Three Hearts Pilgrimage: bringing families together

Three Hearts Pilgrimage: uniting families and praying in Oklahoma

The Three Hearts Pilgrimage (Jesus, Mary and Joseph), plans to welcome three thousand participants on Oct. 9 to walk 35 miles and three days through rural Oklahoma. The goal is Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in Hulbert. And the goal, to bring families together and pray for the country.

OSV / Omnes-October 1, 2025-Reading time: 3 minutes

- Jack Figge (OSV News).

Six years ago, Marcus Robinson and other parents organized a short pilgrimage for their children. They loved it so much that they repeated the same pilgrimage the next year, and the year after that, inviting more and more people each year. This year, the Three Hearts Pilgrimage plans to welcome 3,000 participants to walk three days through rural Oklahoma to Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey in Hulbert.

"Many pilgrims say it's the highlight of their year and they are looking forward to coming back and participating," Robinson told OSV News. He commented that the first year they did it, in October 2020, some 500 people responded to the invitation to join them and pray for the country in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's one of those things that people talk about for the rest of their lives," he said.

Fostering family relationships

Named in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Most Sacred Heart of St. Joseph, the Three Hearts Pilgrimage seeks to foster family relationships while praying for the country.

"We focus on the family, and that's what the pilgrimage is for," Robinson said. "We walk in defense of the traditional family, as well as the sanctity of life."

This year's event is scheduled to begin Oct. 9 with a rally at the Illinois River in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, where pilgrims will gather in fellowship, hear a talk and camp overnight. The pilgrimage will begin the following morning, with a stop at noon for outdoor Mass and lunch.

With Eucharistic Adoration and young people from other countries

On that night, October 10, the Eucharistic Adoration while the pilgrims camp outdoors. The pilgrimage continues until Clear Creek Abbey for a pontifical mass followed by a barbecue on October 11.

"Seeing the joy and beauty that comes from the pilgrims doing this together is my favorite part of every year," Robinson said. "You see the fathers connect with their sons and the mothers with their daughters. Everyone is doing something very difficult, but they have a deep sense of spirituality and accomplishment."

Annual family tradition

Over the years, Robinson said, he has seen how the pilgrimage has become a powerful opportunity for families get together and participate in a meaningful bonding experience.

"In American society today, families don't do a lot of meaningful things together," Robinson said. "We get lost during the week in television, video games or sports and often don't take time to connect with reality and prayer."

"Making this pilgrimage as a family brings them together and allows them to feel united as a family." he said.

The pilgrimage has become an annual tradition for many families, as both children and parents look forward to traveling to Oklahoma to see friends from years past as they walk together.

Reconnecting with family, friends and community

"Part of what draws everyone is seeing the familiar faces and experiencing that bond and that community of being together once a year," Robinson said. "I think that's a big draw for families and communities in general."

Families and individuals travel from all over the country to participate in the pilgrimage and even from other countries, which shows the attractiveness and desire among Catholics to participate in pilgrimages.

"There's a great appeal to human nature: engaging in reality and sacrifice," Robinson said. "To offer something to God, to disconnect from the world and the digital chaos around us, to reconnect with family, with friends, with community, to be part of a larger Catholic community and to realize that there are a lot of like-minded people across the country who want to be involved in something like this."