IEC2012 would like to take this opportunity to extend an invitation to a series of events to bring together those who participated in the 1932 Eucharistic Congress and to give them the opportunity to attend this year’s 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in June, 80 years since the last Congress was held in Ireland.

A series of events, the first in late April, will be held in Dublin and IEC2012 is currently compiling an up-to-date list of pilgrims from around Ireland who attended the 1932 Eucharistic Congress. If you, or a member of your family who is well enough to attend some events in Dublin in April and June, has personal memories of participating in the 1932 Eucharistic Congress, please contact us as soon as possible at 01- 2349940 or 01-2349903 to register your name, address and phone number between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday or email press@iec2012.ie

Full details of events will be sent by post to all qualifying persons who register with IEC2012.

Read the speaking note of Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin, Primate of Ireland on the celebration of Corpus Christi 2011.

Thousands of people from parishes all over the country will travel to Knock to take part in a number of special events, workshops, celebrations and prayer – including the Knock Youth Festival, which is running at the same time as the National Congress.  

The National Congress in Knock will be a key opportunity for parishes and dioceses around Ireland to come together. Central to the National Congress will be the celebration of the Eucharist during which 26 candles will be blessed, one for each of the Cathedrals in Ireland. The candles will be brought back to each diocese and will be alight the next day to celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi nationwide.

Father Kevin Doran, Secretary General of the International Eucharistic Congress organising committee, said that he is looking forward to the Congress in Knock and the delegates meeting this week has brought great momentum to preparations. He said they were particularly pleased with the response to the National Congress. 
 
Father Doran said “The celebration in Knock is a chance to focus on the local community and the pastoral preparation in Ireland for the International Congress next year. The Congress is not just a once-off week of events in 2012 – but a journey of renewal for all of us. This is an opportunity to remind ourselves that we are part of something bigger than ourselves and to do something together - in communion - as one body.”

For more information on the National Eucharistic Congress and to register for workshops, please click here.

Download resources from the National Eucharistic Congress in Knock, The Art of Living Eucharistically and The Eucharist Makes the Church.

Father Doran, Secretary General of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress, attended World Youth Day and invited pilgrims from five continents to next year's International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin.

Listen to Father Doran describe how the Catholic church is now preparing for the next major event, the 50th International Eucharistic Congress.

Listen to Father Doran speak about his encounters with Catholic pilgrims from China and Canada at World Youth Day.

 Listen to Father Kevin Doran speak about the spirit of communion he witnessed in Madrid during World Youth Day.

The Catholic Church in Ireland is marking the one-year countdown to next year's 50th International Congress by hosting a National Eucharistic Congress at the Marian Shrine in Knock today.

Thousands of people, from parishes all over the country, have travelled to Knock this weekend to participate in the National Eucharistic Congress, the high-point of which will be Mass with the anointing of the sick. The day's activities will also include a series of workshops which are being hosted by organisers of next year's International Eucharistic Congress – see programme below. The National Eucharistic Congress coincides this year with the celebration of the Knock Youth Festival, which has its own dedicated workshops and celebrations.

Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland; His Excellency Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, Apostolic Nuncio; Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin and President of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress (IEC2012); Archbishop Dermot Clifford, Archbishop of Cashel and Emly; Archbishop Michael Neary, Archbishop of Tuam along with many other Irish bishops and priests; will lead pilgrims from the 26 dioceses on the island of Ireland in a concelebrated Mass at 3pm this afternoon in Knock to mark Ireland's National Eucharistic Congress.

The pilgrims include staff and volunteers of IEC2012. The Eucharistic Congress Bell, which began its journey around the parish of Ireland on St. Patrick's Day, has arrived in Knock and will be present during the National Pilgrimage as a symbol of the invitation to faith and to the Eucharist.

The vestments worn by the principal celebrants at today's Mass will feature the four icons which accompany the Eucharistic Congress Bell and which reflect the four stages of the catechesis for next year?s International Eucharistic Congress.

Welcoming pilgrims to the National Eucharistic Congress Cardinal Brady, Principal Presider for the Congress Mass and who will preach the homily, said: “The celebrations in Knock provide an opportunity to remind ourselves that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. The Church events this weekend appeal to the spiritual needs of men and women of all ages and are in keeping with the theme of next year's 50th International Eucharistic Congress which is: "The Eucharistic: Communion with Christ and with one another".

