Sam Lange’s project seeks to unite Iowa under the Eucharist

by Emmett McMenamy | July 28, 2026

The Diocese of Des Moines has hosted an annual Eucharistic procession since 2021. That tradition remains strong, but thanks to high school senior Sam Lange from the Archdiocese of Dubuque, this year’s procession has extra meaning.

Lange has been working with the Diocese of Des Moines, the Archdiocese of Dubuque, the Diocese of Sioux City, and the Diocese of Davenport to plan a Eucharistic procession in all four Iowa dioceses this year.

“This is a larger movement we're part of,” Lange said. “This is a larger church we're part of, and you're in unity with Catholics across Iowa.”

As a symbol of this unity, Lange worked with a deacon named Jim Berger who made four large, wooden puzzle pieces in the geographic shape of each diocese. Each puzzle piece will accompany its respective procession, be blessed by the bishops, and then be assembled before adoration at the Christ Our Life conference in Des Moines this September.

“In that action of these puzzle pieces coming together, it signifies that all of Iowa is coming together under our Eucharistic Lord,” Lange said.

The Diocese of Des Moines’ Eucharistic procession will take place at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Earling on Saturday, August 15, beginning with a Rosary at 8:30 a.m. and Mass at 9 a.m. The procession will go to St. Joseph’s cemetery for Benediction, then back to church for the conclusion of Mass.

John Gaffney, the diocesan Director of Evangelization and Mission, said that Eucharistic processions are prioritized because they are a public witness of faith and an opportunity to evangelize and bring Jesus to the community.

Gaffney shared a story of evangelization during a eucharistic procession from 2024, which was part of the National Eucharistic Congress. The procession was going through a walking path from Council Bluffs to Missouri, and a runner happened to be jogging by. Upon seeing the procession, the runner stopped and knelt. He acknowledged that Jesus came to him, so it was time for him to go back to Jesus in the Mass.

“These are the things that are at the beginning of processes that bring people into the church,” Gaffney said. “It's things like this where we're pointing to the most important aspect of who we are, and not afraid to do it boldly, loudly, beautifully and reverently in a Eucharistic procession that touches people's hearts and makes them want to make a change in their lives.”

Gaffney said that all four Iowa dioceses coming together this year is “beautiful,” and it shows how the Eucharist is the center of who we are. He praised Lange’s hard work in organizing this effort.

Lange originally started this project as a member of the National Youth Advisory Council for the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry. Members on the youth advisory council typically do a service project, and after prayer, Lange decided to organize the Eucharistic processions.

Lange said his faith “came alive” through the Eucharist, and he wanted to spread that devotion.

“I love [Saint Carlo Acutis’] quote that says, ‘People get tan when they sit in front of the sun and get holy when they sit before the Eucharist,’ and I just think that's really true,” Lange said.

When Lange told his mother, Paula Lange, about the project, she was initially hesitant because it was a big undertaking. Despite the gravity of the project, Paula Lange has watched Sam thrive.

“He tends to think big, and he always succeeds with that,” Paula Lange said.

This isn’t the first significant service project Sam Lange has accomplished.

Paula Lange said that he ran 50 miles to honor a friend who died of cancer. He set up a fundraiser page on a Tuesday and ran the miles by that Friday, raising almost $3,000 for cancer research and inspiring other runners to join him.

“If we take what Scripture says as the spirit of boldness and courageousness, and live that out, it leads us to do amazing, great things,” Sam Lange said. “Not on our own power, but through the power of Christ.”

Sam Lange said that Christ tamed his fears and gave him the boldness to connect with all four dioceses on the Eucharistic procession project. Now, with the processions coming up, Lange said he hopes that the faithful in Iowa would develop a deeper Eucharistic faith and attend adoration frequently. 

“Sometimes going to Sunday Mass can feel mundane and repetitive,” Lange said. “But if you truly can reignite that fire, that love for what you're receiving in communion, it'll awaken your faith, and there will be other fruit that flows from that.”