In little more than a week, the
2024 International Eucharistic Congress will get underway in Quito, Ecuador.
In an interview with EWTN Noticias,
Valeria Gavilanes, official spokesperson for the event, shared details
about the significance of the event and what to expect.
“The Eucharistic Congress is a
living manifestation of the presence of Jesus among us, and it is a
unique opportunity to renew our faith and our relationship with the
Eucharist,” Gavilanes noted.
The event, which will take place
Sept. 8-15 at the Metropolitan Convention Center in Quito, will byring
together some 4,000 participants, including laypeople, men and women
religious, and ecclesiastical authorities from around the world. In
addition, nearly 500 experts in the study of the Eucharist will
participate in a pre-Congress symposium in the Ecuadorian capital.
The organization has placed special
emphasis on the participation of delegations from 54 countries so that
they may have a transformative experience. “We are working to make this
Congress a place for encounter, dialogue, prayer, and celebration,”
Gavilanes said.
Agenda
The event will feature a program packed with Eucharistic celebrations, presentations, testimonies, and times for adoration.
Among the most notable events is a
massive procession with the Blessed Sacrament, which will include the
participation of the Catholic faithful from Quito and other parts of the
country. Gavilanes emphasized that “this procession will be a special
moment in which all participants will be able to publicly manifest their
love and devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist.”
The International Eucharistic
Congress will begin on Sunday, Sept. 8, at 10 a.m. local time on the
esplanade of the Bicentennial Park in Quito, where more than 1,500
children will make their first Communion.
“We want to make an analogy between the purity of the holy Eucharist and the purity of a child’s heart,” Gavilanes explained.
The theme on Monday, Sept. 9, will
be “A Wounded World.” Juan Manuel Cotelo, a Spanish Catholic filmmaker
and journalist, will present his film “El Mayor Regalo” (“The Greatest Gift”), which talks about forgiveness as a way to heal the world’s wounds and achieve fraternity.
On Tuesday, Sept. 10, Sister
Daniela Cagnavina, secretary-general of the Latin American Confederation
of Religious, will share testimonies of the lives of great witnesses of
faith in the Americas. In the afternoon, Cotelo will talk about his
film in a forum open to the public at the Metropolitan Convention Center
in Quito.
On Wednesday, Sept. 11, the topic
“The Eucharist and the Transfiguration of the World” will be discussed
with the participation of one of the foremost leaders of the National
Eucharistic Congress initiative in the United States, Bishop Andrew
Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota. In the afternoon, Bishop
José Ignacio Munilla of the Diocese of Orihuela-Alicante in Spain will
speak about the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
On Thursday, Sept. 12, the theme
“For a Synodal Church” will be the focus with the presence of Cardinal
Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and Mari Wu,
adviser to the Council for the Lay Apostolate of the Archdiocese of
Taipei. On this day there will also be Masses in several languages,
highlighting fraternity in diversity.
That same day there will also be
gatherings in the churches of Quito’s historic colonial quarter with
Masses in several languages, including Spanish, French, Italian, German,
Quechua, Portuguese, and Chinese.
On Friday, Sept. 13, the theme to
be discussed will be “Eucharist: Psalm of Fraternity” followed by a
concert with Argentine singer-songwriter Pablo Martínez along with Marco
Antonio Espín, author of the hymn for the International Eucharistic
Congress, as well as the group Solideo. “This will be a time dedicated
especially to young people,” Gavilanes added.
On Saturday, Sept. 14, at 4:30
p.m., a Mass will be celebrated outside St. Francis Church in the St.
Francis Plaza, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1978.
After the Mass, the Blessed
Sacrament will be carried in procession through the streets of the
Colonial Quarter, which will be “decorated with carpets of roses, to the
Basilica of the National Vow, where a special blessing will be given
for Quito, Ecuador, Latin America, and the world,” Gavilanes said.
Finally, on Sunday, Sept. 15, on
the day of the closing ceremony, also at 10 a.m. on the esplanade of the
Bicentennial Park in Quito, the Statio Orbis or final Mass will be
celebrated by the pontifical legate, Cardinal Baltazar Porras,
archbishop emeritus of Caracas, Venezuela.
In addition to the main events,
Gavilanes noted there will also be an exhibition of relics of saints who
loved the Eucharist, which will allow the faithful to venerate those
who “have lived their faith in an exemplary manner.”
“It’s a unique opportunity to be
in contact with the testimonies of holiness that inspire us to live with
greater dedication to the Eucharist,” she explained.
As for final preparations,
Gavilanes said the organization has worked closely with local
authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of all participants.
She asked for prayers for the
success of the Congress, assuring that “prayer is the foundation of
everything we do, and we trust that it will be a blessed event.”
EWTN will
provide complete coverage of the opening and closing Masses and
Eucharistic processions as well as all the important sessions and
speakers.