“Today's National Eucharistic Congress, coupled with the celebration of Mass which will take place in every Cathedral around the country tomorrow, both have a common focus on the local community and our pastoral preparation in Ireland ahead of the International Eucharistic Congress next year.

“The International Congress is not just a once-off week of events in 2012, but a journey of renewal. Today the Irish Church is setting out on a new path of healing and renewal, inspired by Pope Benedict XVI's Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland of March 2010. The Church needs healing and reconciliation. The Eucharistic Congress offers us the possibility for that.”

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said, “The Congress will be an important event in the life of the Universal Church and I hope it will be a vital element in the reform of the Irish Church. The Congress should renew in us a sense of gathering – of community and sharing. It will be a Congress of our times where people will come together to examine what a Church of Communion means for the people of the Church and what role the Church should have in wider society.”

Read more on our Media Centre.

Alpha’s role in the Host Church programme will begin on Tuesday 12th June at Whitefriar Street Church, Aungier Street, Dublin 2. Alpha International will be offering a mini-Alpha experience, giving Congress pilgrims and members of the public a taste of the Alpha course.

As part of this programme individuals will be invited to several daytime and evening sessions during the week, to listen to short talks from live speakers on a range of topics relating to the Christian faith, for example, ‘How and why should I pray?’ ‘How and why should I read the Bible?’ and ‘Telling others’. Participants will then be divided into groups for refreshments and an open discussion about the talks.

On Thursday 14th June, Alpha’s involvement continues with a talk by Nicky Gumbel, a Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, an Anglican church based in central London. Gumbel is a pioneer of the Alpha course, a 15-session introduction to the Christian faith, which is now running in 60,000 churches of different denominations including Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches.

Nicky’s talk will take place on the themed day of reconciliation at the Congress, 14th June. He will discuss the theme of unity in a talk entitled ‘Communion in our Common Baptism’, focusing on Jesus’ prayer that those who believe in Him ‘may be one ... so that the world may believe’ (John 17: 21).

Since 1993, more than 18 million people have completed an Alpha course. Currently Alpha is running in thousands of Catholic parishes in more than 65 countries and has received the support of many Catholic leaders across the world, including His Eminence Marc Cardinal Ouellet, Papal Legate for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress who said:

“Alpha brings people closer and helps them to find that power which unites. The Alpha experience is not only a means through which one finds true life, but also a way to share the good news of the Living Christ. It paves the way for reconciliation and is a symbol of hope for Christian unity.”

As the Chiara Luce Youth Space comes to a close towards the end of the Congress week, young people will be commissioned to go back to their parishes to begin a local faith programme.

On Saturday evening, 16th June, Alpha present the session ‘And tomorrow?’ equipping and encouraging young people to spread the faith.

Read more about Main Congress Programme.

Read more about Youth Programme.

His Eminence Cardinal Seán Brady
Archbishop of Armagh
President of the Irish Episcopal Conference

The Holy Father was pleased to learn of the celebration of the Irish National Eucharistic Congress and he sends his warm and prayerful best wishes to you and to the Bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful of Ireland.  His Holiness is spiritually united to all who, through prayerful reflection on the Eucharist, offer adoration, thanksgiving and praise to the living God for the saving sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, renewed in the celebration of every Holy Mass.  He is confident that the frequent and worthy reception of the Bread of Life will guide all who, especially in this time of renewal, walk together the path of conversion, in truth, justice and charity, pursuing the gift of purification from sin by seeking and offering pardon and by strengthening the bonds of reconciliation and communion.  He prays that by drawing nourishment from this Sacrament, their whole life will become, with Christ, an offering to God (cf. Sacamemtum Caritatis 71).  Commending all the faithful people in Ireland to the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, the Holy Father cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing.

ENDS
Notes to Editors

• National Eucharistic Congress 2011
Archbishop Michael Neary, Archbishop of Tuam, read out the Apostolic Blessing from Pope Benedict XVI on the occasion of Ireland’s National Eucharistic Congress which took place on 25 and 26 June.  All 26 dioceses on the island of Ireland were represented by the estimated 13,000 pilgrims who attended the Congress which took place in the Marian Shrine in Knock, Co Mayo.  The Congress involved Morning Prayer and workshops on: adoration and prayer; young people and the Eucharist; reconciliation and forgiveness; and St Paul’s response to a divided Church.  The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick was administered to pilgrims before Mass.  The high point of the National Eucharistic Congress was the celebration of Mass in the Basilica in Knock at which Cardinal Seán Brady was Principal Presider and which was concelebrated by 180 bishops and priests.  Mass was followed by Benediction and a procession to the Apparition Chapel.

