Faithful have powerful experience walking Waukesha parade route in National Eucharistic Pilgrimage

Sandra Nowak clutched the blue beads of her rosary as incense filled her nose and soft hymns floated past her ears.

She walked slowly near the front of more than 250 people processing down West Main Street in Waukesha.

The route was intentionally poignant; in November 2021, six people were killed and 62 injured when Darrell Brooks drove his SUV through the Waukesha Christmas parade down the same street.

The walk was part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, a procession in which Christ — in the form of the Eucharist — is carried aloft in a consecrated vessel called a monstrance through communities as part of a Catholic effort to renew interest in what is known as the Blessed Sacrament, or Jesus revealing himself in the breaking of the bread at the Last Supper.

Followers are walking four routes across the country, converging in Indianapolis for a major gathering centered on the Catholic sacrament of communion. The four routes roughly form the shape of a cross.

Each route has so-called perpetual pilgrims, small groups of young adults who travel much or all of the journey. Then, in communities along the way, like Waukesha on Friday, local people join for Mass, short processions, prayer services or other gatherings. The idea is to travel physically alongside Jesus; Catholic doctrine says that Jesus is literally present in the consecrated bread and wine worshipers consume at Mass.

The route that went through the Waukesha parade path is called the Marian Route. It started in Mississippi and will be in different parts of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee through the weekend. The local participants were all ages, and while the mood was prayerful, it was also relaxed. Many near the front carried rosaries; some women wore veils, which have been uncommon for decades.

Mike Gutzwiller has been a Waukesha resident for seven years. He has been going to St. WIlliam Catholic Church where Friday's walk began, for six years. He and his family decided to walk in honor of those affected by the 2021 tragedy.

“It affected our parish. There were some members of the community that were injured in the parade,” Gutzwiller said. “Waukesha is a fairly close-knit small community, so we will be walking in commemoration and memory of those that lost their lives, and bringing the power and healing of Christ.”

The procession stopped at the Main Street Parade Memorial for a moment of prayer led by Rev. Patrick Heppe. Heppe was struck by the SUV during the 2021 parade and suffered a concussion.

He called on the Waukesha Catholic community to come together in prayer and remember those killed and injured during the parade.

“Jesus tells us that we are to follow him, deny ourselves, pick up our cross and carry it and proclaim his name. I think as we reflect on the last two-and-a-half years, this community has done a marvelous job at that,” Heppe said at the prayer service. “Although we have seen and acknowledged sorrow, we have also seen resurrection and new life like never before.”

Earlier, participants prayed while passing the Waukesha County Courthouse, saying they were asking for blessings on the government.

Nowak said she hopes the pilgrimage brings healing to the community of Waukesha, but it has also brought her healing within, even though she isn't from Waukesha. In April, she lost her brother to ALS, a progressive neurological disorder for which there is no cure.

"To think why would God take my baby brother?" Nowak said. "Why not me? I'm 10 years older."

Nowak said the pilgrimage has taught her that despite her suffering, Jesus still loves her. This is a message she said applies to everyone, but especially the people of Waukesha as they walk in unity for a community that experienced a devastating loss.

"There's evil in the world, but we can combat it with love. Love will always conquer evil," Nowak said.

Nowak said this most likely will be the only national Eucharistic pilgrimage in her lifetime, and she did not want to miss it. The last gathering under the name of National Eucharistic Congress was in 1941 in St. Paul.

One participant Friday, Kai Weiss, is a 28-year-old who came to the United States from Germany. He started the pilgrimage one month ago in Minnesota.

"Wherever we go we are informed on what people have on their hearts and minds, so we know what to pray for," Weiss said.

"My hope is that by carrying Jesus throughout the country, it can sanctify this country and bring some healing," he continued. "It's just amazing how much impact and joy there is everywhere we go. ....The Catholic Church is 2,000 years old, so it's not often that something is done that has never been done before. This is something very unique."

Heppe said in an interview that the procession has helped unite the four parishes of Waukesha.

“It’s really brought us together to celebrate and focus on what the epitome of our faith is — the real presence of Christ,” he said.

The Rev. Matthew Widder, who marched in the 2021 parade and ministered to many who were injured, said Archbishop Jerome Listecki wanted the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage to pass along the parade route in Waukesha.

Widder, pastor of the Catholic Community of Waukesha, said that walking the parade route two-and-a-half years later felt extremely powerful.

“The Eucharist is the fullness of Christ’s love,” he said. “That’s my prayer — that God’s love will be poured out on the city, because wherever there’s love, there’s healing.”

Many of those injured in the 2021 parade were children. Lisa George, a second grade teacher at Waukesha Catholic School, said Friday that two second-graders had leg injuries after the parade. The pilgrimage, she said, fits into the theme for the previous school year: "holy moments.”

The pilgrimage Friday was one such holy moment, George said, in which her students could walk with Christ.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Faithful walk Waukesha parade route in National Eucharistic Pilgrimage