Une Minute avec Marie
Faire connaître et aimer Marie
It was a historic event for the United States: more than 50,000 people, arriving from all over the country in four gigantic Eucharistic processions, packed the stadium of the city of Indianapolis in Indiana (USA) to take part in the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, after having crossed the United States since May 24, thus forming the longest Eucharistic pilgrimage in history.
Prior to the opening of the Congress, the city of Indianapolis witnessed the arrival of the Marian procession of Canadian pilgrims from the St. Lawrence River, carrying the statue of Our Lady of the Cape as a sign of unity between the faithful of Canada and the United States.
The "Eucharistic Renewal" program was conceived following the disastrous results of a survey showing a decline in Catholic belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. In it, 69% of Catholics in the country considered the bread and wine consecrated at Mass to be mere symbols of Christ's presence, while only 31% saw His real body and blood. The idea of a "Eucharistic Awakening" was launched by Mgr Robert Barron, one of America's best-known preachers and current Bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester (Minnesota), who was then Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles.
"When I was first told about the Eucharistic Renewal in 2022, I never imagined it would mean much to me," Krebs, a young graduate of a Nebraska university and participant in one of the Eucharistic Routes, readily confided to the American edition of Aleteia. "I realized through this Eucharistic pilgrimage that renewal must be taken very personally by every Catholic across the United States for this fire to spread!” Matthew Heidenreich, a mathematics student at the University of Alabama and a pilgrim on the northern leg of the route, assures us, "No matter how diverse we are, we are all part of the body of Christ." The Indianapolis Eucharistic Congress should enable each participant to return home with "a renewed passion for Christ and filled with graces to share", confided Joel Stepanek, one of the organizers. He concluded: "From now on, we will be Eucharistic missionaries."
On June 29, the Holy Father wrote a message to his special envoy, asking him to convey his benevolence to the Congress participants, and to encourage them to devote even greater worship to the Eucharist, so that they "may experience happier times and spiritual prosperity".
The relics of the patron saints of the National Eucharistic Revival were displayed for veneration in the Indianapolis Convention Center. Participants were invited to venerate them to ask for their intercession in favor of the Eucharistic Revival. One of the relics was the veil of the Virgin Mary!