It’s normal to be nervous and excited at the same time but we’re here to help guide you through this. Your chapter leader, Jason, will reach out to every pilgrim and answer your questions. If we have mentors available, that mentor will also reach out to you. Bottom-line, we want you to feel comfortable about the journey!

I’ve been before (Veteran)!

Remember your first time attending? It can be challenging and overwhelming for new people. Will you “adopt” a rookie? Contact us! We’re looking for seasoned mentors to share and help guide new pilgrims. Your chapter leader, Jason, will reach out to you; most likely for some advice so if you’ve got something to share that should be here on this website, use the contact button or find us after High Mass!

Walking Preparation

It’s hard to prepare for a 35-mile pilgrimage. It helps if you are walking daily but some people practice very little or not at all and endure the walk. To help you however, we have 3-mile walks planned for our chapter at DeKoevend Park in Centennial. If you can’t meet us, the best way to build your endurance for the 35-mile intense walk/march is to go on 3-4 mile walks at a 3.5 mph pace. The pilgrimage for 2023 contained 5 walks the first day of about 5-7 miles each.

Start slow and time yourself to see how far you can walk in an hour. Then make it your goal to walk 3-4 miles in an hour and work up to doing this 3 days out of the week. This will help you tremendously! Your next goal is to complete 8 miles in 2 – 2.5 hours. There is little need to walk more than 8 miles in one shot. If you want to walk more, take a break and go on another 3-4 mile walk later in the day.

Click the link below for Chapter-led walks.

Join us!

Recommendations from past attendees!

We recommend you visit the FAQ’s and the Pilgrim’s Guide first but don’t forget these things as well.

• Bring a tent! Even though it’s in Oklahoma, it can still be chilly in the fall. Open camping might not be wise and it might rain on you.
• Wear spandex! Especially the men!
• Bring chafing cream.
• Head lamps!
• Walking shoes! Per our OLMC pilgrim nurse, those who wore boots had a more difficult time, more injuries and blisters.
• Electrolyte tablets – trust us…you NEED these.
• Fueling – Whether it’s energy gummies/bars or dates, you need to fuel every 30 min on this walk.