By Father John Keenan, S.S.S., Psy.D., Ph.D. | Special to the Herald

Under gray, rainy skies, the 49th International Eucharistic Congress began in Qubec City, Canada, on Sunday, June 16. At the opening Mass, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Archbishop of Quebec, concelebrated with cardinals and bishops from five continents. The theme of the Congress, “The Eucharist, Gift of God for the Life of the World,” he said, actualizes our reflections on the foundation of the church. The church exists because there is this gift of God, the Eucharist, which the church memorializes.

The multilingual cardinal went on to say that the global context in which we assemble is one of intolerable situations, the food crisis being one, necessitating urgent action of governments to establish balance in an unstable world. This congress celebrates the presence of the Risen Lord giving life and hope to the world.

International Eucharistic Congresses are gatherings of the universal church to celebrate Jesus living and present in the Eucharist. A local church, or diocese, with the approval of the pope, invites other local churches to a unique time for prayer, theological reflection, and activity. The first Eucharistic Congress took place at Lille, France, in 1881. The next Eucharistic Congress will take place in Dublin, Ireland, in 2012.

Attendees from five continents numbered 12,000. While the official languages were French, English and Spanish, instantaneous translations were done in Korean and Vietnamese as well.

The speakers were divided according to catechesis and witness. The catecheses, given by cardinals and bishops, were mostly theoretical, theological presentations. The bishop catechists were Bishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon, France, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J. of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle of Imus, Philippines, Cardinal Telesphore Toppo of Ranchi, India, and Cardinal Christian Tumi of Douala, Cameroon.

Exceptional among the bishop-catechists were Cardinal Barbarin and Bishop Tagle. Cardinal Barbarin, citing the example of the Trappist martyrs of Algeria in the 1990s, said that the Eucharist “explains” the self-giving of these contemporary martyrs. Quoting Bishop Pierre Claverie of Oran, who was also assassinated in the autumn of 1996, he said: “so that love vanquishes hate, one must love to the point of giving one’s life in the daily combat from which Jesus himself did not escape unscathed.”

Bishop Tagle, obviously a crowd pleaser, received a standing ovation for his catechesis on the nature of the Sacrifice of Jesus and its implications for the spirituality and social ministry of the Christian. Workshops concerning mission, apostolate, liturgy and spirituality took place throughout the city of Quebec.

Three witnesses in particular recounted their life-changing experiences of the Eucharist which led them to leave promising careers to respond to Jesus in the fragile and wounded.

n   Jean Vanier, diplomate in philosophy, founded l’Arche in 1974, to minister to the poor and fragile. The International Federation of L’Arche communities is made up of 131 communities in 34 different countries.

n   Father Nicholas Buttet, a Swiss priest and religious, left a life in the practice of law and politics to pursue the life of a hermit and then to found “Eucharistein,” a community founded to address the needs of those whose lives were fragmented by the stresses of contemporary life.

n   Mrs. Marguerite Barankitse is the foundress of Maison Shalom which cares for the child victims of war in Burundi. Maison Shalom has cared for more than 50,000 children since 1994. Her message is: “Love always triumphs. Evil will never have the last word.”

The highlight of each day of the congress was the eucharistic liturgy celebrated by a cardinal or bishop and concelebrated by the priest attendees. Notable was the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom in the Byzantine-Ukrainian rite celebrated by Bishop Lawrence Huculak, O.S.B.M., Metropolitan Archbishop of Winnipeg for the Ukrainian Catholics. The choir sang in English, French, Greek, Arabic and Russian

Throughout the city of Quebec were seven churches or chapels designated as Centers of Adoration where the Eucharist would be adored day and night for the duration of the congress. At the conclusion of the opening liturgy, the Eucharist was exposed and placed on the Arc of the New Covenant, the wood carved symbol of spiritual preparation for the congress. The Eucharist was then taken in procession to the various locations where adoration would continue.

The congress closed with the eucharistic celebration on the Plains of Abraham presided over by the Papal Legate Cardinal Jozef Tomko. The homily by Pope Benedict XVI was delivered live from Rome.