An aerial view of City Park Stadium in New Orleans, filled with worshippers at the National Eucharistic Congress of 1938

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In the Catholic Church, a eucharistic congress is a gathering of clergy, religious, and laity to bear witness to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, which is an important Catholic doctrine. Congresses bring together people from a wide area, and typically involve large open-air Masses, Eucharistic adoration (Blessed Sacrament), and other devotional ceremonies held over several days. Congresses may both refer to National (varies by country) and International Eucharistic Congresses.

Paschal Baylón is considered the patron saint of such eucharistic congresses.

History

The 21st International Eucharistic Congress in Montreal in 1910. Canadian Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier is standing on the right.

The first International Eucharistic Congress owed its inspiration to Bishop Gaston de Ségur, and was held at Lille, France, on June 21, 1881. The initial inspiration behind the idea came from the laywoman Marie-Marthe-Baptistine Tamisier (1834–1910) who spent a decade lobbying clergy. The sixth congress met in Paris in 1888, and the great memorial Church of the Sacred Heart on Montmartre was the center of the proceedings. Antwerp hosted the next congress in 1890, at which an immense altar of repose was erected in the Place de Meir, and an estimated 150,000 persons gathered around it when Cardinal Goossens, Archbishop of Mechelen, gave the solemn benediction. Bishop Doutreloux of Liège was then president of the Permanent Committee for the Organization of Eucharistic Congresses, the body which has charge of the details of these meetings. Of special importance also was the eighth congress, held in Jerusalem in 1893, as it was the first congress held outside Europe.

In 1907, the congress was held in Metz, Lorraine, and the German government suspended the law of 1870 (which forbade processions) in order that the usual solemn procession of the Blessed Sacrament might be held. Each year the congress had become more and more international in nature, and at the invitation of Archbishop Bourne of Westminster the nineteenth congress was held in London, the first among English-speaking members of the Church. The presidents of the Permanent Committee of the International Eucharistic Congresses, under whose direction all this progress was made, were:

• Bishop Gaston de Ségur of Lille; Archbishop de La Bouillerie, titular of Perga and coadjutor of Bordeaux;
• Archbishop Duquesnay of Cambrai;
• Cardinal Mermillod, Bishop of Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland;
• Bishop Doutreloux of Liège, Belgium;
• Bishop Thomas Louis Heylen of Namur, Belgium.

After each congress this committee prepared and published a volume giving a report of all the papers read and the discussions on them in the various sections of the meeting, the sermons preached, the addresses made at the public meetings, and the details of all that transpired.

