Pilgrims pass by St. Francis Xavier Church, 24th and Green Streets in Philadelphia, on their way to the cathedral.

Posted October 14, 2013

More than a thousand Catholics in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia made a public witness of their faith by participating in the Walking Pilgrimage of Faith Sunday, Oct. 13.

People drove, took a train or walked to the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in center city Philadelphia, where their pilgrimage from parishes across the archdiocese ended with refreshments, confessions, Eucharistic Adoration with praise and worship music, and finally, Mass.

(See many more images in our photo gallery of the pilgrimage. Watch a video from the pilgrimage, plus all our videos here.)

[hotblock]

Groups of parishioners met at staging areas within walking distance of the cathedral, such as St. Francis Xavier Church in the city’s Fairmount section (1.4 miles away from the cathedral) St. Agatha-St. James Church in West Philadelphia (2.1 miles), or Visitation B.V.M. Parish in Kensington (4.1 miles). Seminarians and other parishioners embarked from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood (6.3 miles).

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput was the main celebrant for the 6:30 p.m. Mass in the cathedral, which was packed to its 1,100 seating capacity.

The pilgrimage, sponsored by the archdiocesan Office for New Evangelization, was an event in the Church’s Year of Faith.