Faithful encouraged to attend National Eucharistic Congress

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney invites Catholics of the Paterson Diocese to join him on a pilgrimage to the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Ind., from July 17–21 — the first such gathering in the United States in 83 years.

The five-day event will help up to 80,000 participating faithful from around the country “get closer to Jesus in the Eucharist and closer to one another as a Church,” Bishop Sweeney said. Presented in English and Spanish, the National Eucharistic Congress will feature spiritual activities, including daily Mass; speakers; and fellowship to inspire participants to share Christ’s love and their love of Jesus in the Eucharist with the world.

The Church in the U.S. is in the midst of a three-year National Eucharistic Revival. It’s a movement to inspire Catholics, healed, converted, and formed by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist, to go out on a mission “for the life of the world.”

“The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. But many people have fallen away from practicing the faith. This National Eucharistic Congress will be a revival of faith for many and for the Church in our country. I hope many have an encounter with the Lord. We will see the Church very much alive. This will be a great moment for the Church,” Bishop Sweeney said.

The Paterson Diocese is reserving 200 seats on a first-come, first-served basis for local Catholics — clergy, religious, and laity. The gathering will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Prominent speakers include Bishop Robert Barron and Father Michael Schmitz. Speakers who hail from the diocese include Chris Stefanick, raised in St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Ringwood, and Father Agustino Torres, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal, who serves the Church of Paterson.

Father Alex Nevitt, parochial vicar of Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish in the Cedar Knolls neighborhood of Hanover Township, is coordinating the diocesan pilgrimage to the National Eucharistic Congress.

“It will be a gathering of Catholics — our bishops, clergy, religious, and laity — to show the real belief: the real presence of Jesus Christ. This will be an opportunity for us Catholics to be reenergized to come back as missionary disciples in our own communities to share that which feeds us: Jesus in the Eucharist,” Father Nevitt said.

The Paterson Diocese and local parishes have been holding various activities to promote the National Eucharistic Revival. The diocese celebrated the Year of the Eucharist in 2022.

“We are seeing fruits from seeds being planted and look for more moving forward to the National Eucharistic Congress,” Bishop Sweeney said.

For prices and details of the trip, visit https://rcdop.org/nec. A $750 deposit is due on Jan. 31. For further information, email Father Nevitt at [email protected]

Father Nevitt was the guest on last week’s Beyond The Beacon podcast, where he discussed the pilgrimage with the bishop. The episode is titled “Some great reasons to go to the National Eucharistic Congress.”