The International Eucharistic Congresses

Name	Date	Location	Theme	Notes
1st International Eucharistic Congress	June 1881	Lille	The Eucharist Saves the World
2nd International Eucharistic Congress	September 1882	Avignon
3rd International Eucharistic Congress	June 1883	Liège
4th International Eucharistic Congress	September 1885	Fribourg
5th International Eucharistic Congress	June 1887	Toulouse
6th International Eucharistic Congress	July 1888	Paris
7th International Eucharistic Congress	August 1890	Antwerp
8th International Eucharistic Congress	May 1893	Jerusalem	The Divine Mystery of the Eucharist	First congress held outside Europe. Attended by hundreds of Latin Rite and Eastern Rite Patriarchs, bishops, priests, and faithful.
9th International Eucharistic Congress	July 1894	Reims
10th International Eucharistic Congress	September 1897	Paray-le-Monial
11th International Eucharistic Congress	July 1898	Brussels
12th International Eucharistic Congress	August 1899	Lourdes
13th International Eucharistic Congress	September 1901	Angers
14th International Eucharistic Congress	September 1902	Namur
15th International Eucharistic Congress	June 1904	Angoulême
16th International Eucharistic Congress	June 1905	Rome
17th International Eucharistic Congress	August 1906	Tournai
18th International Eucharistic Congress	August 1907	Metz
19th International Eucharistic Congress	September 1908	London
20th International Eucharistic Congress	August 1909	Cologne
21st International Eucharistic Congress	September 7–11, 1910	Montreal		First Congress held in North America or the Western Hemisphere.
22nd International Eucharistic Congress	July 1911	Madrid
23rd International Eucharistic Congress	September 12–15, 1912	Vienna
24th International Eucharistic Congress	April 23–27, 1913	Malta
25th International Eucharistic Congress	July 22–25, 1914	Lourdes	The Eucharist and the Social Reign of Jesus Christ	Cardinal G. Pignatelli of Belmonte was the papal legate.
26th International Eucharistic Congress	May 24–29, 1922	Rome	The Peaceful Reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist	Pope Pius XI officiated the Mass at the St. Peter's Square; first congress after World War I.
27th International Eucharistic Congress	June 22–27, 1924	Amsterdam	The Eucharist and Holland	Cardinal Van Rossum was the papal legate.
28th International Eucharistic Congress	June 20–24, 1926	Chicago		First congress in the United States. Papal legate: Cardinal Bonzano. Hosted by Cardinal Mundelein, Archbishop of Chicago. Est worshippers: 500,000 at Soldier Field mass, 1 million at St. Mary of the Lake closing mass.
29th International Eucharistic Congress	September 6–9, 1928	Sydney		First congress in Australia. The procession of the Eucharist, headed by the papal legate Cardinal Cerretti, was witnessed by 500,000.[1]
30th International Eucharistic Congress	May 7–11, 1930	Carthage	The Eucharist is Africa's testimony	First congress held in Africa.
31st International Eucharistic Congress	June 22–26, 1932	Dublin	The Propagation of the Sainted Eucharist by Irish Missionaries	1500th anniversary of Saint Patrick's arrival in Ireland. Catholic population of Ireland in 1932 was 3 million.[2]
32nd International Eucharistic Congress	October 10–14, 1934	Buenos Aires		First congress in South America. Papal legate Cardinal Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII).[3] Over one million people around Palmero Park heard a radio broadcast from the pope in Vatican City. Cardinal Pacelli celebrated High Mass and pronounced apostolic blessing on participants.[4]
33rd International Eucharistic Congress	February 3–7, 1937	Manila	Jesus in the Eucharist, Bread of Angels, Bread of Life	First congress in Asia and in the Philippines. Attended by 1.5 million from around the world. Pontifical Masses in Rizal Park, with hundreds of thousands at each.[5]
34th International Eucharistic Congress	May 25–30, 1938	Budapest	Eucharist, the Bond of Love	Papal legate Cardinal Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII).[6] Over 100,000 people from all over the world, including 15 cardinals and 330 bishops.[7]
35th International Eucharistic Congress	May 27-June 1, 1952	Barcelona	Peace	First congress since the end of World War II. Attended by hundreds of bishops and church officials, including Cardinal Spellman of New York, and Cardinal Stritch of Chicago. The Cold War limited attendance from communist eastern European countries.[8]
36th International Eucharistic Congress	July 17–24, 1955	Rio de Janeiro	Christ the Redeemer and His Eucharistic Kingdom[9]
37th International Eucharistic Congress	July 31-August 7, 1960	Munich		City chosen by Pope Pius XII, who had been papal nuncio there. Attended by 430 bishops and 28 cardinals, including Cardinal Spellman of New York, Cardinal Cushing of Boston, and Cardinal Meyer of Chicago. Laid a foundation stone for a "church of atonement" near Dachau concentration camp. Closing Statio Orbis Mass celebrated on Theresienwiese Square.[10][11]
38th International Eucharistic Congress	November 12–15, 1964	Bombay		First congress in a country without a significant Christian population, aiming to disseminate the doctrine of the "real presence of Christ in the Eucharist." Attended by Pope Paul VI, many cardinals, and 20,000 foreign visitors.[12]
39th International Eucharistic Congress	August 18–25, 1968	Bogotá	The Eucharist as the Bond of Love	Bogota DC was chosen personally by Pope Paul VI, to host the 39th International Eucharistic Congress, following his visit to the Colombian capital. This was the third Congress ever held in a Spanish speaking country, and the first Congress held in Colombia. The Eucharistic Congress was attended by bishops, archbishops, cardinals, clergy members, and faithfuls from all over Latin America and the World, including the Archpishop of Bogota Luis Concha Cordoba, as well as the then Colombian Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, his holiness Pope Paul VI, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires Juan Carlos Aramburu, the Archbishop of Paris François Marty, Archbishop Carroll of Miami, and Archbishop Dearden of Detroit (USA). The Congress was focused on the renovation of the Catholic Church worldwide, but particularly that of Colombia, which was a country seeing great economic and social prosperity due to its economic boom in the mid 20th century. Colombia was a country that demonstrated the great social and economic changes to global societies, as Colombia strived industrialized and modern society, and it was with this in mind, that it was chosen to the be the seat of the 1968 International Eucharistic Congress.
