There has not been an OSV News without the 10th National Eucharistic Congress. From our inception in 2022, we knew that this event would be a hallmark for the Catholic Church in the United States and for our coverage in July 2024. We planned, we wrote, we interviewed. We spoke to young people who sacrificed months of their lives to walk thousands of miles — and we walked ourselves, as did many of you, in the pilgrimages where monstrances were carried across 27 states and 65 dioceses.
But we never imagined, or at least I never imagined, what would happen here in Indianapolis from July 17-21, 2024. The 10th National Eucharistic Congress was an utter success, and the church in the United States is already stronger for it.
And that’s not to say that there weren’t problems. Registrants had to wait in long lines on Wednesday to check in. Congress merchandise probably shouldn’t have been hawked in the months before the event, and at such high prices. Behind-the-scenes logistics have generous room for improvement. And it most assuredly was a costly event — both to put on and to attend.
But, at the end of a long, tiring, exhilarating, life-changing week, those challenges seem like a vague footnote. Organizers made sure that Jesus Christ in the Eucharist -- Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity -- stood firmly at the center of these days. And when that happens, everything else is white noise.
The first revival night set the tone. Before any speakers took the stage, Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, the tireless champion of the congress for the past three years, carried the Eucharist into Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium in an enormous golden monstrance. Hundreds of spotlights trained on it, and, for at least 10 full minutes, tens of thousands of people knelt in adoration of our God and king in the cavernous venue.
“Lord, we wanted to give you the first words of our National Eucharistic Congress,” Bishop Cozzens prayed.
And it paid off, big time. Because when Christ is at the center, grace abounds. So much grace.
The National Eucharistic Congress headlined a lot of speakers and talent — including some pretty big names like Bishop Robert Barron, Gloria Purvis, Father Mike Schmitz and Matt Maher. But, when we asked participants what they will remember most from the week, the answer unanimously was time spent with the Eucharist, specifically in quiet adoration.
Opportunities for quiet prayer were ample, not just in the nightly revival sessions, but also perpetually at the beautiful St. John the Evangelist Church right across the street from the Indiana Convention Center. Perpetual adoration was also happening, it turns out, behind the scenes in the stadium with that big monstrance. There, women religious prayed nonstop throughout the event in the presence of Jesus for the congress and its attendees. Multiple daily Masses in the mornings and the afternoons also offered opportunities for worship and prayer, with the capstone being the triumphant Sunday morning Mass. So many priests and bishops concelebrated the Mass that the opening procession lasted 25 minutes. My 2-year-old was not impressed, but I was, and I wasn’t alone. Video cameras held aloft throughout the stadium denoted the event’s unique nature.
There was so much more. The enormous expo hall was the place for All Things Catholic, including a showcase of the mural that is being created to hang in St. John the Evangelist to commemorate the congress; games for kids; a stage for musicians; booths for vocations; and ministries and apostolates of all shapes and sizes. I met the creators behind the Lego Mass kit my kids love, touched a rock from the Lourdes grotto in France and danced like a goofball to a Josh Blakesley cover of “I Thank God.” The Eucharistic Village outside St. John’s offered a big white tent for respite from the July sun (though the weather all week was undeniably stunning), and it became a place where people could gather for food, drink and conversation. Daily impact sessions and themes offered segments of congress participants -- from families to people working in ministry to priests — a consistent journey from beginning to end, when they were sent forth into the Year of Mission, which has now officially begun.
But perhaps the most moving event took place on Saturday afternoon, as thousands upon thousands of Catholics poured into the streets of downtown Indianapolis for a public profession of faith in the form of a final congress-related Eucharistic procession of 2024. Singing, dancing and prayer accompanied the Blessed Sacrament as it — as He — traveled on a float covered in flowers, and pulled by a white pick-up truck, in the company of Bishop Cozzens and Archbishop Charles C. Thompson of Indianapolis.
These have been long days — long days for congress attendees, long days for the organizers, long days for the media members, long days for the security officers keeping us safe, long days for staff of the big event venues.
Yet as the Catholic takeover — for there is really no other word for it — of downtown Indianapolis concludes, I can’t help but wish the long days might go on longer.
But this longing isn’t for the big banners proclaiming revival that hung outside the Indiana Convention Center, or for the crowds of fellow smiling, joyful Catholics, or for more inspiring talks. It is a longing for Christ himself, present in the Eucharist — what the church teaches is a foretaste of heaven. This truth was evident in Indianapolis in July 2024 — and I’d wager its fruits will be evident in the Catholic Church in the United States for many years to come.
Gretchen R. Crowe is the editor-in-chief of OSV News.