National Eucharistic Congress to draw more than 50,000 to Indianapolis

Jesus in the Eucharist is processed through downtown Columbia, South Carolina, on April 6, 2024. Over 1,700 traveled to the state’s capital for this procession as part of the Diocesan Eucharistic Congress / Credit: The Catholic Miscellany/Carolina Mascarin

CNA Newsroom, Jul 15, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).

More than 50,000 people will gather in Indianapolis this week for the National Eucharistic Congress, which bishops hope will be a culminating moment in the U.S. Catholic Church’s three-year revival to inspire people to encounter Jesus in the Eucharist.

The five-day congress in the NFL’s Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indiana Convention Center will be the first National Eucharistic Congress held in the United States since World War II. 

U.S. bishops launched the multi-year National Eucharistic Revival in 2022 in response to concern about waning belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist among American Catholics. 

The goal of the revival has been to “renew the Church by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the holy Eucharist.” 

Organizers told CNA that 51,000 people had bought tickets for the congress as of a week before the event. 

“There is a lot of energy and excitement to finally be on the precipice of this moment that we’ve been building up to for so long,” Tim Glemkowski, the Chief Executive Officer of the congress, said.

The event is the climax of four Eucharistic pilgrimages that have traversed the United States over the past two months, carrying the Blessed Sacrament across the nation.

Leading up to the congress, more than 100,000 people participated in four pilgrimage routes, originating in California, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Texas respectively, and traveling a combined total of 6,500 miles. 

The pilgrimage groups will meet in Indianapolis as they process into the Lucas Oil Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Eucharistic congress on Wednesday night, which will feature U.S. nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Sister Bethany Madonna of the Sisters of Life, and Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston as keynote speakers.

During the opening ceremony, Cozzens will carry the Blessed Sacrament in a massive monstrance created specifically for the congress through the football stadium as tens of thousands of people pray together in Eucharistic adoration. 

The congress will also feature liturgies, service opportunities, Eucharistic adoration and confession, and impact sessions aimed at fostering deep spiritual renewal and unity among attendees. 

Breakout sessions each morning will give clergy, families, young people, and ministry leaders the chance to meet among themselves for formation tailored to their state in life and mission.

EWTN will offer television and livestream coverage of the main events and speakers at the National Eucharistic Congress with Relevant Radio providing live radio broadcast coverage.

Speakers at the congress include Father Mike Schmitz, Bishop Robert Barron, Chris Stefanik, Sister Josephine Garrett, Dr. Scott Hahn, Chosen actor Jonathan Roumie, and musician Matt Maher.

Catholics attending the congress will also have the unique opportunity to pray with the relics of Sts. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Manuel González García, Paschal Baylon, Junípero Serra, Juan Diego, and Blessed Carlo Acutis, as well as part of a relic from Chartres, France, known as “the Veil of Our Lady” at a specially designated reliquary chapel within the Indiana Convention Center.

Cardinal Luis Tagle, the pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization who was appointed by Pope Francis to serve as the papal envoy for the event, will offer the closing Mass for the congress on July 21.

Pope Francis extended a special blessing to all those attending the National Eucharistic Congress in a letter published by the Vatican in Latin earlier this month. 

The pope expressed his hope that “all participants in this event will be encouraged so that, united with Jesus in the Most Sacred Sacrament of our redemption, they are fully aware of the universal gifts they receive from heavenly food and can impart them to others.”