On Saturday, 14 September, we will come together at St Mary’s College, Oscott, to kneel before the Lord in Adoration for our first National Eucharistic Congress since Adoremus in Liverpool in 2018.
This will be a more modest event, yet all our dioceses will be represented, and we will celebrate the beauty of Our Lord in the Eucharist through Mass, Lectures, a Eucharistic Procession and more.
The following day, on Sunday, 15 September, the bishops are asking for parishes, at the end of their final Mass on that day, to have a period of Adoration in their churches.
Canon Christopher Thomas, General Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference, explains further.
“The International Eucharistic Congress is going to be held in Quito in Ecuador. Now, normally what the Holy See asks, through its office for International Eucharistic Congresses, is that on the years between the international congresses that we have a National Eucharistic Congress. But because of the pandemic, we’ve decided to have a Eucharistic Congress this year at the same time, which will then lead, hopefully, to other Eucharistic Congresses in the future. We had Adoremus in Liverpool in 2018, which was fantastic. Adoremus in Oscott is going to be on a smaller scale, but it’s going to be built on. We’re doing something that’s modest, but because it’s modest doesn’t mean it’s not going to be effective or fruitful.
“We’re looking at having a community of just over 1,000 gathered at Oscott, and there will be some plenary lectures about the beauty of the Eucharist.
“We will have a celebration of Mass, and then there’ll be a Eucharistic Procession around the grounds of Oscott. This is important because it was the first place after the Reformation that a Eucharistic Procession was held. We’ll gather for a period of silent prayer in front of the Lord before we are blessed, and then dismissed. So the pilgrimage ends, but the pilgrimage continues as we dismissed to every part of the country.
“The idea is that we begin again, but provide something that can be built on.”
“You only have to look at the amazing scenes from the Eucharistic Congress in America. It was remarkable. They had over 50,000 people on the procession, and there were four pilgrimages – north, south, east and west – converging on Indianapolis at the Lucas Oil stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts. The blurb advertising the venue declares that it is “custom built for commotion and cacophony.” Yet the silence with over 50,000 people present was remarkable.
“When the Blessed Sacrament was exposed, the silence was quite something. To take the Blessed Sacrament on procession through the city offered the remarkable sight of the Monstrance up on the high steps of a building and people kneeling as far as you could see – in the streets in the presence of the Lord. So what we’ve got here is a real heart for the Eucharist at the centre of our lives.”
“Our National Eucharistic Congress will take place on the 14 September. The following day, on Sunday, 15 September, all of the bishops are going to ask parishes, at the end of their final Mass on that day, to have a period of Adoration in their churches, which will link us all in England and Wales in prayer in front of the Lord – that’s a very powerful sign.
“Holy Hours are great, but Holy Hours can be a little bit busy if there isn’t enough time for quietness. We come back to the stillness of the people in America to actually kneel and to have an extended period of time. When I go back to my experiences in Lourdes, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed from 8am until the beginning of the Eucharistic Procession in the afternoon. There’s that sense of resting in the Lord that is so important to come close to Him, to let Him speak to your heart. That gives us the desire to embrace that missionary discipleship that we are called to.”
You can visit our dedicated section for Adoremus at Oscott.
