Dear Fellow Catholics,
You heard the call from Bishop Stowe. You were generous in the special appeals for Eastern Kentucky flood victims and the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. Perhaps some of you personally cleaned-up flooded homes, sent food and clothing, or started rebuilding.
As the Pilgrim Church which shares each others burdens as we travel through life, we also share each others joys. How do you know those joys? You meet and break bread together.
The Pilgrims Trail invites all Catholics to take the path to community and to unity in Christ.
Your first stop, where you will get your passport and a stamp, is your home parish or mission. There is a page for each of the 6 deaneries of the diocese. Your church would be the first one in your deanery.
The weather is warm, the roads to 61 other parishes and missions with 2 oratories are open. While it easy to get many parishes in central Kentucky, we urge your second stop to be a church or a mission in another county.
For gaining perspective and understanding of the human condition, Fr. Linh Nguyen in Georgetown’s St. John and St. Francis says, “leave your town or county once a week, leave the state once a month, leave the country once a year”. The Pilgrims Trail meets just that need in each of us to grow our hearts as we travel through diverse regions of our own state.
Fr. Dan Noll encourages us in Cross Roads, July-August edition, to experience encounters with people we don’t know: “…one of the pieces of a fuller life that Christ has to offer is a more unified diocese, a stronger family. Take this opportunity through the Cross of the flood, to make the sacrifice, to go travel and to have these encounters.”
Experience on Sunday or Holy Day in different church. Celebrate mass, a prayer service and meet the people who live there. Ask about their history- why is their church where it is, who settled the area, what traditions invigorate their Catholic community. Remember a pilgrimage can be made to more than one church in a week or on a weekend!
Information about all churches, missions and oratories is available on the Diocese of Lexington website under Apostolates at the bottom of the welcoming page, or type https://cdlex.org/the-pilgrims-trail/ directly in your browser. Below the spread sheet of mass or prayer service information for all 62 parishes, missions, and oratories, you will find the maps.
These maps suggest various ways to tour our 50 county wide diocese. State parks are also listed for convenience on google maps. For youth and fit adults, there is a walking map of Lexington. Perfect for our out of town Catholics to tour Lexington!
Lastly, plan to gather with Bishop Stowe for the Second Pilgrims Meal at St. Joseph’s in Winchester on November 18 at noon. Be there to share your story as a pilgrim with other men, women, families and the Bishop and to view the winning entries to the ’24-’25 Poster Contest.
The Steering Committee’s Deanery Contacts,
Linda Meighan – Bluegrass East Pam Milburn – Bluegrass West Bertha Hayden – Big Sandy & Lick’g River Mary Pat Whitney – Fayette Susan Brown – Mountain East. Mary Ann Ohnheiser – Mountain West Questions? Contact us at thepilgrimstrail@cdlex.org
