Pilgrims praying for racial reconciliation walk through north Minneapolis from Ascension on their way to the Basilica of St. Mary. BOB CUNNINGHAM | FOR THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Seeking the intercession of St. Martin de Porres, a 17th-century saint who cured many while experiencing racism, pilgrims from different backgrounds prayed for racial reconciliation as they walked through north Minneapolis Nov. 6, stopping where a church bearing the saint’s name once stood.
“We recognize the sickness of racial injustice,” Will Peterson, the main organizer, told more than 130 people gathered at Ascension in Minneapolis prior to the walk. “We work for a cure. We walk together praying. But ultimately, God heals.”
On an unseasonably warm November morning, many Ascension confirmation students and their families joined parishioners from the Basilica of St. Mary and students from DeLaSalle High School, both in Minneapolis, as well as students from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul and others for prayer and dialogue during a more than 2-mile walk from Ascension to the Basilica of St. Mary.
Held three days after St. Martin’s Nov. 3 feast day, the pilgrimage combined the ancient Catholic tradition of walking pilgrimages with opportunities to meet and pray with different groups, said Peterson, co-founder and president of Modern Catholic Pilgrim, a San Diego-based nonprofit that has led more than 30 pilgrimages since 2017.
In addition to Ascension and the Basilica, St. Paul-based Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota, the University of St. Thomas and DeLaSalle sponsored the walk.
After a prayer service in English and Spanish, the first stop for reflection was the former site of St. Martin de Porres Church, now a parking lot on Bryant Avenue. Built in 1940 and home to Black Catholics, the parish closed in the mid-1950s because of city redevelopment and declining membership. Lutheran churches later used the building. It was demolished in 2006.
St. Martin de Porres was biracial and served for years as a Dominican lay helper in Lima, Peru, because he was not permitted to become a brother. A barber and surgeon, he had the gift of healing, showed great charity and service to the poor and eventually professed solemn vows.
The pilgrimage concluded with prayer and lunch in the Basilica’s basement hall, which features stained-glass windows from St. Martin de Porres church. Archbishop Bernard Hebda was present, and expressed gratitude that different parishes and cultures were honoring the saint’s legacy.
“We know that we live in a society that needs great healing in the area of justice, especially in issues of racism,” the archbishop said. “St. Marin de Porres is such a great example of how it is that we can lead our lives in a way that helps other people to work for justice.”
The pilgrimage was designed to be a journey to raise individual consciousness and build bridges between groups to help dismantle racism, said Anne Attea, faith formation and social justice director at Ascension, which has many Latino parishioners.
Peterson said he was aware of the pain following the police-related deaths in the Twin Cities of George Floyd and Daunte Wright, who were killed in 2000 and 2021, respectively. He talked to local Catholic leaders about organizing a pilgrimage to foster community healing.
With archdiocesan approval, Peterson led planning for a fall pilgrimage involving Ascension and Basilica parishes. That the visit to the site of the former St. Martin de Porres church coincided with his feast day was the Holy Spirit’s work, Peterson said.
The Basilica and St. Bridget parish in Minneapolis had organized separate north Minneapolis walks for racial reconciliation earlier this year. Including a meal during the St. Martin pilgrimage helped emphasize relationships, Peterson said.
DeLaSalle student Martina Wolo, 16, said she advocates for racial justice and reconciliation, especially in light of the deaths of Floyd and Wright.
“I feel like when that was happening there was just a lot of fear, so I didn’t feel like there was much I could do, and with this, I feel like a little part of me is protesting, but with prayer,” she said.
Jessica Perez, 17, said she made the pilgrimage in part to be with her Ascension confirmation class. She said as a person of color, she identifies with St. Martin de Porres and hopes “to make people realize that it’s more than just walking. To bring more people together to face racial injustice.”
Basilica parishioners Rick and Kathy Hansen appreciated connecting with members of Ascension’s community. Sharing the experience could bring change, said Kathy Hansen, 75. “Maybe that sparks conversation and maybe it’s just something little like that, and talking about these issues.”
Bridgid Smith, 27, said the pilgrimage helped her gain faith in the power of prayer.
“Something like this actually can be a movement towards transformation,” said Smith, who attends Holy Family in St. Louis Park and heard about the event from a friend. “It has meaning beyond what we can see or perceive in the moment.”
MODERN PILGRIMS
On a pilgrimage for racial reconciliation Nov. 6, people leave Ascension church in north Minneapolis on a more than 2-mile walk to the Basilica of St. Mary. BOB CUNNINGHAM | FOR THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Pilgrims praying for racial reconciliation while walking through north Minneapolis Nov. 6 shared a connection with disciples traveling to the Israeli town of Emmaus 2,000 years ago: Christ was present even if not always recognized, said Will Peterson, co-founder and president of San Diego-based Modern Catholic Pilgrim and chief organizer of the event, “A Pilgrimage with St. Martin de Porres, Patron Saint of Racial Reconciliation.”
Encountering Christ on a journey can set afire modern pilgrims’ hearts just as it did for disciples in the Acts of the Apostles, Peterson said. That is the very model, he said, of Modern Catholic Pilgrim, which he helped launch in 2017.
Pilgrimages symbolize Christians’ spiritual pilgrimage to the New Jerusalem, Peterson said. The Minneapolis pilgrimage was in the tradition of early Church pilgrimages that involved setting a destination and offering prayers through the Blessed Mother and saints’ intercession, he said.
By seeking St. Martin de Porres’ intercession and recognizing the former. site of a church named for him, Peterson said, he sought to give pilgrims space to dialogue and pray about racial and other issues. Then, led by the Holy Spirit, they can bring people to Christ and effect change, he said.
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