40th International Eucharistic Congress	February 18–25, 1973	Melbourne	"Love one another as I have loved you!" [13][14]
41st International Eucharistic Congress	August 1–8, 1976	Philadelphia	Hungers of the Human Family	Attended by 1,500,000 people, including 44 Cardinals and 417 bishops.[15] Theme: "The Eucharist and the Hungers of the Human Family" (physical and spiritual hungers).[16] Mother Teresa and Dorothy Day were panelists at a conference on Women and the Eucharist.[17] Future Pope John Paul II gave the homily for Freedom and Justice.[18] US President Ford spoke of freedom and the Church's work for peace.[19][20][21]
42nd International Eucharistic Congress	July 16–23, 1981	Lourdes	"Jesus Christ, bread broken for a new world"	Organization: Henri Donze, Bishop of Lourdes; papal legate Cardinal Bernardin Gantin. Great number of young people, from Third World. Procession with candles successful.[22] This was the third time the congress was held at Lourdes.[23]
43rd International Eucharistic Congress	August 11–18, 1985	Nairobi	The Eucharist and the Christian Family	Attended by Pope John Paul II.[24]
44th International Eucharistic Congress	October 4–8, 1989	Seoul	Christ is our Peace	As he did four years prior, Pope John Paul II attended the congress, holding the Solemn Mass entirely in Korean on the final day. The two principal objectives were: promoting a deeper understanding of the Eucharist; and living the eucharistic faith in the reality of our world. Attendance was reported to be around 1 million.[25]
45th International Eucharistic Congress	June 7–13, 1993	Seville	Christ Light of Nations	The first post-Cold War congress, Pope John Paul II addressed the congress and declared, "I hope the fruit of this congress results in the establishment of perpetual Eucharistic adoration in all parishes and Christian communities throughout the world."[26]
46th International Eucharistic Congress	May 25-June 1, 1997	Wrocław	Freedom as Reflected in the Eucharist	Attended by Pope John Paul II.[27] The congress addressed the distinction between "freedom" and "liberty".[28][29]
47th International Eucharistic Congress	June 18–25, 2000	Rome		The third to be celebrated in Rome, the congress was the first of its kind to be celebrated in a Jubilee Year.
48th International Eucharistic Congress	October 10–17, 2004	Guadalajara		Pope John Paul II, being too ill to attend, named Cardinal Josef Tomko as Papal Legate. The Congress ended with a celebration of the Mass in the Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, with a live link up to a simultaneous Mass celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, celebrated in the presence of Pope John Paul II. These simultaneous Masses marked the beginning of the Year of the Eucharist which ran from the International Eucharistic Congress to the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2005.
49th International Eucharistic Congress	June 15–22, 2008	Quebec City	The Eucharist, Gift of God for the Life of the World[30]	This congress coincided with the 400th anniversary of the city's founding.[30] The closing celebration took place on the Plains of Abraham, attended by tens of thousands of pilgrims.[31] Pope Benedict XVI's message was broadcast live, in both French and English, from the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, via giant screens set up on the meadow.[31] The Pope announced the next Congress was to take place in Dublin, Ireland, in 2012.
50th International Eucharistic Congress	June 10–17, 2012	Dublin	The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with one another (drawn from Lumen gentium)	The congress coincided with the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Second Vatican Council.[32] In addition to the daily celebration of the Eucharist, there were over thirty workshops and presentations daily on various themes associated with the Eucharist. For many years, the Church has failed to respond appropriately to child abuse by clergy. The blessing of a Healing Stone by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, as well as a personal meeting between the Papal Legate, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, and survivors of clergy sexual abuse, were among the ways in which the issue was addressed.[33] The Pope delivered a pre-recorded address to the closing ceremony on June 17. [34][35]
51st International Eucharistic Congress	January 24–31, 2016	Cebu City	Christ in You, Our Hope of Glory (From the Letter of St. Paul to the Colossians)	The second time in the Philippines, including Manila in 1937. Pope Francis appointed the first Cardinal of Myanmar Cardinal Charles Maung Bo as the Papal Legate.[36]
52nd International Eucharistic Congress	September 5–12, 2021	Budapest	"In You (=in Eucharistic Jesus) is the source of all our blessings." (Cfr.: Ps 87, 7)	Originally scheduled to take place in September, 2020, it was postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the second time Hungary hosted after 1938. Pope Francis performed a mass at Heroes Square, Budapest.[37][38]
53rd International Eucharistic Congress	2024	Quito		This will be in the first Andean country to host the event. It will coincide with the 150th anniversary of the consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus made in 1874 by President Gabriel García Moreno and supported by Pope Pius IX.[39]

See also

• Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses
• Real presence of Christ in the Eucharist
• World Youth Day

References

Bibliography

• Chesterton, Gilbert Keith. The Collected Works of G. K. Chesterton. Ignatius Press. ISBN 978-0-89870-854-7.
• de Courcy, J. W. (1996). The Liffey in Dublin. Gill & Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-7171-2423-7.

External links