The first National Eucharistic Congress in 83 years will be held in summer 2024, from July 17 through July 21, at Lucas Oil Stadium and other venues in downtown Indianapolis. Father Tim Tran, parochial vicar of St. Stephen in Anoka — and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ “point person” for the event — describes it as “an important moment in our local Church and also the Church (in) the United States.”
Father Tran recently joined “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley to describe the gathering and what attendees can expect, including Mass, adoration, breakout sessions and a procession through downtown Indianapolis.
There will be opportunities to “visit different liturgies, because we know the Roman rite is just one of many different rites in our Catholic Church,” Father Tran said.
Speakers will include Bishop Andrew Cozzens, bishop of the Diocese of Crookston and a former auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Also presenting will be Father Josh Johnson, author and podcast host who also is a pastor, chaplain for Vagabond Missions and vocations director for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, “and other big-name Catholic speakers,” Father Tran said.
A “vendor’s hall” and various festivals in the evenings will encourage experiencing “one another’s Eucharistic faith through our particular cultures,” Father Tran said. “So, you don’t want to miss it.”
For those unable to attend the eucharistic congress in Indianapolis, Father Tran highlighted ways to participate locally and individually, such as offering sacrifice and prayers. From the event’s website, the faithful can sign up as a prayer partner, receive the weekly Heart of Revival newsletters or “just to be updated and encouraged and be fed themselves,” Father Tran said.
The revival also offers the opportunity to becoming a eucharistic missionary “where you can just participate in the revival at your local church,” Father Tran said. Those who sign up will receive formation information online that has been “formed with this other group of eucharistic missionaries throughout the country,” he said, and be “encouraged and enlivened” to help the revival “prosper in their own local context.”
There will be four pilgrimage routes to the event — one of which starts in Minnesota at the headwaters of the Mississippi River. For a description of the routes, other events and the cost to attend the Eucharistic Congress in person, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. March 10 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. March 11 and 2 p.m. March 12. To learn more about the revival, visit EucharisticRevival.org. For details and to register, click the tab marked Congress 2024.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an interview with Father Tom Lawler from the Demontreville Jesuit Retreat House in Lake Elmo, who describes what it’s like and what to expect from a silent retreat; and a reprised interview with Father Joseph Johnson of Holy Family in St. Louis Park, who offers insight on how to recognize and combat spiritual warfare during Lent.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
