Bishop Joseph Williams, and the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, will be a part of the annual Way of Saint James Intergenerational Pilgrimage Walk next month in Ventnor.
Sponsored by VITALity Catholic Healthcare Services Diocese of Camden, this year’s pilgrimage will take place on June 13 and include Mass at 9 a.m. with Bishop Williams at Saint James Church, Holy Trinity Parish. Registration for the 2.5-mile Eucharistic procession along the Ventnor boardwalk starts at 8 a.m. After Mass and the procession, lunch will follow.
Registration is open until May 22. Go to vitality.camdendiocese.org/stjames2026.
Now in its eighth year, the Way of Saint James walk allows those of all ages to partake in prayer, fellowship and contemplation through fresh air, nature and exercise.
It is modeled after the Camino de Santiago de Compostela – the Way of Saint James – which stretches almost 500 miles across Europe (mainly Spain), and where many pilgrims have found spiritual strength and peace on their journey since the ninth century.
Nicole Keefer, executive director of VITALity, said Bishop Williams’ presence this year “will further affirm the need to not only promote health and wellness, but also to do so in a way that also bears witness.”
Joining Bishop Williams and the faithful will be the third National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which will include nine young adults serving as “perpetual pilgrims,” traveling with the Eucharist along the East Coast this summer.
With the theme “One Nation Under God,” the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage route celebrates key Catholic landmarks and events in American Catholic history as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary. The pilgrimage’s route includes public events in 18 dioceses and archdioceses in 13 states and the District of Columbia.
The pilgrims – five men and four women – will participate in the pilgrimage’s full route, which begins May 24 in Florida. They will travel through the Diocese of Camden from June 12-14, before going on to the Diocese of Paterson on June 14-15 and beyond. The national pilgrimage will end in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia over the July 4 weekend for U.S. Semiquincentennial celebrations.
“What greater way can we as Catholics and missionary disciples in South Jersey bear witness than with a Eucharistic Procession along the boardwalk in Ventnor?” Keefer said.
Begun as an initiative of VITALity’s ministry to seniors to promote healthy aging and the care of mind, body and spirit, the Way of Saint James has become an opportunity for those of all ages to “share their faith together, while also having that time in nature to celebrate what’s around us,” added Christine Willard, VITALity’s manager of parish-based senior programs.
Many look forward to it every year, she said, “and it always delivers.”
The Way of Saint James Intergenerational Pilgrimage Walk will take place on Saturday, June 13, at Holy Trinity Parish’s Saint James Church, 6415 Atlantic Ave., Ventnor. Check-in begins at 8 a.m. (free T-shirt with registration); Mass will begin at 9 a.m., followed by the Eucharistic Procession on the boardwalk; lunch and fellowship will follow at noon. For more information or to register by May 22, call Christine Willard at 856-583-6121, email VITALity-events@camdendiocese.org or go to vitality.camdendiocese.org/stjames2026.
For more information on the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, visit www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org.
