Franciscan Pilgrimage for World Peace

The Franciscan Friars of the Eastern Rite were founded in the USA in 1947. Father Josaphat Omelian Ananevich, who arrived in the United States in 1939, became the first Eastern Franciscan. Before that, Fr. Omelian had served as a missionary in Argentina and Brazil, where he founded the congregation of the Sisters Catechist of St. Anna. In 1947, two Eastern Franciscan monasteries were established in Sybertsville, PA, and Glenbrook, CT. From that time on, Sybertsville became a pilgrimage site, with the event held annually at the beginning of August until 1998. 

This pilgrimage for world peace typically gathered around 1,500 faithful. Often, a tent was set up in the middle of the forest in Our Lady’s Grove, where pilgrims from all over the country came together to pray and share in this experience for two days.