Chicago.

“We have here people of all different ages, ethnic groups, races and ways of life,” said Cardinal Cupich, the main celebrant of the Mass. “It is the fullness of the church that is gathered here today that gives us joy.”

The cathedral, which seats 1,200 people, welcomed members of the congregation from all parts of the archdiocese, many of whom had participated in previous events associated with the pilgrimage.

The Marian Route of the pilgrimage had started at Lake Itasca, the headwaters of the Mississippi River, about six weeks early, and the eight young adults walking with the Eucharist to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17 and 20 had about two and a half weeks left to go.

Other routes left from the east and west coasts and the U.S. border with Mexico. All will end up in Indianapolis.

The pilgrimage arrived in the archdiocese June 26 at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary with a Mass and procession focusing on young people. Over the next days, liturgies, processions, service projects and other events were held in each of the archdiocese’s six vicariates and for different ethnic and age groups (see related articles) before the final Mass at Holy Name Cathedral.

Matthew Heidenreich, one of the pilgrims walking from Minnesota to Indianapolis, stood on the cathedral steps before the Mass, greeting people with Sister Alicia Torres, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist of Chicago and a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s executive team for the National Eucharistic Revival.

The revival is a three-year effort to reinforce the church’s teaching that Jesus is fully present in the Eucharist.

Heidenreich, originally from Columbus, Ohio, now attends the University of Alabama. He had an experience of the closeness of Jesus during a eucharistic procession when he was attending a Catholic summer camp six years ago, he said, and he has been inspired by seeing the way the pilgrimage has inspired and transformed people all along the route.

“Any time we come in contact with our eucharistic Lord, we have to be transformed,” Heidenreich said. “This experience has helped me see how big and beautiful our church is.”

Joan Cook was one of about 50 parishioners from St. Thomas of Villanova Parish in Palatine that came to the cathedral in a motorcoach.

“We want to be a part of sharing the value of the Eucharist and the Real Presence in the Eucharist,” said Cook, who also attended the June 26 event at Mundelein. Public processions like the one that followed the Mass are important, she said, to share the Eucharist with the world.

“It’s a form of education,” she said.

“It’s a public witness to our faith,” said Margaret Kleinschmidt, who attended with several fellow members of the Immaculate Heart of Mary chapter of Secular Carmelites. “If someone sees this, and they’re a fallen away Catholic or not Catholic, they might be inspired.”

Such public witness can also inspire practicing Catholics, she said.

“It’s a way to open the doors of the church,” said Alysa Bessel, also a Secular Carmelite.

In his homily, Cardinal Cupich spoke about how the presence of Jesus healed both the woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for 12 years and the 12-year-old daughter of Jairus, whom Jesus raised when she died before he arrived.

Both the woman and the girl’s father were moved to seek Jesus because they had hope, the cardinal said.

“Hope is not optimism,” he said. “Optimism is about tomorrow. Things will be better, we will have a better day tomorrow. Hope is about today. … We know what God is doing at this time. The Lord is truly present in our midst.”

It is Jesus’ action, not human action, that brings his presence in the Eucharist, Cardinal Cupich emphasized.

“He is present, active in the world today, and we get a share in his victory over death every time we celebrate the Eucharist,” he said.

Diana Bertoncello and Victor Sabatino were in the congregation, having traveled to Chicago to see friends on their way to the National Eucharistic Congress. Both lived in the area before moving to Florida about five years ago.

“We wouldn’t miss this,” Bertoncello said. “We’re excited to be part of it.”

The National Eucharistic Revival “was long overdue,” Sabatino said. “We need to make sire people are aware of the Eucharist.”