The 50th International Eucharistic Congress will be opened in Dublin this afternoon by Pope Benedict's representative, Cardinal Marc Ouellet.The ceremony at the RDS Arena will be attended by at least 20,000 pilgrims, over a quarter of them from overseas.
Eucharistic Congresses are held every four years and it is eight decades since the Archdiocese of Dublin last hosted one, attracting an estimated one million people to its final mass.
The organisers of this year's eight-day event say that up to 20,000 people had registered to attend proceedings at the RDS by yesterday.
Approximately 80,000 people have bought tickets for the final mass at Croke Park next Sunday.
The congress has as its theme "Commmunion with Christ and With One Another".
It will feature a wide selection of masses and other liturgies, along with testimonies from prominent lay and ordained Catholics and other Christians, including the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Michael Jackson.
Today's opening ceremony, featuring a cultural celebration featuring The Three Tenors and the Palestrina Choir, will be broadcast live on RTÉ Two, RTÉ News Now and RTÉ.ie from 1.45pm.
Cardinal Oullet will be the main concelebrant at this mass.
The latest news from the congress will be available throughout the week on RTÉ.ie’s dedicated International Eucharistic Congress 2012 page.