National Eucharistic Congress

The organization that coordinates efforts related to the National Eucharistic Revival announced Sept. 3 the launch of the Society of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus to boost revival efforts.

When I am asked about my experience of the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, I think of the comments I received from many people who attended and told me they did not want it to end. Both young and old, laity and religious, and priests and bishops commented that the days of this gathering of the church were so blessed and such an experience of joy-filled unity that they felt like it was a foretaste of heaven.

Behind the scenes of the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, longtime friends Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, and Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, sat down in a hotel conference room to talk.

Jennifer Torres was one of the last of the pilgrims to enter St. John the Evangelist Church July 16 in Indianapolis at the end of her 60-day journey on the Marian Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage.
After an initial interview with Torres in May, Amber Walling caught up with Torres at the NEC to continue the conversation. Here are excerpts from their visit.

Son pocos los católicos en el país, e incluso en el mundo, que no hayan oído hablar del Padre Mike Schmitz. El capellán de la pastoral universitaria de la Diócesis de Duluth, Minnesota, y orador principal en la sesión de avivamiento del Congreso Eucarístico Nacional del 18 de julio en Indianápolis, es conocido internacionalmente por sus podcasts “Bible in a Year” y “Catechism in a Year”, de la editorial católica Ascension, que han encabezado las listas de podcasts en los últimos años.

There are few Catholics in the country, and even the world, who don’t know the name of Father Mike Schmitz. The college campus ministry chaplain from the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, and the keynote for the National Eucharistic Congress’ July 18 revival session in Indianapolis, is internationally renowned for his “Bible in a Year” and “Catechism in a Year” podcasts, provided through Catholic publisher Ascension, that have topped the podcasting charts in recent years.

I saw it. The church in the United States has witnessed the defining moment of a generation. There’s no other way to describe it. I had high hopes for the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, but, to put it simply, Our Lord brought me to my knees in Indianapolis.

The Diocese of St. Cloud has commissioned 17 delegates to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17-21.