• Knock Shrine
Each Irish diocese makes an annual pilgrimage to the Marian Shrine and the nine-day Knock novena attracts ten thousand pilgrims every August.  The story of Knock began on the 21 August 1879 when Our Lady, St Joseph and St John the Evangelist appeared at the south gable of Knock Parish Church.  This miraculous apparition was witnessed by fifteen people, young and old.  Knock is an internationally recognised Marian Shrine and was visited by Blessed John Paul II as part of his 1979 papal pilgrimage to Ireland.  During his visit, which coincided with the Shrine’s centenary year, the late pope celebrated Mass at the Shrine and addressed the sick, their helpers and pilgrimage directors.  Archbishop Michael Neary, Archbishop of Tuam, is the custodian of the Marian Shrine and Monsignor Joseph Quinn is parish priest of Knock.  Please see: www.knock-shrine.ie

Read more information on our media centre.

Further information:
Catholic Communications Office Maynooth: Martin Long 00353 (0) 86 172 7678 and Brenda Drumm 00353 (0) 87 310 4444

The Papal Legate is Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Canadian President of the Congregation for Bishops, (the Vatican office which deals with the appointment of bishops around the world). Cardinal Ouellet is a member of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses.

Up to the time of his present appointment in June 2010, Cardinal Ouellet was Archbishop of Quebec City, which hosted the last International Congress in June 2008. Our new Legate, therefore, has an intimate working knowledge of a Eucharistic Congress “from the inside.”

As one might expect of a Canadian bishop, Cardinal Ouellet is fluent in English as well as his native French. As a result of time spent teaching in Bogota, Colombia and in Rome, he also has a good command of Spanish and Italian. 

The Role of the Papal Legate: 

The Archbishop of Dublin, as bishop of the host diocese, is the President of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress. The Papal Legate is the Special Envoy of the Pope and he assumes the effective Presidency, during the actual celebration of the Congress. While the Legate will be present throughout the Congress, his principal public role will include presiding at the opening Mass on Sunday June 10th at the RDS and the Statio Orbis, or concluding Mass in Croke Park on Sunday, June 17th.

Previous Papal Legates:

The Papal Legate to the 31st International Eucharistic Congress, which was celebrated in Dublin in 1932, was the Roman-born Cardinal Lorenzo Lauri, who arrived in Dun Laoghaire by mail boat after the long overland journey from Rome. Cardinal Lauri was awarded the freedom of Dublin City during the Congress. No details of Cardinal Ouellet’s arrival have been announced to date.

The Patrician Congress which was celebrated in 1961 to mark the 1,500th anniversary of the death of St. Patrick, was not a major international event like the Eucharistic Congress, but it did attract the appointment of a Papal Legate for the Patrician Congress, Cardinal Grégoire-Pierre Agagianian, (a native of Georgia on the eastern frontier of Europe). Agagianian was one of those most intimately involved at the time in the management of the Second Vatican Council.

In mediaeval times papal legates were occasionally appointed to settle disputes about authority and about diocesan boundaries. The best known of these was St. Malachy, the first canonized Irish Saint, who was appointed Papal Legate in 1139 and sent back to Ireland to finalise agreement on diocesan boundaries and ecclesiastical provinces. The structures which he established then have been substantially maintained up to the present day. 

The Difference between a Papal Legate and a Papal Nuncio

The Papal Nuncio, currently Archbishop Charles Brown, is the permanent representative of the Holy See (the Vatican ambassador) to the Republic of Ireland. He is also the Pope’s representative to the Catholic Church in Ireland. In this role, his brief covers the whole island of Ireland.

By contrast, a Papal Legate is normally appointed for a specific mission and for a defined period of time.

Read Cardinal Brady's comments on the announcement of the Papal Legate for the Eucharistic Congress.

Read Archbishop Diarmuid Martin's comments on the announcement by Pope Benedict XVI of the nomination of a Papal Legate who will be his representative at the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is a joy and a real privilege for me to celebrate this televised Holy Mass for you this morning. As you know, I am the Papal Nuncio and I only arrived here in Ireland about three months ago. But in those three short months, I have been the grateful recipient of so many wonderful Irish welcomes, from all over this beautiful country, and for that I am deeply and sincerely grateful.

