What is a ‘Diocesan Eucharistic Congress,’ and why is it so important?

BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY

As we were making plans for our Diocesan Eucharistic Congress — which will take place on the weekend of Sept. 23 to 25 — one of our Diocesan leaders said, “many people have never heard of a Eucharistic Congress — and maybe we should tell them that it does not involve any voting?”

In our country, when we hear the word “Congress,” we think of the legislative branch of the Federal government. “Congress,” however, has a meaning that surpasses political concerns. “Congressus,” in Latin, has the roots of “con,” or “together,” and “gradi,” forming the word “congradi,” “walking together.”

Pope Francis has emphasized the importance of “synodality.” That is a Church, walking together as we listen to one another. The hopes of the Holy Father for the Synod are very much in line with what our emphasis as the local Church is in walking together in a Congress, which will be a joining of our love of the Eucharist with our confidence in the future we share as the Body of Christ.

The Holy Father emphasized the centrality of prayer in adoration in his opening homily for the Synod. So too do we look forward to this Eucharistic Congress as the Holy Father expressed for the Synod, a: “time to devote to prayer and to adoration — that form of prayer that we so often neglect — devoting time to adoration, and to hearing what the Spirit wants to say to the Church.”

Personally, I think I had heard the phrase “Eucha­ristic Congress” mentioned when I was in high school and heard a little more about the “concept” when I was in college and the seminary. I recall hearing of “Inter­national” and “National” Eucharistic Congresses. I knew that some Dioceses held Eucharistic Congresses, but I don’t believe that there was one in Brooklyn during the years I served as a priest.

When we began planning for a Year of the Eucharist, it seemed to make sense that the highlight of the Year could be a Diocesan Eucharistic Congress. It has been wonderful to see our Diocesan leaders working together to make plans for the Congress, and it is exciting that we are about two weeks away from its opening. I know that many of our pastors, parish leaders, and others have been talking about “what a Eucharistic Congress is” and why it is so important, but when I heard the suggestion that we may need to do a little more “explaining,” or education, I saw that as an opportunity to go back and make sure we were on the right track.

I am still sometimes amazed at how much information can be quickly found on the Internet. So, when I googled “Eucharistic Congress,” I was able to find the following information from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Eucharistic Congresses are gatherings of ecclesiastics and laymen for the purpose of celebrating and glorifying the Holy Eucharist and of seeking the best means to spread its knowledge and love throughout the world. The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is one of the principal dogmas of the Catholic Faith and is therefore of paramount importance as the most precious treasure that Christ has left to His Church as the centre of Catholic worship and as the source of Christian piety. The main advantages of these congresses have been in the concentration of the thoughts of the faithful upon the mystery of the altar, and in making known to them the means by which devotion towards the Holy Eucharist may be promoted and implanted in the hearts of the people. The promoters of Eucharistic congresses believe that, if during recent years devotion to the Holy Eucharist has become more widespread, if works of adoration, Confraternities of the Blessed Sacrament, and the practice of frequent Communion have spread rapidly and extensively, it must be ascribed in great part to these gatherings.

https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05592a.htm

The article goes on to say that the first “International Eucharistic Congress” took place in Lille, France, in June of 1881. It speaks of subsequent Congresses leading up to: “… Pope Pius X having expressed a wish that the Eucharistic Congress should be held in Rome, the delegates met there, 1–6 June 1905 …” and “… As the most representative and important of all the congresses, the whole Catholic world was at once interested in the nineteenth, which was held in London, 9–13 September 1908 and regarded as the greatest religious triumph of its generation.

The further I read, the better I came to understand something that had struck me in the first paragraph, which spoke of the “promoters of the Eucharistic Congresses” believing that an increased devotion to the Eucharist and the practice of frequent Communion having spread rapidly and extensively “in recent years” should be “ascribed in great part to these gatherings.” Something didn’t sound right — until I realized that this Catholic Encyclopedia article had been written in 1909! It is certainly true that you can find a great deal of information very quickly on the internet, BUT the wise, old phrase “check your sources” still applies.

Things have changed a little since 1909. Reading the Catholic Encyclopedia article, you can almost feel the excitement and enthusiasm for the way in which Eucharistic Congresses had helped to spread and promote a deeper devotion to and appreciation of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and the importance of frequent communion. Is it possible that some of that excitement and enthusiasm can be rekindled amongst the Catholic faithful in the year 2022? I believe that it is possible and that it is already happening here in our Diocese in this Year of the Eucharist.

Another point emphasized in the article is the participation of a “Papal Legate,” a representative of the Holy Father in those early “International” Eucharistic Con­gresses. For our Diocesan Eucharistic Congress, we may not use the term “Papal Legate” as they did in the past, but we will have a representative of the Holy Father with us. We will be very blessed by the presence of Archbishop Rino Fisichella as our preacher for the Eucharistic Congress. Archbishop Fisichella is the Pro-prefect of the New Dicastery for Evangelization in Rome, where he has served since 2010. Msgr. Geno Sylva, the Rector of our Cathedral, served on the then Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization with Archbishop Fisichella from 2012-2018, and we are grateful to Msgr. Sylva for extending the invitation for the archbishop to be with us.

For details on the Schedule and Registration for the Eucharistic Congress, you can visit our website. We hope that as many parishioners as possible from throughout the Diocese will participate in the sessions in English and Spanish on Saturday and in the closing mass at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25. For those who cannot attend in person, some of the sessions will be available by livestream. Those details will be available shortly and published in next week’s Beacon.

Why is the Congress so important? Because it is a unique opportunity for us, as the Church of the Diocese, to come together, united in prayer, as the One Body of Christ. This is a privileged opportunity to walk together focused on the mystery that is the source and summit of our Christian life. It is also an opportunity for all of us to increase our appreciation for the Gift of the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist and for us to be “His Body,” instruments of His Love, Peace, Healing, and Mercy, for all of our brothers and sisters, especially those who are most in need.

In the days leading up to the Congress, I ask you to join me and the whole diocese in prayer, asking that the Lord would Bless and guide us. I ask you to pray, each day, this Prayer for the Eucharistic Congress:
 

Prayer for the Eucharistic Congress

Lord Jesus, who in the Eucharist
makes your dwelling among us,
gather your children,
feed us with your Body and Blood,
and become our travel companion.
Grant that this time of the preparation
and the celebration of the Eucharistic Congress
would serve the spiritual renewal of our diocese, parishes, and families.
Send us your Holy Spirit, so that we may better appreciate
and recognize the gift of Your Real Presence in the Eucharist
and respond with a renewed commitment
to proclaim in word and deed the Good News.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.