On an inclement Memorial Day, Cardinal Timothy Dolan carried the Blessed Sacrament by boat to the waters just off Liberty Island, as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage made its way between the Diocese of Brooklyn to the Archdiocese of Newark.

Cardinal Dolan offered a benediction before the Statue of Liberty, blessing the statue, Liberty Island, and New York Harbor while holding the monstrance bearing the Eucharist. The cardinal had to be steadied during the benediction, as waves in New York Harbor buffeted their boat.

Departing from Manhattan, Cardinal Dolan was accompanied by a small group that included Archdiocese of New York Auxiliary Bishop Edmund Whalen, Vicar for Clergy, Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Colacicco, Father Roger Landry, Catholic chaplain of Columbia University, and Father Peter Martyr Yungwirth, OP, pastor of the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer and St. Catherine of Siena, and perpetual pilgrims who are making the full two-month pilgrimage along the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Route, from New Haven, Connecticut, to Indianapolis, Indiana, the site of the National Eucharistic Congress in July.

The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage (NEP) completed its five-day journey through the Archdiocese of New York on Sunday, May 26, entering the Diocese of Brooklyn by foot via the Brooklyn Bridge.

Although the Seton Route is almost entirely on land, the NEP’s Marian Route, which will approach Indianapolis from the north, contains a significant section on water, to recall Jesus’ use of boats at times during His life and ministry.