International Eucharistic Congress - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

, a Eucharistic Congress is a gathering of clergy, religious

Religious (Catholicism)

In the lexicon of certain branches of Christianity, especially the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox branches, religious as a noun usually refers to a member of a religious order of monks, nuns, friars, clerics regular, or other individuals who take the three vows of poverty, chastity, and...

, and laity

Laity

In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...

to bear witness

Evangelism

Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....

to the Real Presence

Real Presence

Real Presence is a term used in various Christian traditions to express belief that in the Eucharist, Jesus Christ is really present in what was previously just bread and wine, and not merely present in symbol, a figure of speech , or by his power .Not all Christian traditions accept this dogma...

of Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

in the Eucharist

Eucharist

The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...

, which is an important Roman Catholic doctrine. Congresses bring together people from a wide area, and typically involve large open-air Mass

Mass

Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...

es, adoration of the Eucharist

Eucharistic adoration

Eucharistic adoration is a practice in the Roman Catholic Church, and in a few Anglican and Lutheran churches, in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed to and adored by the faithful....

(Blessed Sacrament

Blessed Sacrament

The Blessed Sacrament, or the Body and Blood of Christ, is a devotional name used in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches, to refer to the Host after it has been consecrated in the sacrament of the Eucharist...

), and other devotional ceremonies held over several days. There are National and International Eucharistic Congresses.

Nineteenth century

The first International Eucharistic Congress owed its inspiration to Bishop Gaston de Ségur, and was held at Lille

Lille

Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, 21 June 1881. The idea at first was merely local and met with few adherents, but it grew from year to year with an ever-increasing importance. The sixth congress met in Paris, 2–6 July 1888, and the great memorial church of the Sacred Heart on Montmartre was the centre of the proceedings. Antwerp entertained the next congress, 15–21 August 1890; an immense altar of repose

Altar of repose

The altar of repose is an altar in Roman Catholic, Anglo-Catholic, and some Lutheran churches used as the place where the Communion hosts, consecrated in the Mass of the Lord's Supper, are reserved for Holy Communion on the following day, which is Good Friday, the day on which the death of Christ...

was erected in the Place de Meir, and an estimated 150,000 persons were gathered about it when Cardinal Goossens, Archbishop of Mechlin, gave the solemn Benediction

Benediction

A benediction is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service.-Judaism:...

. 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.

Twentieth century

In 1907, the congress was held in Metz

Metz

Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...

, Lorraine

Moselle

Moselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

, and the German Government suspended the law of 1870 (which forbade procession

Procession

A procession is an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner.-Procession elements:...

s), in order that the usual solemn procession of the Blessed Sacrament might be held. Each year the congress had become more and more definitely international, and at the invitation of Archbishop Bourne of Westminster it was decided to hold the nineteenth congress in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, the first among English-speaking

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

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; Archbishop Duquesnay of Cambrai; Cardinal Mermillod, Bishop of Lausanne and Geneva; Bishop Doutreloux of Liège, and Bishop Thomas Heylen of Namur, Belgium. 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.

The 23rd International Eucharistic Congress was held in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

in 1912.

28th International Eucharistic Congress, Chicago

In 1926 the 28th International Eucharistic Congress was held in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

from June 20–24. Cardinal Bonzano was the papal legate and the host was George Cardinal Mundelein, Archbishop of Chicago. Mass for a crowd estimated at 500,000 was held at the recently completed Soldier Field Stadium. Closing mass at St. Mary's of the Lake Seminary had nearly a million worshipers.

31st International Eucharistic Congress, Dublin

In 1932 the 31st International Eucharistic Congress was held in Dublin from June 22 to June 26, that year being the 1500th anniversary of Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints....

's arrival. Ireland was then home to 3,171,697 Catholics, and the chosen theme was "The Propagation of the Sainted Eucharist by Irish Missionaries."

The 32nd International Eucharistic Congress was held in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

in 1934; the 34th in Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

in 1938; the 35th in Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

in 1952; the 37th in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

in 1960; the 38th in Bombay in 1964; and the 39th in Bogota

Bogotá

Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...

in 1968;

41st International Eucharistic Congress, Philadelphia

In 1976 the 41st International Eucharistic Congress was held in Philadelphia in August, that year being the 200th anniversary of independence for the United States. The theme was Jesus, the bread of life. John Cardinal Krol was Philadelphia's Archbishop. The Mass held at Municipal (J.F. Kennedy) Stadium was attended by U.S. president Gerald R. Ford.

