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;
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.
First congress in South America. Papal legate Cardinal Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII).[4] 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.[5]
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.[6]
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.[9]
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.[13]
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 faithful from all over Latin America and the World, including the Archpishop of Bogota Luis Concha Cordoba, the Colombian Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, 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 be the seat of the 1968 International Eucharistic Congress.
Attended by 1,500,000 people, including 44 Cardinals and 417 bishops.[16] Theme: "The Eucharist and the Hungers of the Human Family" (physical and spiritual hungers).[17]Mother Teresa and Dorothy Day were panelists at a conference on Women and the Eucharist.[18] Future Pope John Paul II gave the homily for Freedom and Justice.[19] US President Ford spoke of freedom and the Church's work for peace.[20][21][22]
Organization: Henri Donze, Bishop of Lourdes; papal legate Cardinal Bernardin Gantin. Great number of young people, from Third World. Procession with candles successful.[23] This was the third time the congress was held at Lourdes.[24]
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.[26]
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."[27]
The Eucharist, Gift of God for the Life of the World[31]
This congress coincided with the 400th anniversary of the city's founding.[31] The closing celebration took place on the Plains of Abraham, attended by tens of thousands of pilgrims.[32]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.[32] The Pope announced the next Congress was to take place in Dublin, Ireland, in 2012.
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.[33] 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.[according to whom?] 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.[34] The Pope delivered a pre-recorded address to the closing ceremony on June 17.
This was in the first Andean country to host the event. It coincided 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.[40]
It’s the first time the event is being held in Australia since Melbourne hosted in 1973, and the second time in Sydney since 1928, that just coincides with the centenary of the first international eucharistic congress held in these city, and the most largest ecumenical event since the World Youth Day 2008.[41][42]
List of National Congresses
National Eucharistic Congresses for the United States of America[43]
The Congress was held at a number of different locations in Omaha, including the cathedral, St. Cecilia's and Creighton University. A number of newsreel companies were on hand to film the event. Bishop Joseph Rummel of Omaha hosted the event.[49]
^John DeMayo and Joseph Casino, The Forty-First Interional Eucharistic Congress, August 1–8, 1976: A History, (Pennsauken: DeVilieger, 1978) 6, 144; MC 80, 100.611: Committee on Special Guests: Final Report to the Board of Governors, August 16, 1967, https://omeka.chrc-phila.org/items/show/8121.
^MC 80, 100.1548: Letter to Cardinal Krol from Dorothy Day January 29, 1976, https://omeka.chrc-phila.org/items/show/8123; MC 80, 100.1673: Letter to Cardinal Krol from Mother Teresa.
^MC 80, 100.1755S7.1: Karol Cardinal Wojtyla Homily
^Poirier, Rev. E. (1904). "The Eucharistic Movement and the Third Eucharistic Congress of the United States". In Third Eucharistic Congress (ed.). Third Eucharistic Congress of the United States. pp. 5–6. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
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