Pope Francis will be the third Peter heir to the International Eucharist Congress in this era. Before him, Paul VI attended conferences in India and Colombia. John Paul II attended the most. The first International Eucharist Congress was held in Lille, France, this time in Budapest, Hungary.
(Vatican News Network) The 52nd International Eucharist Congress was held in Budapest, Hungary, with the theme “All my fountains are in You”. This is the second time that the church has been held in Hungary. The first time was in 1938. At that time, in fear of the outbreak of the Second World War, Hitler prohibited German Catholics from attending. This brought the conference to the meeting. pressure. Pope Pius XI sent Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli and later Pius XII as his special envoy to the conference. That session also had a strong response to today, because the theme song of this session of the Eucharist Conference is an updated version of the 1938 session.
The first International Eucharist Congress began in Lille, France in 1881, with the theme “The Eucharist changes the world“. The movement to salute the Eucharist had previously emerged in France, and a female layman named Émilie-Marie Tamisier (Émilie-Marie Tamisier) made a great contribution to this. The second Eucharist Congress was also held in France, and Ms. Tamisier once again provided her strength. This female layman used to organize pilgrimage groups to make pilgrimages to pilgrimage sites where the miracle of the Eucharist existed. It was in accordance with this trace that Arvinon, the “pope’s city” was selected, where there was an important Eucharist miracle in 1443.
Subsequently, the Eucharist Congress was held in Liege, Belgium and Fribourg, Switzerland, and in Paris, France in 1888, the church’s event also became increasingly international. In 1893, under the impetus of Pope Leo XIII, the Eucharist Congress was held in Jerusalem. The Pope’s wish is to pray to God, “to unite the people who believe in Christ in those areas with us through charitable connections, even though they are separated from us”.
In 1899, the last Eucharist convention of the 19th century was held in Lourdes, France, and the convention was entrusted to Rongfu Virgin Mary. Many reports from the participants also focused on the image of Pasquale Baylon, who was previously declared by Pope Leo XIII as the guardian of the International Eucharist Congress.
In 1905, the International Eucharist Congress was held in Rome for the first time, presided over by Pope Pius X himself. The pope invited the faithful to come to Rome to participate in this event and promised to attend some events in person. During that conference, Pius X’s prayer before the Eucharist was very moving. He exhorted the faithful to receive the Eucharist’s advice for eternity.
After London, the Eucharist Congress crossed the ocean and came to Montreal, Canada to be held in 1910. The First World War broke out and was interrupted after the Congress held in 1914. It was not restored in Rome until 1922, when the Pope was Pius XI. From then until the Second World War, the Eucharist Congress was held every two years, always in different cities: Amsterdam, Chicago, Sydney, and even came to Carthage in Africa in 1930.
In 1938, the Eucharist Congress was held in Budapest, which was the last time before the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1952, the conference was resumed in Barcelona, Spain, and then no longer every two years, but every four years. In the Munich Congress in 1960, the concept of the ancient Roman church, namely the assembly of cities (Statio Urbis), began to be used. The pope and the people were closely connected by prayer at a specific opportunity. In the international context, this concept is again interpreted as the aggregation of the world (Statio Orbis). Local churches are in communion with the Pope, or with his special envoy, around the Eucharist mystery, sharing “a promise and prayer.” time”.
The Second Vatican Council made the Eucharist Congress more and more open to the hopes and needs of mankind. John XXIII chose Mumbai as the city for the 38th Eucharist Convention, with the theme of “The Eucharist and the New Man”. Pope Paul VI went to India to attend the meeting in person. The humanity and dignity of the Indian people, as well as their poverty, deeply moved the Pope. He docked a boat full of wheat there, and then presented his car to Mother Teresa in Calcutta before leaving.
Four years later, in 1968, Pope Paul VI personally attended the International Eucharist Congress held in Colombia. The wind of change was blowing, and the Pope’s visit to Bogota marked the church’s commitment to promoting spiritual and material development. The theme of this conference was “The Bond of Eucharist and Love”, and the subsequent actions marked by charity showed genuine concern for the humble.
Social issues and the universal value of the family, as well as the need for peace, freedom, and even new evangelization are the core issues discussed in the Eucharist conferences held in Korea, Spain or Poland in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. Since the 2000 Jubilee, the 8th International Eucharist Congress has been held in different cities. John Paul II personally presided over the “Millennium” Congress held in Rome. The theme of that time was “Jesus Christ, The only savior of the world, the food for new life”. Prior to this, the pope visited the Eucharist conferences in Nairobi, Kenya in 1985, Seoul, South Korea in 1989, Seville, Spain in 1993, and Wroclaw, Poland in 1997.
In 2008, the International Eucharist Conference was held in Quebec, Canada. The theme was “The Eucharist: the grace of God to give life to the world“. Pope Benedict XVI broadcasted live on TV at the Pontifical Building in the Vatican and spoke at the closing mass. road. He said, “The Eucharist is our most beautiful treasure, an outstanding sacrament, which brings us more into eternal life, contains all the mysteries of our salvation, and is the source and peak of the church’s actions and life.”
In 2012, the 50th International Eucharist Congress was held in Dublin, Ireland, with the theme “The Eucharist, Communion with Christ and us”. Benedict XVI released a video message at the end of the conference, encouraging all believers to pray to God, “so that they may become a true witness of His divine love and a witness of His truth. His truth is love, and Christ’s love is truth”.
The 51st International Eucharist Congress was held in Cebu, Philippines, with the theme “Christ is among you, as your glorious hope”. The invitation of Pope Francis in the video message is to go out and accept the missionary mission of the church to heal the world‘s ills with the love of God.
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