Before 1993, Craig Turner staunchly opposed the Catholic Church’s teaching on the Eucharist. Some 32 years and one conversion later, he now boasts a Virginia license plate with the word “EUCHRST.”
Turner was one of many parishioners of Holy Spirit Church in Annandale who signed up to attend the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis last July. Turner was excited to go, but then felt called to do a charitable deed.
“I had purchased a ticket to go (on a) plane to the congress but knew of a friend who probably needed to go more because of difficulties in his life,” he said. “I offered my ticket to him, and he took my place.”
But Deacon Tom Grodek of Holy Spirit would go on to enlist Turner’s help following the congress. As soon as Deacon Grodek returned to Northern Virginia, he set to work creating a way to share the fruits of the congress with Holy Spirit parishioners who weren’t able to attend.
With the help of six other pilgrims, Deacon Grodek created a monthly parish lecture series: “His Presence Among Us.” Speakers delivered personal takeaways based on themes from the congress’ keynote speakers. Deacon Grodek invited Turner, who watched the congress via livestream, to deliver one of the talks.
Turner delved into the mystery of the Eucharist from fresh angles. “This includes what science shows us about the universe — the universe is a lot more strange than we ever thought — what the saints have said and believed, miracles of the Eucharist, and what the early Greeks said regarding every object having both matter and an essence to it,” he said.
Another talk, titled “Go!” “reflected the message of Cardinal Luis Tagle and others to go forth not only from the congress, but more importantly from each Mass to bring the fruits of the Eucharist out to others,” Deacon Grodek said.
“The series included plenty of personal witness,” he added. “Parishioners who attended the talks were encouraged to go forth and promote the gifts of the NEC within their stations and duties in life.”
Pilgrims from other diocesan parishes likewise felt the call to exemplify the congress’ call in their lives. Teresa Caldaro of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Lake Ridge said that prior to the congress, she began regularly attending Eucharistic adoration. That habit has only increased.
“My Lord Jesus just keeps growing my faith and love in him,” she said. “He’s there for me in prophetic words — so many instances through healing and prayer sessions at St. Elizabeth … sometimes I can’t believe how specific the words are, and that they are for me.”
As a self-proclaimed “50-year-old revert,” Caldaro said the spiritual benefits of Eucharistic adoration are abundant. “I believe in the Real Presence and I know from sitting in adoration that I can feel his love and mercy. He changes me.”
Benedictine Sister of Virginia Kathleen Persson said she attended the congress with fellow Benedictine Sister Mary Clark. “We were overwhelmed; it was one of the best experiences,” she said.
The culminating experience of the congress for Sister Persson was Eucharistic adoration on the third day, July 19. More than 50,000 Catholics dropped to their knees in silent adoration before the Eucharist in a giant monstrance in the middle of Lucas Oil Stadium. “I was moved to tears. I sang my heart out when we sang (‘Tantum Ergo’),” Sister Persson said.
Sister Persson said that since the congress, she has carried a deep hope for the future of the church. “There’s always worry when people say they don’t believe in the Real Presence,” she said, “and then you see 10,000 people together, you say, ‘Well, wait a minute, that can’t be totally true.’ There are people everywhere who have fervor.”
For Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist Grace Marie, who joined a group of parishioners from St. Philip Church in Falls Church at the congress, the “call to conversion” had been on her mind since the group departed Indianapolis. The congress “encouraged us to think about someone who maybe was out of relationship with the church, maybe a former Catholic, or just someone who’s searching. So, that’s been on my mind a lot, just working on that one person, praying for that one person,” she said.
To promote this call among all St. Philip parishioners, Franciscan Sister Marie Benedict Elliott invited a special speaker to address parishioners at the parish’s monthly “Eat, Drink and Be Catholic” event last November.
Kai Weiss, a theology scholar and perpetual pilgrim on the Marian Route of the National Eucharistic Procession, spoke about his experiences on pilgrimage.
Weiss, originally from Regensburg, Germany, moved to the U.S. in 2021. He began studying theology at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington in 2023, with the occasional class at The Catholic University of America across the street, where he met Sister Marie Benedict.
Weiss read about the pilgrimage in an article, “and I thought, ‘That’s pretty much the most amazing thing ever.’ ” He applied and was assigned the Marian Route, traveling from the Mississippi Headwaters in Lake Itasca, Minn., to Indianapolis. “I love walking, going on pilgrimages, hiking, all these things, and I want to grow in my love for Jesus in the Eucharist,” he said. “That kind of combination was ideal.”
For more than 500 hours over the course of nine weeks, Weiss adored Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament as the pilgrimage meandered through the Midwest. While the pilgrims processed through a few big cities — Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Minneapolis — for the most part, “everywhere we went, there were so many small towns where more people showed up than the people who lived in town.”
One highlight was a stop at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in New Franken, Wis., the only approved Marian apparition site in the U.S. “It was just cornfields, cornfields, and suddenly this small chapel shows up, and thousands of people waited there, just completely overwhelming us in its beauty,” Weiss said.
He described arriving at the congress July 17 as surreal. Accompanied by Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, Weiss recalled, “There was this one CFR friar who was just dancing the whole last three miles.”
At Eat, Drink and Be Catholic, Weiss swapped stories of the congress with the parishioners. “The parish is so alive, so dynamic, so on fire for the Eucharist,” he said. “A lot of people went on the Seton Route when it passed through the D.C. area. It was just beautiful to hear all these testimonies from people and hear how they’ve been impacted by the revival.”
While the congress was life-changing, Weiss said it’s only the beginning, both for him and for all Catholic pilgrims. “As I was walking out of adoration, (I felt) the sense of Jesus saying to me, ‘You are still on pilgrimage,’ ” he said. “He always wants to show us his love.”
