National Eucharistic Pilgrimage draws hundreds to Venerable Fr. Tolton’s burial place in Quincy

God has not abandoned us! He is here! He is present!”

Sister Clementia Toalson of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George (FSGM)

The wave of people split into two arms at the paved circle, embracing ever-more-tightly the burial place of Venerable Father Augustus Tolton and the temporary altar enthroning the Most Blessed Sacrament.

There, in the middle of Quincy, Illinois, the history, the mystery and the pilgrim multitude rested together in the bonds of Holy Communion.

“It’s really amazing how many people came here to give praise and glory to God through the Eucharist, and to honor Fr. Tolton and pray for him to become a saint,” said Paul Quinn, a member of St. Joseph Parish in Palmyra.

Mr. Quinn was among a handful of Missourians who traveled to Illinois July 9 to take part in a segment of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage.

It was the 127th anniversary of the death of Fr. Tolton, who is under formal consideration for being declared a saint.

Carrying the Most Blessed Sacrament in the procession were Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield and retired Auxiliary Bishop Joseph N. Perry of Chicago, co-postulator for Fr. Tolton’s sainthood cause.

Fr. Tolton was born into a family of enslaved people in Missouri and was baptized where St. Peter Church in Brush Creek now stands.

He endured harrowing racism while becoming and serving as the Roman Catholic Church’s first recognizably Black priest.

Each year on the anniversary of his death, the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, holds a procession from St. Peter Church in Quincy to Fr. Tolton’s burial place in St. Peter Cemetery.

This year’s special Eucharistic Procession coincided with eight young adults moving on foot and by car through the Springfield diocese while adoring Christ in Most Blessed Sacrament along the St. Junipero Serra arm of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage.

The pilgrims, who traveled through the Jefferson City diocese the previous week, were set to arrive at their destination, the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, this week.

The congress event is the pinnacle of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“No cross, no crown”

In Quincy, a standing-room-only crowd filled St. Peter Church and spilled over into the vestibule for Solemn Vespers during Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Rain was falling outside when the service began but diminished as the procession got under way.

“When we were in church,” Bishop Paprocki later recalled, “I prayed to Fr. Tolton for his intercession to make the rain stop.

“Fr. Tolton is a good and holy priest and always obeys his bishop!” Bishop Paprocki stated.

The church bell rang as he processed out of the church, carrying at eye level the monstrance containing the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Bishop Perry, an impressive delegation of priests and a legion of laypeople slowly followed him.

Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus carried the four poles of the baldachino, an ornate canopy that shielded the bishop and the Body of Christ.

The people sang hymns praising God for the gift of the Holy Eucharist — Christ fully present in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

Volunteers ventured ahead of the procession to tilt up branches on nearby trees, emptying the leaves of rainwater and making straight a path for the Lord.

Bishop Perry carried the Most Blessed Sacrament for the last half of the mile-long journey.

Most of the procession took place down a wide thoroughfare called Maine Street. Maine was admitted to the Union as a free state at the time Missouri was admitted as a slave state under the Missouri Compromise of 1820-21.

Altar servers bearing a crucifix and candles led the procession into the cemetery where Fr. Tolton’s earthly remains have been at rest since 1897.

Nearby, a headstone for a 21-year-old woman who died in 1883 proclaimed: “No, cross, no crown.”

After leading the people in the prayers for Benediction, Bishop Paprocki held up the monstrance and blessed everyone present.

He then led the offering of prayers inspired by Fr. Tolton for an end to racism and for more priestly vocations, followed by the official prayer composed by Bishop Perry for Fr. Tolton’s canonization.

The recessional hymn, Fr. Tolton’s favorite, was “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name.”

Growing interest

Father Daren Zehnle, newly appointed director of Campus Ministry at Quincy University, has been organizing the July 9 processions in Quincy for the past eight years.

“Each year, it has grown by about 20 people,” he said.

But this year, with it tying into the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, “it has increased about threefold,” he noted.

Fr. Zehnle asked everyone to continue praying for deeper Church-wide devotion to Christ fully present in the Eucharist, and for Fr. Tolton’s canonization — “that the Lord might give us a new saint, right here in this diocese.”

Bishop Paprocki thanked Bishop Perry for coming to Quincy; Fr. Zehnle for organizing the event; everyone who helped with activities related to the Eucharistic Pilgrimage in the diocese; and all who had helped organize the pilgrimage nationally.

Bishop Perry said the procession “for all its length was truly an awesome scene.”

“I was moved to emotion to see so many Quincians and folks from neighboring towns, pilgrims and visitors joining in this truly Catholic event honoring the Holy Eucharist and a priest of our heritage, Father Augustus Tolton,” he said. “The touching story of his life has truly spread wide and far!”

Peace and healing

Tracy Grove, the first-grade teacher at Holy Rosary School in Monroe City, took her son George, to Jefferson City the previous Friday to take part in a Eucharistic Pilgrimage with Bishop W. Shawn Mc-Knight.

