60,000 attend National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis

By ANDREW HANSEN
     Editor

“A spiritual high.” “Amazing.” “Hopeful.” “Absolutely wild.” Those were just some of the ways pilgrims from the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois described their experience at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17-21.

The five-day Congress was the major event of the years long Eucharistic Revival pushed by the United States’ bishops. Pilgrims heard powerful talks from national Catholic leaders, Catholic media influencers, and clergy. Some of the speakers included actor Jonathan Roumie (portrays Jesus in The Chosen), Bishop Robert Barron, and Father Mike Schmitz. The pilgrims worshipped our Lord in quiet adoration at Lucas Oil Stadium and other nearby churches. They participated in a massive eucharistic procession in downtown Indianapolis that saw the streets flooded with those devoted to our Lord. They also participated in Mass at the stadium each day, receiving the source and summit of our faith and the reason for this entire event, the holy Eucharist. Dozens of pilgrims, several priests and religious, and Bishop Thomas John Paprocki from our diocese made the trip.

“The speakers are so good, the stories are so compelling, and their witness is so powerful,” said Vicki Compton, a parishioner at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield. “There is something so hopeful about being with 60,000 other pilgrims cheering for the Lord, praising the Lord, and moving in the same direction. It’s all hopeful.”

Gracie Price, a sixth-grader at Christ the King School in Springfield, made the trip with her family, saying she cried during adoration. “I loved the music, the reverence, and being at a huge stadium with Jesus was awesome,” Price said. “It was really powerful. It was God saying, ‘I am here.’”

For Father Zach Samples, parochial vicar at St. Agnes Church in Springfield, he said it was an “amazing experience” to have silence at adoration, despite tens of thousands of people inside an NFL football stadium.

Father Troy Niemerg, who was ordained in May and is staying at Christ the King Parish this summer before returning to Rome for further studies this fall, said that adoration was key in his discernment toward the priesthood. “Now, eight years later, I am consecrating the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ for the people of God. I can’t get enough of it,” Father Niemerg said.

Charity Mizera of Raymond made the trip with her husband, Chris. She called her experience at the Congress “emotional.” “It’s just a revived and renewed feeling,” Mizera said. “To actually bring people back to our faith. That’s what I want.”

Katy and Andy Niemerg of St. Isidore the Farmer Parish in Dieterich, spent the week prior attending the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage procession in Effingham County. Katy called the Congress a “historic moment for the Church.” Commenting on seeing so many people she knew at the Congress, she said, “Jesus brought us all here. It’s too exciting to miss.”

“The holy Eucharist is the source and summit of everything,” said Father Alfred Tumwesigye, pastor of St. Elizabeth Parish in Granite City. “The Congress is a sign of unity and how we are together under the one Lord, and that is Jesus Christ.”

The National Eucharistic Congress concluded July 21 with a Mass with where the faithful prayed for “a new Pentecost” in the U.S. Church. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presided over the closing Mass as Pope Francis’ special envoy for the event. He shared that the pope told him that he desires the Congress to lead to “conversion to the Eucharist.” “The presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a gift and the fulfillment of His mission,” said the cardinal pro-prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization.

At the end of the Sunday Mass, Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota and who spearheaded the Eucharistic Revival, announced to roaring applause that the U.S. bishops are planning to hold another National Eucharistic Congress in 2033, the Year of Redemption marking 2,000 years since Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. He also announced another eucharistic pilgrimage from Indianapolis to Los Angeles will take place in 2025.