International Eucharistic Congress


      IEC is an international gathering of people which aims to promote an awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Catholic Church and help improve our understanding and celebration of the liturgy and Draw attention to the social dimension of the Eucharist.In the Catholic Church, a Eucharistic Congress is a gathering of clergy, religious, and laity to bear witness to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, which is an important Roman Catholic doctrine. Congresses bring together people from a wide area, and typically involve large open-air Masses, Eucharistic adoration (Blessed Sacrament), and other devotional ceremonies held over several days. Congresses may both refer to National (varies by country) and International Eucharistic Congresses.

The first International Eucharistic Congress owed its inspiration to Bishop Gaston de Ségur, and was held at Lille, France, on June 21, 1881. The initial idea was merely local, and met with few adherents, but it grew in importance as years passed. The sixth congress met in Paris in 1888, and the great memorial Church of the Sacred Heart on Montmartre was the center of the proceedings. Antwerp hosted the next congress, from in 1890, at which an immense altar of repose was erected in the Place de Meir, and an estimated 150,000 persons gathered around it when Cardinal Goossens, Archbishop of Mechelen, gave the solemn Benediction. Bishop Doutreloux of Liège was then president of the Permanent Committee for the Organization of Eucharistic Congresses, the body which has charge of the details of these meetings. Of special importance also was the eighth congress, held in Jerusalem in 1893, as it was the first congress held outside Europe.

 The Eucharist, which according to Papal Legate to the 51st International Eucharistic Congress His Eminence Charles Cardinal Bo is the source and goal of the “mission.”
He said the Church and its people are called on a mission to promote awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in life and mission; to help improve our understanding and celebration of Eucharist liturgy; and to draw attention to the social dimension of the Eucharist

 

 During the IEC, high-caliber Catholic speakers discuss their most important form of worship: the Eucharist, better known as the Mass. 

The Vatican-backed International Eucharistic Congress, hosted by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines with Cebu City as the chosen venue,

The last Eucharistic Congress in the Philippines was in 1937 during the pontificate of Pope Pius XI. It was the first of its kind held in Asia.

 The IEC is an occasion for Catholics to reaffirm the Second Vatican Council’s proclamation of the Eucharist as the “source and summit of Christian life,” said Pasig Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara, chairman of the communications department of the 51st IEC, said in a Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines News post.