Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 24, 2023 / 11:51 am
About 100 Catholics walked a 12-mile-long pilgrimage from Silver Spring, Maryland, to the St. John Paul II National Shrine in northeast Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Oct. 21, to honor his feast day (Oct. 22) and to mark the 45th anniversary of the start of his papacy (Oct. 16).
“[This pilgrimage] is so important because every generation is given a saint it desperately needs, and St. John Paul II is the saint we need in this generation,” Michael Grasinki, the director of mission and ministry at the shrine, told CNA before the start of the pilgrimage.

Most of the pilgrims gathered at the Knights of Columbus Hall across the street from Our Lady, Queen of Poland Church and St. Maximilian Kolbe Church in Silver Spring around 8:30 a.m. Others joined the group at later points to partake in the six-mile journey from Rock Creek Park or the 1.5-mile journey from St. Gabriel Catholic Church in Washington, D.C.