“It
is our hope that the 2012 Congress will assist renewal in the Catholic
Church in Ireland by reflecting on the centrality of the Eucharist at
the heart of our increasingly diverse community, and give renewed
impetus to the living of faith”, said Cardinal Sean Brady Primate of All
Ireland, Monday as together with the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid
Martin, he launched two major initiatives as part of the preparations
for the 50th International Congress which takes place in Dublin in
2012, a major volunteer drive and the Congress Bell.
The theme of
next year's Congress is "The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and one
another".
The main events will take place in the RDS, Dublin, beginning
with the opening ceremony on 10 June 2012.
Over the week 10 - 17 June a
programme of liturgical and cultural events, workshops and daily
celebration of the Eucharist will culminate in an open air Mass and
closing ceremony in Croke Park.
Next week, on Saint Patrick's
Day, a pilgrimage of the Congress Bell will begin from St Mary's Pro
Cathedral, Dublin, going to St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh and it will
visit all 26 dioceses of Ireland.
The bell is a symbolic invite to
Irish Catholics, and for Christians of other traditions, to join in the
call to faith, prayer, reconciliation and mission that is at the heart
of the Church's preparation for the Congress over the next year and a
half.
“The Catholic Church in Ireland is undergoing a process of
renewal”, said Archbishop Martin Monday.
“In Ireland, as in many
Western societies, that renewal must spring from a new evangelization, a
vibrant re-presentation of the essentials of the Christian message to
men and women who, though baptized and who were perhaps at one time
active participants in the life of the Church, have in various ways
drifted away from full sharing in that life”.
The Secretary
General for the Eucharistic Congress Fr Kevin Doran said at Mondday's
launch "Core to the mission of the Congress is the view that it is a
pilgrim journey involving spiritual and pastoral preparation. Each
diocese in Ireland has its own organising committee to promote a
deepening of understanding for Catholics of the central place of the
Eucharist in the life and mission of the Church, a richer celebration of
the Eucharistic liturgy and an awareness of the social responsibility
that comes with the communion and self-gift of Jesus which we
celebrate."
Lydia O’Kane spoke to Fr Kevin Doran.
He said, “We are
looking at the Congress as an event and a journey”.
Fr Doran also added,
“from the point of view of the wider world, I suppose it’s a good
opportunity for us perhaps with Catholics in countries such as, Britain,
the United States, Australia, South Africa."