47th International Eucharistic Congress, Rome

The 47th International Eucharistic Congress was held in Rome from 18–25 June 2000. It was the third to be celebrated in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, and the first of its kind to be celebrated in a Jubilee Year

Jubilee (Christian)

The concept of the Jubilee is a special year of remission of sins and universal pardon. In the Biblical Book of Leviticus, a Jubilee year is mentioned to occur every fifty years, in which slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven and the mercies of God would be particularly...

48th International Eucharistic Congress, Guadalajara

The 48th International Eucharistic Congress was held in Guadalajara, Jalisco

Guadalajara, Jalisco

Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...

, Mexico from 10 to 17 October 2004. Pope John Paul II, being too ill to attend, named Cardinal Josef Tomko as Papal Legate

Papal legate

A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....

. The Congress ended with a celebration of the Mass in the Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, with a live link up between that Mass, and a simultaneous Mass celebrated in St Peter's Basilica in Rome

Rome

in the presence of Pope John Paul II. These simultaneous Masses marked the beginning of the Year of the Eucharist

Year of the Eucharist

The Year of the Eucharist is the name of the liturgical year from October 2004 to October 2005, as celebrated by Catholics worldwide. On June 10, 2004, Pope John Paul II announced the dedication of an entire year to the Blessed Sacrament and invited the entire Church to reflect upon the...

which ran from the International Eucharistic Congress to the Synod of Bishops in October 2005. At the end of the Mass, the Pope announced the location of the next Congress.

49th International Eucharistic Congress, Quebec City

In May 2007, a Youth Summit was held at the University of Laval in preparation for the 49th International Eucharistic Congress. This took place in Quebec City

Quebec City

Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

, 15–22 June 2008, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the city's founding. The theme of the Congress was
"The Eucharist, Gift of God for the Life of the World". The closing celebration took place on the Plains of Abraham

Plains of Abraham

The Plains of Abraham is a historic area within The Battlefields Park in Quebec City, Quebec, that was originally grazing land, but became famous as the site of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, which took place on 13 September 1759. Though written into the history books, housing and minor...

, attended by tens of thousands of pilgrims. Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

's message was broadcast live, in both French and English, from the Apostolic Palace

Apostolic Palace

The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, which is located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Sacred Palace, the Papal Palace and the Palace of the Vatican...

in the Vatican

Vatican City

Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...

, via giant screens set up on the meadow. The Pope announced the next Congress was to take place in Dublin, in 2012:

50th International Eucharistic Congress, Dublin 2012

The 50th International Eucharistic Congress will take place in Dublin (Ireland) from 10 June to 17th 2012. It coincides with the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Second Vatican Council. The theme of the Congress, drawn from Lumen gentium, 7 is: The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with one another. The Congress is more than just an event in 2012. In an interview with Vatican Radio, Fr. Kevin Doran, Secretary General of the Congress explains that people are being invited to take place in a journey of pastoral preparation in advance of the Congress. Most of the Congress activities in 2012 will take place at the RDS Royal Dublin Society, venue for Dublin's famous International Horse Show. The Statio Orbis (Closing Ceremony) will take place at Ireland's premier sports stadium, Croke Park. Prospects of a visit to Ireland by the pope to coincide with the congress receded in July 2011 following public expressions of anger directed by the Irish Government at the Vatican

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

following the child sexual abuse scandal in Cloyne diocese

Sexual abuse scandal in Cloyne diocese

The sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne is officially elaborated as the "Commission of Investigation, Dublin Archdiocese, Catholic Diocese of Cloyne". It has examined how allegations of sexual abuse of children in the diocese were dealt with by the church and state. The...

. The papal nuncio was recalled from Dublin to Rome following an attack on the Vatican by the taoiseach

Taoiseach

The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

in Dáil Éireann

Dáil Éireann

Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...

Sixth National Eucharistic Conference, Madras

In 1937, the sixth National Eucharistic Conference was held in Madras

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

.
Silver Souvenir medals with scalloped edges, with the inscription ADOREMUS IN AETERNUM SANCTISSIMUM SACRAMENTUM were made available at the time. This inscription was around the scalloped edges with the picture of the Holy Eucharist and the Vatican in the background. At the back of the medal was inscribed SOUVENIR OF THE SIXTH NATIONAL EUCHARIST CONGRESS MADRAS, 1937.

External links

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