Bishop Andrew H Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, chairman of the board of the National Eucharistic Congress Incorporated, announces July 21, 2024 - the final day of the National Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Photo: OSV News/Bob Roller Courtney Mares
The National Eucharistic Congress concluded Sunday with a Mass with tens of thousands of people in an NFL football stadium, where the crowd prayed for “a new Pentecost” in the US Church.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presided over the closing Mass in Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium on July 21 as Pope Francis’ special envoy for the event. He shared that the Pope told him that he desires the congress to lead to “conversion to the Eucharist”.
“The presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a gift and the fulfilment of his mission,” said the cardinal pro-prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelisation.
“Those who choose to stay with Jesus will be sent by Jesus,” Cardinal Tagle added. “Let us go to proclaim Jesus zealously and joyfully for the life of the world.”
The nearly 60,000 Eucharistic congress attendees were sent out with “a great commissioning” on Sunday morning in which keynote speakers urged participants to proclaim the Gospel in every corner of the country.
“What the Church needs is a new Pentecost,” Mother Adela Galindo, the foundress of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary, told the crowd in her keynote speech before the Mass.
“The Church must be faithful to the Gospel … not watering down the message of the Gospel,” she said. “We were born for these times. It is a time to go out in haste to a world that urgently needs to hear God’s word and God’s truth.”
Proclaim
“Here is what we need to proclaim,” the Nicaraguan sister said. “That no darkness is greater than the light of the Eucharist. That no sin is greater than the merciful heart of the Eucharist.”
“Basically, brothers and sisters, that love is greater than death!” exclaimed the nun, who received an enthusiastic standing ovation from the crowd.
More than 1,600 priests, seminarians, bishops, and cardinals processed into Mass in the Indianapolis Colts’ stadium in a dramatic opening procession lasting 25 minutes. An additional 1,236 religious sisters and brothers were praying in the stands, according to the event organisers.
I don’t want to sound dramatic, but the National Eucharistic Congress has been something of a triumph – a crowded, crazy, and occasionally chaotic triumph”
The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra played the classical hymns Panis Angelicus and Ave Verum Corpus as Communion was brought to tens of thousands of people in the stadium.
Many people commented on the incredible energy, positivity, and hope among the congress participants who travelled from all 50 states to take part in the five-day event July 17–21.
“I don’t want to sound dramatic, but the National Eucharistic Congress has been something of a triumph – a crowded, crazy, and occasionally chaotic triumph. Peace and joy reign,” Stephen White, the executive director of the Catholic Project, commented on X. His presence is palpable and pervasive. The Lord is here,” Mr White added.
Legacy
Fr Aquinas Guilbeau, OP, predicted that the legacy of the National Eucharistic Congress will be like that of the 1993 World Youth Day held in Denver for the Church in the US. “Its grace will shape the Church for the next 50 years,” Fr Guilbeau said.
Where there is a lack or a weakening of missionary zeal, maybe it is partly due to a weakening in the appreciation of gifts and giftedness”
Nearly 60,000 tickets were sold for the National Eucharistic Congress, according to organisers, including the day passes that were sold after the start of the event. Cardinal Tagle began his homily by greeting the crowd in more than five languages, including Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, French, and Italian.
“The Holy Father prays, as we all do, that the congress may bear fruit, much fruit, for the renewal of the Church and of society in the United States of America,” Cardinal Tagle said.
In his homily, the cardinal noted that “where there is a lack or a weakening of missionary zeal, maybe it is partly due to a weakening in the appreciation of gifts and giftedness”.
Horizon
“If our horizon is only that of achievement, success, and profit, there is no room to see and receive gratuitous gifts. There is no place for gratitude and self-giving,” he added. “There will only be a relentless search for self-affirmation that eventually becomes oppressive and tiring, leading to more self-absorption or individualism.”
Cardinal Tagle underlined that the Eucharist is “a privileged moment to experience Jesus’ mission as a gift of himself”.
At the end of Mass, Bishop Andrew Cozzens announced to roaring applause that the US bishops are planning to hold another National Eucharistic Congress in 2033, the Year of Redemption marking 2,000 years since Jesus’ crucifixion.
It has been my experience and I hope yours that we’ve lived an experience of Heaven. Of course, the Eucharist is a foretaste of Heaven”
The bishop of Crookston, Minnesota, who spearheaded the Eucharistic revival, also announced that another Eucharistic pilgrimage from Indianapolis to Los Angeles will take place in 2025.
“What do you say as you come to the end of the 10th National Eucharistic Congress?” Bishop Cozzens said. “It has been my experience and I hope yours that we’ve lived an experience of Heaven. Of course, the Eucharist is a foretaste of Heaven.”