By Gia Myers • Posted July 26, 2024

Over 170 pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia journeyed nearly 600 miles to attend the 10th National Eucharistic Congress last week in Indianapolis, Ind.

The five-day event was attended by more than 60,000 people, with Masses and most activities taking place at Lucas Oil Stadium, home field of the National Football League’s Indianapolis Colts.

The motivation for the event began in 2019, when a Pew Research Center study found that only one-third of Catholics accepted the Catholic doctrine that the Eucharist is the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The study reported that two-thirds of Catholics considered the bread and wine used for Communion to be “symbols.”

In response, the Catholic bishops of the United States kicked off the National Eucharistic Revival on June 19, 2022, the day of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, to renew the Church by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord truly present in the holy Eucharist.

The first year of the Eucharistic Revival, the diocesan phase, invited clergy and parish leaders to respond to the Lord’s personal invitation and equip them to share this message with the faithful.

The second year, the parish phase, fostered Eucharistic devotion at the parish level by emphasizing faithful celebration of the Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, missions, preaching, and organic movements of the Holy Spirit.

The goal of this current third year focuses on pilgrims being renewed and strengthened by Jesus Christ in the Eucharist so that they may become missionary disciples and share their love of God with their neighbors and ultimately, the whole world.

Jim Malinowski, director of religious education (DRE) at St. Pius X Parish in Broomall and member of the Archdiocesan Eucharistic Revival Committee, said the National Eucharistic Congress was “a very moving experience with so many people all there for the Lord.”

Malinowski spoke of how each morning of the congress started with the rosary and Mass in the stadium, and afterwards, crowds “poured out into the street” with “people praying together and taking food to the homeless.”

“Everybody was just so happy,” he said.

“All of the liturgies were beautiful and all of the speakers inspiring,” said Father Joseph Shenosky, Archdiocesan coordinator for the Eucharistic Revival, who also attended the congress.

Both traveled to Indianapolis by bus – roughly a 12-hour trip – and they found the “missionary spirit” alive among the other pilgrims on the bus, which traveled two days to arrive in the city with an overnight stop in West Virginia.

The bus contained diverse groups from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, including Ukrainians, Hispanics, Haitians, and Black Catholics.

“The people really reflected the cultural diversity of the Catholic Church,” said Father Shenosky.  “Most didn’t know each other before the bus departed, but we came back as friends.”

The congress kicked off Wednesday, July 17 with an opening procession and many speakers, including Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States; Bishop Andrew Cozzens, chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress; author and podcaster Sister Miriam James Heidland, S.O.L.T., and others.

Father Shenosky found the opening address by Cardinal Pierre especially moving, as the cardinal spoke of how our love for Jesus in the Eucharist bears fruit, and we must recognize the presence of Jesus in our brothers and sisters around us.

Malinowski met a couple from Detroit who started watching the opening ceremony on television, and the next day, got in their car and drove four hours to attend the event in person. For him, this was an example of “the contagious energy” he witnessed at the event.

Father Shenosky found the holy hour with the Blessed Sacrament in the stadium very inspiring.

“I had never been to Eucharistic Adoration with 50,000 people,” he said. “You could hear a pin drop during periods of silent prayer.”

On Thursday evening, July 18, Archbishop Nelson Perez hosted a dinner gathering for the more than 170 pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. On Friday morning, Archbishop Perez was the main celebrant and homilist for the Spanish-language Mass at the Indianapolis Convention Center, next door to the stadium.

Saturday afternoon featured a Eucharistic procession through downtown Indianapolis.

Malinowski described the Eucharistic procession as “a very prayerful experience.” Though tens of thousands of Catholics filled the streets, singing and chanting at the onset, “they fell dead silent” as the procession began, he said.

He was also impressed by the number of families attending the event. He noticed an empty space at the stadium was soon turned into a play area for families with young children.

The event reminded him of Jesus in the Gospels, and how Jesus was always around people and crowds pursued him.

The message conveyed throughout the event and restated at the closing Mass on Sunday morning, July 21 celebrated by Bishop Cozzens, was that “this is not an end,” said Malinowski. “This third year of Eucharistic revival is for us to go out on mission.”

As a parish DRE, Malinowski spent much time on the long bus ride home thinking and praying about how he might share all that he gained from the Eucharistic Congress, as well as the three years leading up to the event.

“The challenge is how to both educate and catechize, and to lead others to have a meaningful encounter with Christ, both students and their families,” he said.

“It’s a year of being renewed and strengthened, then being sent out on mission,” Father Shenosky said of this third year of the revival. “We are to share the love of God as missionary disciples. It’s not over; it’s just the beginning.”

At the close of the event, the audience learned that the next National Eucharistic Congress will be held in less than a decade, in 2033.