She brought him to Quincy five days later for the Fr. Tolton segment of the National Pilgrimage.

“What a wonderful time to be Catholic!” she said.

“I’m a new Catholic, so I think this is a phenomenal time for the whole Church,” she stated. “And it’s been really spectacular for someone new like me and my family.”

Mrs. Grove began teaching at Holy Rosary School four years ago, piquing her curiosity about the Church and its 2,000-year deposit of faith and inherited wisdom.

She enrolled in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) at Holy Rosary Parish and was received into the Church at Easter this year.

George received his First Holy Communion last spring.

She’s convinced of the importance of celebrating and spreading interest in and devotion to the Holy Eucharist.

“Because Christ heals!” she said. “He is your food. He heals. Grace! You’ve gotta’ have it. We live in such a crazy world. We need his healing, his nourishment, his peace.”

Mrs. Grove suggested praying for healing — “healing for the sick, and for some peace in this world.”

Bringing Jesus to others

Dominican Sister Suzanne Walker of Holy Rosary Parish in Monroe City said attending the Eucharistic Pilgrimage with so many participants in Quincy was “truly an experience to bolster the faith of everyone.”

“It was so good to see so many people coming together to pray, especially through the intercession of Fr. Tolton,” she said.

She’s confident the Eucharistic Pilgrimage will help Catholics recognize their role in helping others know Jesus Christ.

She pointed out that Fr. Tolton faced many challenges in his quest to bring Jesus Christ to others.

“Many of those challenges are still present today,” said Sr. Suzanne. “By coming together, we can meet that challenge.”

She said it’s important for people today to follow the example of Fr. Tolton “and know that what we do is part of God’s plan to bring the message of Jesus Christ.”

“Hope, mission, celebration”

Sister Clementia Toalson of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George (FSGM), grew up in Hannibal.

She now helps coordinate sacrament preparation for the Springfield diocese.

She was at her congregation’s motherhouse in Alton, Illinois, when the Eucharistic pilgrims arrived there in driving rain that morning.

“It was wonderful!” she said. “We had a Eucharistic procession in the rain, and people could see how important it is to us.”

She made a point of then traveling to Quincy for the Fr. Tolton portion of the pilgrimage.

“Fr,. Tolton is near to my heart because I’m from near here,” she said.

“Being here, being present, seeing people that I know and love and have grown up with in the faith, who have helped me develop my own vocation and enter more deeply into it — it’s just beautiful to be here with them, to walk with the Eucharist and to be present here at the grave of Fr. Tolton,” she said.

While there, she prayed for everyone who’s close to her — ‘wanting and desiring for their hearts to be enflamed with the fire of God’s love.”

“There’s this deep need for Eucharistic revival, for the hearts of our diocese here in Springfield but also the Diocese of Jefferson City, to come alive and to bring others to know the love of Jesus Christ,” she said.

“I desire it so deeply. So, that’s why I’m here!”

She noted that the upcoming year of the Eucharistic Revival is a Year of Mission.

An important aspect of that mission is for people to personally get to know Christ in the Eucharist.

Toward that end, Sr. Clementia suggests fearlessly inviting people to Mass and to Adoration.

“Introduce them to the beliefs of the Church and not be afraid of that — be bold,” she said.

“That is my prayer for that year of mission, the grace to be bold!” she stated. “The Lord wants us to be bold and spread his love and the knowledge of his presence in the Eucharist.

“God has not abandoned us! He is here! He is present!” she said.

She noted that the Year of Mission for the Eucharistic Revival will coincide with the Church’s Jubilee of Hope in 2025, as well as the 100th anniversary of the FSGM sisters’ presence in the United States.

“So, we’ll have a year of hope, mission and celebration!” she said.

“That’s what the Lord desires of our hearts, of our faith — to partake of that missionary aspect but also that joy of celebration and hope that he has not left us, that he is present!”

Resting at home

Born seven years before the Civil War, 7-year-old Augustus Tolton, his mother and siblings escaped enslavement by crossing the Mississippi River after the war broke out.

Growing up in Quincy, he endured overwhelming obstacles along the road to Priesthood before being accepted into formation at the Urban College in Rome, run by the missionary Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith.

He was ordained in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome in 1886 and offered his First Solemn Mass the next day in St. Peter’s Basilica.

He hoped to be sent as a missionary to Africa but was missioned instead back to Quincy. He ministered with great courage and pastoral sensitivity there and later in Chicago until his death of heat stroke on July 9, 1897, at age 43.

Grateful for all the people in Quincy who had helped him grow closer to God and answer his priestly calling, he always said he wanted to be buried in St. Peter Cemetery. 

A large stone cross marking his burial place and that of at least one other priest stands at the cemetery’s highest and most prominent point.

Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic School in Columbia is named in his honor.

Contributing to this report was Maria Wiering, senior writer for OSV News.