5th February 2012

IEC2012 – A Golden Opportunity

On Sunday at St Patrick’s Church in Pennyburn, Monsignor Eamon Martin, Diocesan Administrator, will launch the final phase of preparations for the International Eucharistic Congress which is taking place this year in Dublin from June 10th-17th. Here, Monsignor Martin speaks about the meaning of the Congress and the golden opportunity it presents for the Church.

London is getting geared up for the Olympics this summer but the big event of the year in Ireland has to be IEC2012 - the Fiftieth International Eucharistic Congress which will be held in Dublin from 10th to 17th June. Four years ago in Quebec, when Pope Benedict XVI announced that Ireland would have the honour of hosting the Congress, he expressed a wish that it would be ‘a source of lasting spiritual renewal’ for the Irish people. Since then, many people have been asking "what exactly is a Eucharistic Congress and what is its purpose?"

A Eucharistic Congress is an international gathering of people to celebrate the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Catholic Church. Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is really present in the Eucharist. The Mass, which is the celebration of the Eucharist, is said to be the summit and the source of the life of the Church. The theme for the Fiftieth Congress is: ‘Communion with Christ and with one another’.

An International Eucharistic Congress normally takes place every four years. The events from Sunday 10th to Saturday 16th June will be held in the RDS arena and the closing Mass on Sunday 17th will take place in Croke Park. It is expected that Dublin will be buzzing during the week, with 25,000 people participating at the events in the RDS, including 12,000 international visitors from as far away as USA, Canada and Australia.

More than 80,000 people from Ireland and all over the world are expected to gather in Croke Park for the great closing ceremony or ‘statio orbis’ on Sunday 17th June. People can travel to Dublin for the whole week, or book in for a day or more. Pope Benedict has been invited, but it is uncertain at this stage as to whether his health will permit him to be there. The daily celebration of the Eucharist is at the very heart of the Congress. The wider programme includes various prayer and cultural events, as well as testimonies by keynote speakers from all over the world. There are workshops on aspects of faith and belief including special sessions for young people. The themes for each day are: Monday: Baptism; Tuesday: Marriage and Family; Wednesday: Priesthood; Thursday: Reconciliation; Friday: Suffering and Healing; Saturday: Mary. Derry’s own Richard Moore has been chosen as one of the inspirational speakers on Thursday on the theme of reconciliation.

The last time the International Eucharistic Congress came to Ireland was in 1932 and our parents and grandparents look back on it as a very significant event in the life of the Church and of the new Irish state. The foundation stone of St Patrick’s Pennyburn was laid in 1932 and the cross symbol of the 1932 Congress is featured prominently in the windows and furnishings of Pennyburn Church. This year’s Congress will take place in a very different Ireland and at a turning point in the life of the Church.

The Catholic Church in Ireland has begun a journey towards deeper faith and renewal and the Congress presents a moment of grace. These have been troubled times in our Church, and particularly traumatic for those who have had their trust in the Church so terribly betrayed. Some people say this is no time for Ireland to have a Eucharistic Congress with the wounds from the abuse scandals still too raw, the country in the grip of recession, and people with so many other things on their minds. Perhaps, however, this is precisely the time when we need to pause, to humbly admit our sinfulness and dependence on almighty God and to seek God’s grace in the renewal and rediscovery of our faith. The International Eucharistic Congress can be a graced moment in the journey towards healing, reparation and renewal which Pope Benedict XVI called for in his Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland in 2010.

Coincidentally the year 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Second Vatican Council which was a significant moment of renewal for the universal Church as the Body of Christ and the People of God. For Catholics there is nothing more powerful than the Eucharist to bring out what is best in our Church and in our country. The success of the Congress will depend on all of us, in every parish around the country, bowing our heads in prayer, admitting our frailty and sinfulness, and opening ourselves up to God’s grace.

Ireland is ready for a new evangelization. The Congress shall remind all lay men and women in the Church that, by baptism, they have a personal calling to ministry and mission in the Church. It shall encourage all priests and religious sisters and brothers in Ireland to renew their vocational commitment. It shall invite each one of us to reflect on our personal journey of faith. For those who have forgotten or rejected their faith, the Congress presents a gentle call to give faith in Jesus Christ another chance.

Not long before he died, Pope John Paul II told the young people in Rome, ‘There is no authentic celebration or adoration of the Eucharist that does not lead to mission’. The Eucharist calls us to work for justice and peace and to reach out to those who are trapped by hunger, disease, poverty, and prejudice. Communion with Christ naturally leads to communion with one another. IEC2012 presents a golden opportunity for renewal and rebirth.