Portland, Maine, Sep 1, 2019 / 06:00 am
For the second year in a row, 11 Maine teens embarked on a 70-mile pilgrimage to pray for their communities and to raise awareness of issues that have impacted their lives: teen addiction, depression, and suicide.
The pilgrimage began Aug. 21 at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Augusta, Maine, and ended four days later at St. John's Catholic Church in the city of Bangor. At night, the pilgrims camped out on the lawns at the homes of people they knew along the way.
Patrick Carter, 18, who has walked the pilgrimage both years and was one of the people who helped create the event, told CNA that the two churches were chosen because they were centrally located, and because they are "just absolutely beautiful." He said it was important that their pilgrimage begin and end at a church, and that it just so happened that these churches were 70 miles apart.
Each day on the road, the pilgrims would pray "about three rosaries a day," as well as the Divine Office and the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Every time they encountered a cemetery, the group would stop and pray an Our Father, Hail Mary, and a Glory Be for all of the souls who were buried there, especially for those in purgatory.