Our Gospel this Sunday could not be more appropriate for the times in which we live. It is taken from the Gospel of Saint John, and is part of the final, farewell discourse which Jesus speaks to his disciples at the Last Supper, the night before his betrayal, crucifixion and death. And at this most crucial moment in his earthly life, Jesus teaches us – his followers – about the most crucial thing. He uses an agricultural image, which would have been readily understandable to his disciples: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). But what does this mean? It means that all of us, as disciples of Jesus Christ, are part of him. We are part of him, as branches are part of a vine. Branches cannot live on their own. If they are separated, cut off from the vine, they wither and die. And just as life flows into a branch because of its connection to the vine, so in a supernatural sense, grace – which is spiritual life and divine energy – flows into us because of our connection with Jesus. Yes, at this most crucial moment in his earthly life, Jesus teaches us about the most crucial thing, and that most important thing is unity; for the image of the vine and branches used by Jesus is meant to teach us about the unity of his followers, the unity of his body, which we call the Church. By baptism we are made part of this body, this community; by receiving Jesus in the Eucharist we are made fully part of his body, the Church, and his life, his grace, his supernatural energy, flow into us. Our task as Catholics is to allow that connection with him to deepen and strengthen throughout our lives on this earth. As he says to us in the Gospel today: “Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty, for cut off from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). But being connected to the Lord through baptism and the Holy Eucharist is not a purely individual thing. The vine has many branches; the body has many parts and the Church has many members. The unity of the Church is the gift of Jesus to us; it is the result of being made part of him, part of the vine that is his community. But the unity which is the gift of Jesus isn’t without its cost. Jesus exhorts his disciples to unity at the Last Supper. But those same disciples who listen to his words are scattered into disunity by the events of the betrayal, arrest, crucifixion and death of the Lord the very next day. Only the holy and courageous women, Mary his Mother, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, together with Saint John, are united and remain with Jesus during his crucifixion. We too as Catholics in our own day have to resist the dis-unifying forces that are around us. It is not by chance that the original Greek word in the Gospels for the Evil One is diabolos – meaning quite literally the one who separates and divides. It is he who wants to separate us from Christ and separate us from our brothers and sisters in Christ.

As I mentioned earlier, I am the Apostolic Nuncio, which just means that I seek to represent Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI here in Ireland. We should always remember that the principal task of the Holy Father, as the successor of the Apostle Peter, is to protect the unity of the Catholic Church – the unity that Jesus asks for at the Last Supper. Blessed John Paul II wrote that the role of the Pope is to be “the first servant of unity” (Ut unum sint, 94). Everything that the Holy Father does, day in and day out, is somehow related to that single principal mission given to him by Jesus – to serve the unity of the Church: a unity that is expressed in what we believe as Catholics, in how we worship as Catholics, and in how we love one another, a love that is “not just words or mere talk, but something real and active” (1 John 3:18). Unity doesn’t mean uniformity – the Catholic Church is a rich variety of people from every walk of life, every kind of culture and language. Here in Ireland, the history of the Church is marked by the examples of so many men and women who made the greatest sacrifices imaginable to preserve the unity of the Catholic Church in love, remaining faithful to the Bishop of Rome, even in the darkest times of suffering. Their witness teaches us that the unity of the Church does not come cheap. All of us need to pray for that unity and at times also to suffer for it. That unity is beautifully summarized in the title chosen for the upcoming International Eucharistic Congress, which will be held here in Dublin next month, “the Eucharist: communion with Christ and with one another”. That is what the Church is: “communion with Christ and with one another”. And that is what we, as Catholics, are called to achieve. The many talks and activities of the Eucharistic Congress will help us learn how to put our own gifts at the service of that communion of love. Let us pray that the Eucharistic Congress, which promises to be such an exciting and beautiful event, will strengthen all of us as we strive to live in communion with Christ and with

St Patrick's College invites papers which explore the theological sources, development, reception and future horizons on the ecclesiology of communion. Active post graduate researchers or researchers who received a doctorate in the past three years are invited to submit papers.

The theme of the symposium suggests various approaches among which are:

• The ecclesiology of communion: biblical perspectives

• The ecclesiology of communion in a contemporary Systematic Theology.

• Moral theology in the light of ecclesiology of communion.

