It was wet and overcast in Rome this past week, but Irish eyes were
smiling all the same, when Pope Benedict XVI welcomed a group of
national delegates from 70 countries around the world, who were gathered
in Rome for the plenary session of the Pontifical Committee for
International Eucharistic Congresses, the Vatican office which guides
and supports the planning of Eucharistic Congresses, both local and
international.
In the course of his address given in the beautiful Sala Clementina,
Pope Benedict explained that the task of Eucharistic Congresses,
especially at the current time, includes that of making a special
contribution to new evangelisation.
He remarked that it was exactly 50
years since the Eucharistic Congress was held in Munich in which he
participated as a young theologian; a Congress which ''marked a turning
point in understanding these ecclesial events.''
He went on to remind those present that our Congress in 2012 will
also have the ''character of a jubilee'' as it will mark the 50th
anniversary of the inauguration of the Second Vatican Council, which
provided such a powerful impetus for renewal in the life of the
universal Church.
The Pope went on to say that the theme of the 2012
Congress, ''recalls the centrality of the Eucharistic Mystery for the
growth of the life of faith and every authentic process of Church
renewal''.
He explained that the 2012 Congress is intended to be part of
the modernisation programme of the Church in Ireland.
Delegation
The small Irish delegation, led by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, had
the particular privilege of being invited to come forward personally to
meet the Holy Father.
The predominantly lay delegation included Anne
Griffin (General Manager for the Congress), Barbara Gilroy (responsible
for special events), Gerard Gallagher (responsible for pastoral and
liturgical preparation) as well as myself.
Pope Benedict was presented
with a collection of artifacts from the 1932 Congress.
In
this way Dublin and Ireland, while accepting the responsibility for the
next Congress, symbolically entrusted the heritage of 1932 to the Holy
Father.
Martin Barlow, the designer of the Congress logo, accompanied by
his wife Ursula, also had the opportunity to present a copy of the Logo
to Pope Benedict.
Just before the audience with the Pope, Cardinal Peter Turkson,
President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace presided at
the celebration of Mass at the Altar of the Chair of Peter, beneath the
beautiful window depicting the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
He
reminded us that, just as Jesus' gift of self is at the heart of the
meaning of Eucharist, so the Eucharist should inspire us in the gift of
ourselves for others in Christ's name.
Progress report
Participants at the three-day conference included Venezuelans,
Canadians, Taiwanese, Zimbabwians and Zambians, as well as people from
all over Europe and from the Middle-East, who had come to Rome to
participate in this meeting.
It was encouraging to hear so many of them
say that they hoped to lead a group of pilgrims to the Congress in 2012.
Almost one entire day of the meeting was given over to a progress
report by the Irish delegation.
The Congress theological document
'Pastoral and Theological reflections for the 50th International
Eucharistic Congress' was presented by Archbishop Martin, who gave the
delegates some insights into the particular challenges facing the Church
and Irish society in general at this time.
Alongside this the delegates
were introduced to the four-stage programme of pastoral preparation for
the Congress, and invited to join the Irish Church on the journey of
preparation.
Further details of the pastoral programme are available in the e-Congress newsletter www.iec2012.ie/e-Congress.html
Congress hymn
The new Congress hymn, composed by contemporary Irish composer
Bernard Sexton had its first public airing at the Rome meeting and was
very well received, with many delegates suggesting that it could become a
classic.
The hymn, together with the Congress prayer (in seven
languages) and a new promotional DVD were also presented.
These can all
be found on the multimedia page of the Congress web site.
Theme
All of the pastoral resources prepared to date are intended to give
expression to the Congress theme 'The Eucharist: Communion with Christ
and with one another.' Communion is a relationship of mutual love and
self-giving, rooted in relationship with Jesus Christ who gave himself
for us.
Speaking about his hopes for the Congress, Archbishop Diarmuid
Martin said: ''It is an important event for the Church in Ireland; an
important event for the Church around the world. If you look at the Acts
of the Apostles when they describe the early Christian community, they
always begin 'they gathered', and out of that sense of gathering there
came a particular lifestyle which is a lifestyle of communion, of
sharing.
We would like to have a Eucharistic Congress which is one very much
of our times, but also which will make us critically examine some of the
things about our times and try and see what a Church of Communion would
mean in its relationship with people within the Church and its
relationship with the wider society in which we live.''
The keynote address at the delegate conference was give by Dominican
theologian Hervé Legrand, who teaches theology at the Institut
Catholique de Paris.
Prof. Legrand reminded the delegates of the
teaching of St Paul that, ''because there is one bread, we who are many
are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.''
St Paul was
scandalised by the fact that the Church at Corinth was characterised by
cliques and even by an unwillingness to share food. These divisions
contradicted their communion as the one body of Christ.
Prof. Legrand suggested that one of the tasks of the Eucharistic
Congress in our own time is to reflect in action the meaning of our
being one body.
The liturgy can never be a purely private thing and the
Congress liturgies should clearly express the meaning of assembly and
facilitate active participation of all who are present.
Likewise, he
suggested, the meaning of communion can be reflected in the way in which
we, the local Church, offer hospitality to those who come to join us
for the Congress.
Congress bell
Prof. Legrand is not the only Dominican connection with the
forthcoming Eucharistic Congress.
The Congress symbol is a bell, which
has it's origins in the Dominican C onvent Portstewart, Co. Antrim and
was more recently used to ring in the Jubilee Year 2000 in Glendalough,
Co. Wicklow.
This bell, which has already had one outing at the
ecumenical tent at the National Ploughing Championships, will be carried
all over Ireland on a purpose-built frame, as a symbol of the call to
faith, to prayer, to conversion and to mission, which is part of the
agenda of the Congress.
There will be more about the pilgrimage of the
bell in a future article.
Quebec
The last international Eucharistic Congress took place in Quebec in
2008 and the Quebec team has been very helpful to us in our preparations
for 2012.
This week Sr Doris Lamontagne, deputy secretary general of
the Quebec Congress, is in Dublin to meet and share insights with staff
and committee members preparing for the Irish Congress.
SIC: IC/IE