At age 21, Issy Martin-Dye is part of a historical journey. The senior at Ohio University is almost half-way through a 1,900 mile, two-month odyssey, much of which is on foot. Izzy is one of 30 perpetual pilgrims — a group of young adult Catholics and seminarians walking from four corners of the country as part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage.
“I think being an ambassador of Christ, there's nothing more special,” said Issy. “I think he's called us each individually by name, and there's really nothing more special than getting to be his friend, getting to be his disciple, and inviting other people into that relationship. And this pilgrimage is such a cool adventure for that right now.”
Issy, whose home parish is Holy Trinity in Avon, is one of the eight pilgrims on the Southern route, which began in Brownsville, Texas in mid-May and will end in Indianapolis at the National Eucharistic Congress set to begin on July 17. She and the other pilgrims who are from all different parts of the country were selected from a pool of 100 applicants.
Joel Stepanek, a member of the media team for the National Eucharistic Congress, says this pilgrimage was a huge logistical lift and is one of the largest Eucharistic Processions in the history of the Church. “The Holy Spirit brought together the resources, the people and the knowledge to make it all possible,” said Joel.
Each of the four teams is led by clergy and, as often as possible, the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament is processed through the streets. The teams have been joined by numerous groups along their routes and hosted by local families and parishes.
“To literally get to go on a road trip with Jesus is an opportunity of a lifetime,” remarked Issy.
(Photo credit: Issy Martin-Dye)