• The reception of the Second Vatican Council in subsequent Magisterial teaching.

• Communion and the Eucharist: new perspectives on the sacraments

• Ecumenical possibilities and tasks involved in receiving and living the Ecclesiology of Communion.

• Communion and Mission: evangelisation in the face of global politics.

• Communion and Creation

• Communion in a world of individuals

• Communion in the writings of Twentieth Century theologians

• The limits and challenges of an ecclesiology of communion.

Paper summaries of approximately 20 minutes will be presented in parallel emerging scholars’ sessions during the symposium.

Applications to present a paper should be sent to Mary McCaughey by 6th January 2012. Successful contributors will be notified by 10th February 2012.

Find out more about the call for papers for the international theology symposium.

Attn: Newsdesks, Photodesks and Religious Affairs Correspondents 

Cardinal Brady and Archbishop Martin to launch the International Eucharistic Congress 2012

• Congress Bell to visit all 26 dioceses of Ireland

Representative of the Media and Congress volunteers have been invited to the launch of the International Eucharistic Congress which takes place in Ireland in June 2012. The theme of the Congress is "The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and one another". Over the week 10 - 17 June 2012 a programme of liturgical and cultural events, workshops and daily celebration of the Eucharist will culminate in an open air Mass and closing ceremony in Croke Park on 17 June next year. The details for the launch of the International Eucharistic Congress are as follows: 

Venue                     Members' Club, RDS, Dublin (main entrance off the Merrion Road)

Date and Time       Monday 7 March at 11:00am

In attendance        Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh; Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin and President of the Congress; Fr Kevin Doran, Secretary General of the Congress; Ms Anne Griffin, General Manager of the Congress; and the choir from the Holy Child Secondary School, Killiney, who will sing the Congress hymn, Though We Are Many, composed by Bernard Sexton. 

Photo opportunity in the RDS with enthusiastic young volunteers wearing t-shirts embossed with the Congress logo alongside the International Eucharistic Congress Bell. On St Patrick's Day, 17 March next, a pilgrimage of the Congress Bell will begin from St Mary's Pro Cathedral, Dublin, going to St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh and from there to all 26 dioceses of Ireland.  The bell is a symbolic invite to Irish Catholics, and for Christians of other traditions, to join in the call to faith, prayer, reconciliation and mission that is at the heart of the Church's preparation for the Congress over the next year and a half.

Further information: www.iec2012.ie/mediacentre

During Mass celebrations for St Patrick’s Day in Armagh, His Eminence, Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland, will ring the Cathedral Mass Bell in preparation for the forthcoming Eucharistic Congress.

Cardinal Brady will then hand the Cathedral Mass Bell to the new Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Charles Brown, who will ring the bell as part of ‘Ring for Renewal’. The Clarion Bells of the Cathedral will then be played for two minutes.

This week Pope Benedict XVI joined ‘Ring for Renewal’ when he sounded the Eucharistic Congress Bell in Rome last Wednesday (14 March), calling people from across the world to Dublin for the Eucharistic Congress, which takes place from 10-17 June 2012.

In solidarity with the Holy Father, Cathedrals and parishes across Ireland have signed up to ring their bells for two minutes at 12 noon and 6pm, as a symbol of renewal and a call to gather in preparation for the Congress.

Cathedrals that will ‘Ring for Renewal’ on St Patrick’s Day include: St John’s Cathedral, Limerick; St Patrick and St Felim’s Cathedral, Cavan; Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, Galway; Cathedral of the Assumption, Carlow; Cathedral of Christ the King, Mullingar.

Keeping with the ecumenical focus of IEC2012, Christchurch Cathedral in Dublin will be ‘Ringing for Renewal’ at 12pm and 6pm on St Patrick’s Day.

By ringing a bell on St Patrick’s Day, everyone can join the journey towards the Congress in their own personal way. Parishes are encouraged to leave a bell in a suitable place within their chapel for people to ring during a visit to the Church on St. Patrick’s Day, for mass or for personal prayer.

Whether people are working, travelling, or attending the St Patrick’s Day Parade, Fr Kevin Doran, Secretary General of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012, encourages everyone to take a moment to ‘Ring for Renewal’ on the Feast of St Patrick. “We invite you, wherever you are, to pause for a moment from the activity of your day, and to allow the ringing of the bell to speak to your heart.”

