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En Camino: Young Adult from Edinburg Sharing Love for the Eucharist
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July 1, 2024"God brought me to this moment,” said Joshua Velasquez, one of the Perpetual Pilgrims who is walking 65 days on the San Juan Diego Route, one of the four routes to Indianapolis as part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. When Velasquez, a parishioner at St. Joseph Church in Edinburg, first learned about the pilgrimage, he was drawn to learn more. But he never imagined he would be able to participate. From falling in love with the idea of pilgrimage to seeing it materialize, Velasquez said he is grateful for the opportunity and for God’s graces throughout the process. “I recognized I wanted to do this but felt it impossible to be able to walk with Jesus for two months, but through the course of events, a lot of coincidences that only God could put in place, made it possible,” he said. Velasquez is one of 10 Perpetual Pilgrims walking on the San Juan Diego Route. “It is a privilege and an honor to be from the starting diocese. I received so much of my faith formation here, and the love I have for the Lord is from serving in this diocese at my parish, St. Joseph.” Velasquez, who is in his sophomore year studying architecture and theology at the University of Notre Dame, is a graduate of Juan Diego Academy in Mission. At the university he serves at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and sings with the Notre Dame Folk Choir.
In an interview with Today’s Catholic, the newspaper of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Velasquez said, “Juan Diego was one of the most humble saints,” adding that as a pilgrim on the Juan Diego Route, “it will be a really humbling thing to facilitate the encounter between Christ and those who will walk with us.” During his days walking the first leg of the San Juan Diego Route in the Diocese of Brownsville, Velasquez spoke of his love for the Eucharist and the joy of walking (despite the 100-plus degree weather). “The Eucharist is love incarnate, right here, present for us right now. Not only here but in every church in the world and most importantly in our hearts when we receive him.” Velasquez said the pilgrimage is tiring in a lot of ways, but also a beautiful opportunity to recognize that it is the Lord leading the way. As noted in his online bio, “In this time of Eucharistic Revival, Joshua hopes to bring his love for Christ from Brownsville to Indianapolis, and that those who encounter our Lord on pilgrimage might come to know God’s love for them.”
Father Greg Labus, pastor at St. Joseph Church in Edinburg, said the community is thrilled that Velasquez was selected to be a perpetual pilgrim. The parish helped raise funds to cover his expenses on the journey. “He is representing not only our parish, but he is representing the Diocese of Brownsville. It is a great sign and witness to the larger Church that our youth love the Lord in the Eucharist, and they want to publicly profess their faith in him,” he said. Father Labus added that the parish is praying for his vocation. “Joshua is an intelligent young man and many of us are praying that there is a vocation to the priesthood there, and that he may hear God calling him and follow that call to be a priest.”
