NEW ULM — When asked about upcoming spiritual events at 20 Minnesota parishes and the eight people who will be walking for eight days throughout rural areas, New Ulm Diocese Director of Evangelization Leonard Gutierrez quoted Bishop Chad W. Zielinski.
“‘Hear God, hand Him your heart and have hope’ — you could say that’s the bishop’s motto. I hope the young adults making the pilgrimage take the time to really hear God’s voice,” Gutierrez said.
These participants, all Minnesotans, include two seminarians and residents of Glencoe, Dassel, Silver Lake and Murdock.
“Some have athletic backgrounds, some have mission experience and others have traveled the world. They all are excited to do something of this magnitude,” Gutierrez said.
“The total distance they are walking is about 90 miles. It’s impossible to walk the whole map over eight days with all of our stops. It would take a few weeks to do that. So, we need to include some driving.”
The Pilgrimage of Hope starts 10 a.m. Sunday at the cathedral in New Ulm. St. Mary’s in New Ulm is at the end of the route, where a welcome home celebration is slated 3 p.m. June 29.
Gutierrez will be accompanying the pilgrims on their paths along some of the rural backroads. He will be in a vehicle filled with supplies — food, sunscreen and medication for foot blisters. The eight walkers plan evening visitations that include stops in Sleepy Eye, Wabasso, Willmar, Winthrop and North Mankato. Daytime stops include Ghent, Wilno, Appleton, Litchfield and St. Peter. Members of host parishes may join the “perpetual” pilgrims for short distances.
Some parishes will sponsor pilgrimage-related activities. Events in Ortonville on Wednesday include a 6 a.m. blessing for the headwaters of the Minnesota River, which winds through the diocese’s territory.
New Ulm Diocese’s spiritual walk is inspired, in part, by last year’s National Eucharistic Pilgrimage.
“Pilgrims came from all corners of the U.S. to Indiana,” Gutierrez said.
Zielinski wants the local events to be a time for prayers of hope. The bishop also wants to use the opportunity to solidify his parishes’ reverence for Mary, the mother of Jesus.
“When our diocese was formed, it was dedicated to (Mother) Mary but wasn’t given an official title,” Gutierrez said.
Our Lady of the Prairie is to be the diocese’s new patroness after a rededication during Sunday Mass at the cathedral in New Ulm.
“We are a land of prairies and rural farms, and we are asking Mary to lead us,” Gutierrez said.
Following Mass, the faithful will join the bishop in a Corpus Christi procession to the Catholic Pastoral Center in New Ulm, which will mark the beginning of the Pilgrimage of Hope.
Along the way, the perpetual pilgrims will take turns carrying a replica of a new painting that’s on display at the center.
The original painting, “Our Lady of the Prairie,” is a life-sized commissioned work by New Zealand artist Damien Walker. The 6-foot-high, 170-pound work was unveiled during a May 31 ceremony. The basilica in Rome, cathedrals from the diocese and barn silos are painted in the background of the work.
“The (central) image is Mary holding the Christ child. In one of her hands, she has a stalk of wheat,” Gutierrez said.
Walker specializes in painting, restoration and gilding sacred artworks. Last summer he spent a week in the Diocese of New Ulm learning about its history, area and community before he began creating “Our Lady of the Prairie.” He has returned to Minnesota for the pilgrimage and will speak 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Church of St. Mary in Willmar.
For more information about the pilgrimage and the rededication of the diocese, go to: dnu.org/pilgrimagemap.