It’s an experience worth a lifetime.
For the thousands of people who participated in the recently-concluded 51st International Eucharistic Congress held January 24 to 31 in Cebu, the statement couldn’t be more true.
Eighteen FSPs attended the congress, 11 of whom came from Pasay that include members of the Provincial Government and sector heads. Other FSP participants came from the communities of Lipa, Baguio, Tacloban, Naga, Cagayan de Oro and Davao.
The Sisters of Cebu community also put up a book display which was flocked by Congress participants looking for reading materials and other religious souvenirs.
Around 15,000 delegates from 70 countries across the globe participated in the Congress. Outside of Philippines, Taiwan had the most number of delegates at 600, headed by their vice-president.
But more than a million faithful turned up and joined the Eucharistic procession, the highlight of the Congress, on Jan. 29 from Cebu Capitol Building to Plaza Independencia.
The Congress officially opened on January 24 with a Eucharistic Mass led by His Eminence Charles Maung Cardinal Bo, the Archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar and Pope Francis’ personal representative to the Congress, at the Plaza Independencia.
The Cardinal, who is a Salesian won the Filipino people’s admiration by his simplicity and down-to-earth demeanor. His homily during the opening and closing Mass of the Congress was punctuated by Cebuano and Tagalog phrases, much to the delight of his Filipino audience.
The closing Mass was highlighted by a personal video-message from Pope Francis who also announced that the next Eucharistic Congress will be held in 2020 in Budapest, Hungary.
Most applauded
Two of the most applauded speakers during the Congress were Most Rev. Robert Barron, DD and His Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, DD who gave catechesis on the third and fifth day, respectively.
Bishop Barron, who spoke on the topic “The Eucharist: Celebration of the Paschal Mystery” highlighted the vibrant faith of Filipinos, noting that their fidelity in living the Catholic faith wherever they are keeps the Church alive amid the challenges it faces.
In his catechesis “The Eucharist and Dialogue of Culture” on Day 5, Cardinal Tagle drew attention on the Eucharist as a “culture of convocation” as against the “culture of alienating individualism” which seems to afflict our society today. He urged Congress participants to create a culture of communion that would “make a Eucharistic community, a real [and] credible presence of Christ” in the world.
Aside from the daily morning catechesis and testimonies given by different speakers, concurrent sessions were also held in the afternoon.
One of the speakers in the concurrent sessions was Fr. Luciano Ariel Felloni, an Argentinean priest ministering at Our Lady of Lourdes, an urban parish in Caloocan.
Fr. Felloni spoke about the “Washing of the Feet of the poor: The Eucharist and the Priesthood”, stressing that “it is the Eucharist that makes the Church”.
“The washing of the feet remind us that Jesus at every Mass is kneeling before each and everyone of us to assure us that he knows all our misery and dirt but he is here to love us, not to send us away,” he said.
Other activities include parish encounter between participants and parishioners on Jan. 27, Visita Iglesia to seven city parishes on Jan. 28, a youth day and overnight vigil on Jan. 28-29, and sinulog presentation on Jan. 30.
His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal presided the Holy Eucharist on January 30, attended by 5,000 children who received their first Holy Communion.
Cardinal Vidal was also a first communicant during the International Eucharistic Congress held in Manila in 1937.
