Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine CATHOLIC www.gulfpinecatholic.com VOLUME 41 / NUMBER 25 August 2, 2024 National congress sends forth Catholics to ignite new Pentecost as Eucharistic missionaries BY PETER JESSERER SMITH OSV News INDIANAPOLIS ( OSV News ) -- As five days of the National Eucharistic Congress concluded with one final revival and a beautiful solemn Mass in Lucas Oil Stadium -- Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, board chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., stood in Lucas Oil Stadium. “I have a question for you,” he told the crowd. “This is the tenth National Eucharistic Congress -- do you think we should do an 11th one?” Some 60,000 congress participants -- representing 50 U.S. states, 17 countries, and various Eastern and Western churches, and speaking over 40 languages -- cheered wildly in the stadium. They also again rose to their feet to give the U.S. Catholic bishops an enthusiastic standing ovation for making possible the five-day congress with its impact sessions, breakout sessions, special events, revival nights with Eucharistic adoration and Benediction and beautifully celebrated reverent Masses. The event reflected the diversity of a church all united in the same Eucharistic Lord and eager to use their gifts for a new Pentecost in the church. The first day of the July 17-21 congress began with an evening revival as the 30 perpetual pilgrims, who had walked the four National Eucharistic Pilgrimage routes, took their final official steps of their eight-week journey into the stadium carrying icons of each route’s respective patron saints -- St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, St. Junipero Serra, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the Blessed Virgin Mary -- that were put around the altar where the Blessed Sacrament was placed. “How will we know that we are experiencing Eucharistic revival?” Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the papal nuncio to the U.S., asked in his keynote speech July 17, encouraging everyone to surrender their hearts to the Lord over the next few days. “When we are truly revived by the Eucharist,” he said, “then our encounter with Christ’s real presence in the sacrament opens us to an encounter with Him in the rest of our life” and then “spills over in our daily life, a life of relating to others, our way of seeing others.” Every day of the congress began with most con- gress-goers joining in beautifully and reverently cele- brated Eucharistic liturgies in the stadium -- including a July 20 Holy Qurbana, the Syro-Malabar form of the Eucharistic liturgy, prayed in English. Additional morning and evening Masses at nearby sites in differ- ent languages, such as Spanish or Vietnamese, or in different forms, such as the Byzantine rite or the older usage of the Roman rite. Three days of the congress, July 18-20, were split between seven morning impact sessions and nearly 20 afternoon breakout sessions on a variety of topics meant to form, equip and inspire people, including clergy, to live more deeply their faith in light of Jesus making Himself truly present in the Eucharist -- and how to practically bring what they have learned into their parishes, ministries, groups and families. The exhibit halls in the Indiana Convention Center were packed throughout the congress, as long lines formed for exhibits such as the Shroud of Turin or Eucharistic miracles. Religious sisters provided a kind of spiritual air traffic control that guided people to the lengthy confession lines. The convention center was also a place where the spontaneity of joy could be seen and felt. Young peo- ple marched through chanting their love for Jesus, while further on, a group of Catholic women, dressed in traditional apparel from Cameroon, sang and danced their love for Jesus and Mary to the delight of people who gathered around them. Congress-goers had the opportunity to attend off- site events such as The Catholic Project ’s panel dis- cussion July 19 that explored the challenges of navi- gating the dating landscape as Catholics. Tens of thousands of congress-goers at the revivals -- and the liturgies as well -- eagerly joined their voic- es in singing the beautiful hymns and chants, both traditional and contemporary, in English, Spanish, Latin and other languages. The congress saw the musicianship of Dave and Lauren Moore, Sarah Kroger, and Matt Maher, as well as the talents of the men’s ensemble Floriani and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. SEE NEC24 FULL CONGRESS WRAP, PAGE 6 Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minn., chairman of the board of the National Eucharis- tic Congress, Inc., kneels in prayer before the monstrance during Eucharistic adoration at the opening revival night July 17 of the tenth National Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indi- anapolis. OSV News photo/Bob Roller Look for additional stories and photos from the National Eucharistic Congress in the August 16 edition of the Gulf Pine Catholic .