Eucharistic Congress draws millions to Mexico

By Jason Lange
Catholic News Service

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – More than 3.9 million people from 87 countries gathered in Guadalajara, Mexico this past week for the 48th International Congress, according to Mural Expreción de Jalisco, a daily newspaper headquartered in Zapopan.
The Congress, convened every four years to bolster worldwide devotion to the Eucharist, was especially meaningful as it kicked off what Pope John Paul II is calling the Year of the Eucharist.
Thirty-five cardinals, including Cardinal Justin Rigali, and some 250 bishops attended the Congress, along with hundreds of priests from every continent. In total, some 14,000 people attended the Congress’ sessions. Speaking to the Congress via satellite from St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Oct. 17, the Pope said the Congress “invites us to consider the eucharistic mystery, not just in itself, but in relation to the problems of our time.” The Pope’s message called the Eucharist the “mystery of light.”
“This light is needed by the heart of man, made heavy by sin, often disoriented and weary, tested by suffering of every kind,” the Pope said.
Banners bearing the face of the Pope and advertising the Congress were hung in countless windows, and local media credited the Congress with the record participation in the city’s annual Oct. 12 procession for the Virgin of Zapopan, who is credited with bringing peace to the area during the Spanish conquest in the 1540s.
The Pope asked the Christian community to seek a deeper understanding of the Eucharist during Mass and in moments of adoration. This understanding should give rise to a sense of communion and a sense of mission, as well as a greater commitment to fraternity and service to the weakest, he said.
Maria Modelewska, 60, traveled alone to Guadalajara from Chicago to attend the Congress. She credits Jesus in the Eucharist with saving her from alcoholism.
“I was losing my faith and I was drinking, but I turned to devotion of the Eucharist and found strength,” said Modelewska, who now regularly participates in all-night eucharistic devotion.
In a Mass held in the stadium before the papal broadcast that closed the Congress, Cardinal Jozef Tomko, president of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses and the pope’s envoy, said the Congress “has been an extraordinary opportunity to become aware that the church is growing around the mystery of the Eucharist.”
In his closing address, the Pope read only the beginning and end sections of his Spanish-language text, and an aide read the rest. In Guadalajara, the crowd cheered the Pope ecstatically each time he paused to catch his breath.
More than 65,000 people packed Guadalajara’s Jalisco Stadium for the closing address, many waving white banners and handkerchiefs throughout the event, which was broadcast via the Internet.
In his message, the Pope announced that the next International Eucharistic Congress will be held in Quebec in 2008.
With the Pope’s message complete and the Congress formally closed, the crowd broke into applause and cheering as balloons fell and mariachi music rang through the stadium.