‘Ring for Renewal’ extends an open invitation to everyone to ring a bell on 17 March, to pause for a moment in the day and to reflect on how they can be renewed as individuals and members of the Church as they prepare for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress.

IEC2012 website is hosting the chiming of the Eucharistic Congress Bell available to stream online: www.iec2012.ie/ringforrenewal

About the Eucharistic Congress Bell

The symbol of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress is a Bell. The Eucharistic Congress Bell originated in the Dominican Convent, Portstewart, Co Derry.

Tradition has it that St Patrick left a bell in each Church he consecrated as a way to call people to the Eucharist. In parishes all over Ireland, the Eucharistic Congress Bell Pilgrimage is building on the tradition of St Patrick and the ringing of Bells.

Since commencing its pilgrimage on St Patrick's Day 2011, the Bell has visited the 26 Dioceses of Ireland, over one thousand parishes, more than 100 schools, and a dozen hospitals and nursing homes, calling people to ‘Come to the Congress’.

In September 2011, the Bell travelled to Lourdes, France with the Dublin Diocesan group. The Bell has now entered phase two of its pilgrimage and is travelling abroad for the second time.

“Our challenges as the Catholic Christian community in Dublin are not just our own (...)  I am aware that the challenges that we as Catholic Christians face are the same challenges that other Christian communities face also. All Christians must learn to work together”, said Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. “If we work together, this Eucharistic Congress will not be simply an outward week-long spectacle or the triumphalistic celebration of an inward-looking Church.  If we work together, it can become a moment of real renewal in the life of the Church in Dublin and a true celebration of what the Church authentically is and should be.”

The ceremony that Church of Ireland Archbishop Jackson will lead during the Congress will be an Ecumenical Liturgy of Word and Water and will take place on Monday 11th June 2012. This first full day of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress will focus on the communion into which we are drawn with Christians of every tradition through the Sacrament of Baptism and through our sharing in the Word of God.

To read Archbishop Martin’s complete homily notes, visit our Media Centre here: www.iec2012.ie/mediacentre
Visit our Congress speaker’s section here: www.iec2012.ie/speakers

https://www.trocaire.org/whatwedo/donate-to-trocaire?fund=32

http://tuamarchdiocese.org/2011/12/mgr-joseph-quinn-1947-2001-rip/

The main events of the Programme take place in the RDS Arena. On most days these will be in the afternoon and will include:

The Catechesis: a “teaching” moment, usually presented by a bishop, reflecting on the theme of the day and its challenges

The Testimony: words of encouragement and inspiration from a lay-person with a story of faith to tell

Celebration of the Eucharist: Mass celebrated with all the Congress delegates, presided over by a bishop

There are some variations from day to day and you can see these below.

Alongside the programme in the Arena, there is a full programme of workshops and cultural events, many of which are now confirmed. In addition there is the Youth Space which has its own dedicated programme, details of which will appear shortly.

Read more about the programme here: www.iec2012.ie/programme

The International Eucharistic Congress, due to take place in Dublin, Ireland in June 2012, fits perfectly into the program for modernisation of the Church in that country, Pope Benedict XVI said Thursday as he greeted participants at the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses.

National delegations from across the globe gathered this week to discuss preparations for Dublin 2012, when the Archdiocese will open its doors, chapels and churches to all those who want to take part in the week long event, centred on the theme "The Eucharist, communion with Christ and with one another”.

The Irish delegation was led by the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, and speaking to them Thursday the Pope observed, “your Assembly has paid great attention to this event, which is also part of the modernization program of the Church in Ireland. The theme,… recalls the centrality of the Eucharistic Mystery for the growth of the life of faith and every authentic process of church renewal”.

Pope Benedict also remarked that this week’s meeting falls on the 50th anniversary of the Eucharistic Congress in Munich, Bavaria, which marked a turning point in understanding these ecclesial events, and which the Pope said “I had the pleasure of attending that assembly in person, as a young professor of theology”. In addition, the 2012 Congress in Dublin will have a jubilee character, as it will be the 50th, and it will also be 50 years since the opening of the Second Vatican Council.

Tracing the long history International Eucharistic Congresses, the Pope said “Through the characteristic formula of the "statio orbis”, they emphasize the universality of the celebration: in fact, it is always a celebration of faith centred on the Eucharistic Christ, Christ's supreme sacrifice for humanity, which involves the faithful not only of a particular Church or nation, but as far as possible, from all over the globe. It is the Church, which gathers around the Lord”.

