THE WORLD'S FIRST LOVE: OLPH BYZANTINE 2026 PILGRIMAGE
COME JOIN US FOR THE 26TH ANNUAL OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP SHRINE PILGRIMAGE!
THEME: THE WORLD'S FIRST LOVE: FULTON SHEEN & THE VIRGIN MARY
The Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen will be beatified this September! Come and learn about the life and teaching of this extraordinary witness to Christ and the role of the Virgin Mary in Christian life. In 1956, Archbishop Fulton Sheen came to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Shrine in Mount Macrina, PA to celebrate for the first time an English-language Byzantine Divine Liturgy by a Latin Archbishop! 85,000 pilgrims were present for that extraordinary event.
Join author, retreat speaker, and renowned expert in the life and teaching of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, Dr. Peter Howard, STL, STD for a Pilgrimage to Our Lady's Shrine Aug 21-22 (with Divine Liturgy on the Sunday, Aug 23rd at St George's in Olympia, WA)!
There will be three talks over the course of the weekend:
- The Life and Ministry of (Soon to be!) Blessed Fulton Sheen
- The Mariology of Archbishop Fulton Sheen - Part 1
- The Mariology of Archbishop Fulton Sheen - Part 2
We will also celebrate a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help with our Eparchial bishop, Bishop Artur Bubnevych (Phoenix).
Come join us as we learn about the Gospel of Christ and the Virgin Mary through liturgical worship, dynamic talks, music, activities, great fellowship and food!
2026 Pilgrimage Speaker: Dr. Peter Howard, STL, STD
Dr. Peter Howard, STL, STD, Founder and Director of the Fulton Sheen institute
Peter resides in northern Idaho and is married to Chantal Howard. Together they have seven beautiful children spanning twenty-one years. Dr. Howard earned his Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St.Thomas Aquinas [Angelicum] in Rome, Italy. He is the founder and president of the Fulton Sheen Institute (fultonsheeninstitute.com) and the Fulton Sheen Movement (fultonsheenmovement.com).
Peter is a renowned international Catholic speaker, podcaster, scholar of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, author, professor, theologian, Mariologist, member of the International Marian Association, and member of the Coalition of Eucharistic and Marian Apostolates (CEMA). Peter has spoken at international, national, diocesan and family conferences, Legatus Chapters, and the United States Air Force Academy. He has been featured on numerous Catholic radio, podcast and television networks. Peter is also the founder and host of The Sheen Spotlight & The Catholic Patriot
Podcasts.
Bishop Artur Bubnevych, Eparch of the Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix
Bishop Artur Bubnevych was born June in 1975 in a little town called Perechin of the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine. He graduated from Uzhgorod Greek Catholic Seminary of the Blessed Theodore Romzha in 1998. He was ordained to minor orders, including the subdiaconate in 1999. He earned an advanced theological degree from the International Theological Institute in Gaming, Austria in 2001. He worked as a project secretary at the Chancery of the Eparchy of Mukachevo from 2006 to 2013. He also taught English at the Greek Catholic Seminary. In September 2013 at the invitation of our Bishop Gerald he came to our Eparchy of Phoenix with the blessing of Bishop Milan of Mukachevo to minister in our Eparchy and to serve in a pastoral capacity as assigned by the Bishop. He was ordained to diaconate on March 9th 2014 and on September 14th 2014 to priesthood at St Stephen’s Cathedral in Phoenix. On January 8 2015 he was assigned a pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Byzantine Catholic Church in Albuquerque New Mexico and on January 28, 2025 he was consecrated a Bishop and enthroned as the Eparch of Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix, which covers the entire West Coast of the United States and includes Alaska and Hawaii.
Pilgrimage Ticket Prices - Covers the Event, Materials, along with Meals Provided on Friday evening and Saturday Lunch.
- Adults (18+): $30 per person
- Youth (6-18): $15 per person
- Children 5 and Under: Free
- Family Package: 6 or more in Immediate Family: $100
- Clergy , Clergy Families, and Religious/Monastics: Free
Please note: You can also register here and either mail in or present a check at the event.
There will be children and youth activities on Saturday. Parents must be present on property at all times.
Retreat/Pilgrimage Schedule
Friday, Aug 21
- 5:30pm Registration Opens
- 6:45pm Welcome (Church)
- 7pm First Talk - The Life and Ministry of (Soon to be!) Blessed Fulton Sheen
- 7:45pm Break
- 8pm Byzantine Service of Compline
- 9pm Fellowship
- 10pm Conclusion of the Evening
Sat, Aug 23
- 8:30am Mystery of Repentance/Confessions (Church and Stations)
- 9:30am Byzantine Rosary
- 9:45am Third Hour
- 10am Byzantine Hierarchical Divine Liturgy (OLPH Shrine) - Homily with Bishop Artur
- 11:30am Holy Unction followed by Lunch
- 1:30pm Second Talk - The Mariology of Archbishop Fulton Sheen - Part 1
- 2:30pm Third Talk - The Mariology of Archbishop Fulton Sheen - Part 2
- 3:15pm Children's Pilgrimage to OLPH Shrine and Akathist to OLPH
- 4pm Blessing of Objects and People and Anointing
- 5pm Optional Dinner for Purchase and Bonfire, Music
Go to our Website: https://stgeorgeolympia.org/shrine/
Parish of Saint George Website: https://stgeorgeolympia.org/
Saint George Byzantine Catholic Church is a parish church of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix.
We are a fully Eastern, and fully Catholic parish in the Carpatho-Rusyn Christian tradition, whose people lived for more than a thousand years in remote villages scattered along the foothills and valleys of the Carpathian Mountains of East Central Europe and were evangelized in the 9th century by the missionaries sent from the Byzantine Imperial Capitol of Constantinople, Ss Cyril and Methodius. While our liturgical, musical and spiritual patrimony is Eastern European, we are not an ethnic parish, our services are all in English, and our members are from all ethnic backgrounds. Our goal is to preach Jesus Christ and to live a spiritual life according to the Gospel...but in an Eastern key! All Catholics of whatever tradition can fulfill their liturgical obligations at our services and we have many visitors of various backgrounds who come and pray with us.
"The light of the East has illumined the universal Church..." - Pope St. John Paul II
Address:
Saint George Byzantine Catholic Church
& Our Lady of Perpetual Help Shrine
9730 Yelm Highway SE
Olympia, WA 98513
Click here to join Our Lady's Perpetual Helpers!
CAMPING OPTIONS
MILLERSLYVANIA STATE PARK
https://parks.wa.gov/find-parks/state-parks/millersylvania-state-park
Click here to find hotels in Lacey, WA.
Please note: Parents are responsible to monitor their children at all times and must be on property at all times.
Location
St George Byzantine Catholic Church/OLPH Shrine, 98513