INDIANAPOLIS — “He is here.”
As these words flashed across the jumbotron of a darkened Lucas Oil Stadium July 17, tens of thousands of Catholics leapt to their feet and cheered. A hush fell over the stadium as a spotlight followed Crookston, Minn. Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens bearing the Eucharist in a monstrance.
Over the next four days, Catholics would often gaze upon the Eucharist in adoration, asking themselves a question posed the very first night: “What is revival?”
The 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis garnered nearly 60,000 Catholics July 17-21.
The first U.S. Eucharistic Congress was held in 1895 and the most recent congress was in 1941, just before the nation joined World War II.
Nearly 200 diocesan pilgrims attended this year’s congress, including a contingent of young adult and youth pilgrims from the diocesan Office of Youth, Campus and Young Adult Ministries.
“I heard about it on social media, and immediately my staff and I decided that we were going to go,” said Father Keith M. O’Hare, pastor of St. Louis Church in Alexandria, who had brought a group of 18 parishioners.
Each day of the congress featured a different Eucharistic theme. The pilgrims received opportunities for daily Mass, confession, adoration, morning “Impact” sessions and afternoon breakout talks. During breaks between programs, pilgrims crowded into the large exhibit hall at the Indiana Convention Center to splurge on merch from dozens of small Catholic businesses. In the evenings, they gathered at the stadium for adoration and to listen keynote speakers deliver talks related to the day’s Eucharistic theme.
“They’re having profound prayer experiences,” Father O’Hare said of his parishioners. “And the talks — of course the content is excellent, but it’s the passion with that content. We can’t really simulate that by just listening to it on a podcast.”
Keynote speaker Father Mike Schmitz, the charismatic priest behind the “Bible in a Year” podcast, challenged the pilgrims on the congress’ second day to root out any indifference toward the Real Presence in the Eucharist.
“If this is going to be a revival, it’s going to be a real revival. Here’s the reality: In the history of Christianity, you can never have a revival without repentance,” he said.
Other speakers included Winona-Rochester, Minn., Bishop Robert E. Barron; Sister of the Holy Family of Nazareth Josephine Garrett; actor Jonathan Roumie from “The Chosen”; and Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart. A common theme emerged: The road to national Eucharistic revival comes from personal revival and repentance.
“It feels like your whole heart is opening up,” said Benedictine Sister of Virginia Kathleen Persson.
Every diocesan pilgrim experienced a different call to attend the congress. For Lynda Rozell, a parishioner of St. Leo the Great Church in Fairfax, it came last year. “I did a Eucharistic procession in Portland, Maine, while I was volunteering at Lake Sebago State Park as a campground host,” she said. “So I looked up stuff about the revival and thought that this is something we really need as a church. How can I contribute to it in some way?”
Rozell published a book this year on the Eucharist: “Return to Me: Visits to the Tabernacle.” She said that she feels called to spread Eucharistic love not only through her writing but also through ordinary interactions with others. “If God puts people in my path that I feel like he wants me to talk to, I’ll talk to them,” she said.
More than a thousand religious sisters and brothers attended the congress, including sisters from diocesan convents such as Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist Marie Benedict Elliott and Daughter of Saint Paul Gioan Linh. Their joyful witness inspired many, including 16-year-old Faustina Libera, a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist Church in Warrenton. Libera said that interacting with religious sisters at the congress has helped her in her vocational discernment. “I’ve asked Jesus to help me and talk to certain orders and also to help with my vocation,” she said.
The congress was also a spiritual reset for ministry leaders in the diocese. Rossnat Rodriguez, pro-life and youth ministry leader at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Falls Church, has worked in ministry for nearly 20 years. “There come times when you need to sit back and nourish yourself,” she said. “This is a time for us to recollect and nourish our souls.”
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge met with diocesan pilgrims after morning Masses July 19-20. He encouraged the pilgrims to allow the congress to transform their hearts.
“Everyone keeps talking about the thanks for this great experience that the church has given them. Well, the way we show our thanks is to take everything that has been given to us and sharing it with others,” he said. “So that means our thanks for this experience is going back and joyfully speaking about our faith, living it, and courageously proclaiming it, even when it’s not easy. But we’re strengthened to do that now.”
Pilgrims demonstrated their zeal with a Eucharistic procession through the streets of Indianapolis July 20. Matthew Nicholson, a parishioner of Holy Trinity Church in Gainesville, recalled how the procession led him into opportunities to evangelize people on the street curious about the gathering.
Deacon Tom Grodek of Holy Spirit Church in Annandale said that he drew new inspiration for his ministry. “I actually had a spiritual goal, and my spiritual goal was to get closer to Jesus in three ways: to believe more, love more and enjoy more Jesus Christ in the Eucharist,” he said. “I’m surely going to be including this in preaching and homilies, daily homilies, and the Sunday homily coming up next week.”
Pilgrims spilled into the upper tiers of the stadium for the closing Mass July 21, celebrated by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization. More than 1,600 priests and 1,200 religious sisters and brothers gathered among the crowd of 60,000.
Following Mass, Bishop Cozzens closed the congress with a question. “This is the 10th Eucharistic Congress — should we do another?”
The thunderous applause and deafening cheers were answer enough.
