Jesus, King of All Nations Advent Pilgrimage to Geographic Center of the United States

In response to Jesus’ call to be enthroned back into our hearts, our homes, our churches and our country, the Sacred Image will be displayed and venerated in Catholic parishes on its way to Lebanon, Kansas—the geographic center of the United States—to arrive on Sunday, December 22. Starting at 3:00 PM that fourth Sunday of Advent, prayers of reparation and devotion will be led by priests from the area for all the faithful who gather. Per the USCCB web site, the O antiphon on December 22 is “O, King of all nations!”

Beginning on the first Sunday of Advent, Sunday, December 1, the Sacred Image will begin its daily schedule of 24 parish visitations and 24 private home enthronements starting in the Nemaha region of the Archdiocese of Kansas City. From December 1 through December 5, the Sacred Image of Jesus, King of All Nations will be processed, venerated and prayers of devotion by the faithful to recognize His kingship at six parishes in the region.

Each pastor has determined the duration and sequence of their hosted visitation which may include Mass, Adoration, confessions, healing services and enthronement of the Sacred Image in each church. The Advent Sunday Mass on December 8 includes a Rorate Caeli candle lighting for hope in the darkness before Mass.The Vigil Mass on Saturday, December 21, the final Mass of the pilgrimage and the darkest/shortest day of the year, ends with an individual candle lighting with all in attendance participating in a darkened church in anticipation of the coming of the Light of the world.

The Kansas parish churches scheduled are Sts Peter and Paul in Seneca, St Mary’s in St Benedict, Annunciation in Frankfort, Sacred Heart in Baileyville, St Michael’s in Axtell, and St Gregory the Great in Marysville. All parishioners from the region’s 17 parishes are invited to take part.

From the Archdiocese of Kansas City, the Sacred Image continues its travels with the appointed guardian to the Diocese of Salina with Manhattan as its first stop on First Friday, December 6.The image travels back and forth, east to west throughout the nearly 27,000 square miles of the diocese as if mending the heart of America. The chronological order of the visitations includes: St Isidore at Kansas State University, Seven Dolors in Manhattan, St John Nepomucene in Beardsley, St Francis of Assisi in St Francis,St Joseph in Bird City, Sacred Heart in Atwood, St John the Evangelist in Herington, Immaculate Conception in Solomon, St Aloysius Gonzaga in Osborne, Sacred Heart in Park, St Agnes in Grainfield, Immaculate Conceptionin Grinnell, Sacred Heart Cathedral in Salina, St Mary in Ellis, Sacred Heart in Plainville, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Concordia and Sacred Heart in Esbon.

The new USCCB prayer to Christ the King is being incorporated into each visitation at the request of Bishop Jerry Vincke, bishop of the Diocese of Salina. It was also suggested for each parish to pray the accompanying Novena written by the USCCB and released on November 3, 2024 in preparation of their Advent visitations.

For more information about Jesus King of All Nations Sacred Image and Devotion, please contact [email protected] or call 802-524-5350. For information about the Advent 2024 Pilgrimage to the geographic center of the United States, please visit https://salinadiocese.org/events/, contact one of the hosting parishes direct or call Susan Kirtland OblSB at 602-316-6123.