Catholics from across country meet in Indiana for National Eucharistic Congress

Big smiles from a group from the Diocese of Sacramento, California, as they wait in the long line to complete their registration for the congress in the Indiana Convention Center on July 15, 2024. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/EWTN

Indianapolis, Ind., Jul 18, 2024 / 16:29 pm (CNA).

Tens of thousands of Catholics from across the U.S. have come together to praise the Lord in Eucharistic adoration this week in an NFL stadium at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, who led U.S. bishops’ initiative of Eucharistic Revival, called the congress “a moment of unity” for the Church in the United States.

As the bishop held up the Blessed Sacrament in a massive 4-foot monstrance in center field of Lucas Oil Stadium, the crowd prayed together “Jesus, I trust in you.”

For many, the journey to Indianapolis was a pilgrimage of profound spiritual significance. Parishes, religious orders, families, clergy, and laypeople embarked on their travels by plane, car, and on foot driven by a deep desire to deepen their relationship with the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

Diane Hanley drove nearly 600 miles with three other women from Little Rock, Arkansas, for a “girls’ trip” to the July 17–21 congress.

“It was blessed the whole way,” Hanley told CNA. “We took like three hours to say one rosary in the car because of all the intentions and all the reflections and everything,” she added. “So the journey is part of the joy.”

One-hundred-fifty people traveled from the Diocese of Sacramento, California — among them Josie, who said that she came to the congress to receive Christ and to be able to better evangelize.

“I am an evangelizer in my community, and I feel like I need more learning experience to be able to better evangelize people because Christ is love and I just love him,” she said.

Newlyweds Dominic and Cassidy Mann, 23 and 21, respectively, from Cleveland are celebrating their first wedding anniversary at the congress. They told CNA that they came to the National Eucharistic Congress seeking to “experience Jesus at a whole other level.”

“Our first time being Eucharistic ministers was our wedding. So to be able to have that and to spend our one-year at the congress is just very beautiful and impactful,” Dominic said.

“The Eucharist has meant a lot in our marriage,” Cassidy added. As young Catholics, growing in faith together throughout dating, engagement, and marriage has been “transformative in our relationship,” she said.

The Manns were not the only couple to mark a relationship milestone at the congress. 

Charlie Chengary, 21, and Katherine Blawas, 22, a young couple from Chicago and Ohio respectively, got engaged in Indianapolis on the eve of the congress. The two began dating a little over a year ago after meeting on Catholic Match. 

“I have never been in a place with so many Catholics. This is like a little foretaste of heaven,” Blawas said.

Jaella Mac Au, 20, traveled 2,200 miles across 12 states over two months as a pilgrim in one of four Eucharistic pilgrimage groups that traversed the United States to arrive at the congress. 

Her pilgrimage group began their journey by walking over San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge in a Eucharistic procession. 

She told CNA that tears came to her eyes when she finally arrived in Indianapolis this week.

“It was wonderful and beautiful,” Mac Au said. “We were the first route to get here … and I was like, ‘I don’t believe we’re actually here.’”

She added that her experience as a pilgrim helped her understand that Jesus “doesn’t just sit in a church” but desires to be brought out into the world for all to see.

“The Lord is present in his body, blood, soul, and divinity,” she said. “He desires to go out and proclaim the good news that he sees us and that he loves us.”

Sister Faustina and Sister Anastasia Marie, Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles, came with a delegation of 22 sisters to the congress.

“The Eucharist is the center of our spirituality. All that we do comes from a relationship with our Lord, and we spend much of our day in prayer, and then we go out to serve in the apostolate,” Sister Faustina said. 

“We encounter Our Lord in the Eucharist and also go out to meet him with his people. And all of that comes from encountering him in the Eucharist.”

Sister Anastasia Marie added that she is praying for people to “have a deeper encounter with God’s mercy through the Eucharist” during the congress. 

Large crowds created long lines on the first day of the National Eucharistic Congress. Brian and Angela Barcelos from Raynham, Massachusetts, waited more than one-and-a-half hours to pick up their name badges for the congress but did not seem too upset about it. “We are here for the Eucharist!” Brian said. 

More than 54,000 people had bought tickets for the congress as of July 17, according to the organizers. 

All 50 states and 17 countries are represented among the congress participants, which include more than 1,000 priests and 200 bishops and cardinals.

“I feel like I’ve already gotten so much out of this already just by being in line,” Blawas said.

Bishop John Doerfler of Marquette, Michigan, was joined by 50 people from his diocese who made the trip from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to the congress.

The bishop hosted a diocesan Eucharistic congress as part of the National Eucharistic Revival leading up to the national congress. He said that he is looking forward to meeting Catholics from across the country over the next five days.

“It’s a privileged opportunity for us to deepen the bonds of our unity of faith in the Lord Jesus and show him our great gratitude for the precious gift he gives to us of himself in the holy Eucharist,” Doerfler said.

The National Association of African Catholics in the United States registered more than 90 people for the congress.

The group performed praise and worship songs from East and West Africa, bringing their cultural heritage from Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, and Ivory Coast to the Exhibition Hall stage at the congress.

“Celebrating the Eucharist is at the center of everything we do,” said Sally Stovall, the president of the association. “That’s what the African community is trying to portray in terms of bringing our cultural heritage for everybody to see how we celebrate in our countries.”

Tim Glemkowski, father of four and CEO of the National Eucharistic Congress, told CNA that he hopes each and every attendee at the Congress will encounter Jesus personally and be sent on mission to share Christ’s love with the world.

“About two and a half years of planning have gone into this moment, and it’s incredible to see it come to fruition even greater than we expected in so many ways,” Glemkowski said. 

“God is with his Church right now. This all happened — the incredible pilgrimage with 250,000 people joining and 50,000 people here — it is all possible because God is doing something in his Church right now. And so we need to be attentive to that and open to what he’s trying to do today.”