“The task of Eucharistic Congresses, especially in the current context”, he concluded “is also to make a distinctive contribution to the new evangelization by promoting mystagogical evangelization, which takes place in the school of the Church in prayer and through the liturgy”.

Source http://www.radiovaticana.org/EN1/Articolo.asp?c=438300

- Pilgrimage to begin following reception of bell by Cardinal Brady at St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh 

Date: Thursday 17 March, St Patrick’s Day 

Times and venues: 

Dublin: Following the 10am Aifrinn La Féile Padraig in St Mary’s Pro Cathedral. 

Armagh:  5.30pm at St Patrick’s Cathedral. 

Following the St Patrick’s Day Mass in St Mary’s Pro Cathedral, Dublin, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin will bless the Eucharistic Congress Bell. He will also bless the first of four icons which have been prepared for use with the Congress Bell. The bell will then depart Dublin for Armagh. 

Cardinal Seán Brady will receive the bell at the gates of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh at 5.30pm after which there will be a procession into the cathedral for Evening Prayer and Benediction at 6.00pm with priests and people of the St Patrick’s Cathedral Pastoral Area.

Cardinal Brady will bless the second icon which will be attached to the plinth of the bell. 

On Friday 18 March the bell will be available in the Cathedral for the parishes of the Cathedral Pastoral Area. An invitation has been extended to parishioners across the pastoral area to visit St Patrick’s Cathedral to take part in the various liturgies and prayer.

Morning Mass will take place at 10am. The closing Mass for this part of the bell pilgrimage will take place in the Cathedral at 7.30pm. Cardinal Brady will preside at the Mass.

The bell will move on from Armagh to the other pastoral areas in the archdiocese. The bell will be in the Archdiocese of Armagh for a total of 15 days. From Armagh it will move onto the Dioceses of Dromore, Down and Connor and Derry and onto the remaining dioceses. It will also be taken to the World Youth Day event in Madrid in July and will be taken to Lourdes as part of the Annual Dublin Diocesan pilgrimage. The first stage of the bell pilgrimage will be completed on 29 Jan 2012. 

The full travel itinerary for the Eucharistic Congress Bell is available at the following link: http://www.iec2012.ie/bell

This year, the Lourdes pilgrimage included a focus on the preparations for the International Eucharistic Congress. It was the first time that the Eucharistic Congress Bell left Ireland since the bell pilgrimage began in St Mary’s Pro Cathedral in Dublin on St Patrick’s Day.

The Eucharistic Congress Bell pilgrimage is an invitation to faith, prayer, to reconciliation and to preparation for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress which will take place in Dublin from 10-17 June 2012.

To date the Congress Bell has visited 15 dioceses and hundreds of parishes around the country. It was carried to the summit of Croagh Patrick and to the Aran Islands in July and it was a feature at the Dublin Horse Show in the RDS in August. Later this month the bell will be at the National Ploughing Championships in Athy, County  Kildare.

Read more about the annual diocesan pilgrimage  to Lourdes.

- “May this National Eucharistic Congress, and the International Congress next year, help to bring healing to the social, economic, spiritual and moral wounds that have so deeply afflicted our country and Church in recent times”
- bishops and priests anoint the sick before Mass in the Basilica: “May these days of grace bring healing, strength and peace to us all”
-“my hope is that those who have drifted away from regular Mass will hear the simple request of Jesus: Do this in memory of me”
- thanks young people for attending and encourages use of social media to invite others to be part of Ireland’s preparations for the International Eucharistic Congress 2012
- welcomes Saint Joseph’s Young Priests Society to Knock and thanks the Society for its many years of support for seminarians
- “Jesus is gentle and merciful and loving. He understands the weakness of the human condition. He reaches out to us with compassion and a love that heals. But Jesus is also challenging. He is not afraid to confront us about our laziness, our selfishness and our sin. He does so - He calls us to conversion - because these things hold us back from experiencing the fullness of life God wants us to have. This is the fullness of life that comes from our immersion in the Word of life and in the Eucharist – the Bread of Life”.

Read the complete homily on our media centre.

He invited all people of good will to become part of the journey of reflection and renewal of community that is at the heart of the Eucharistic Congress and the visit of the Congress Bell to each of the 26 dioceses in our country. These are just but some of his words:

“The bell had an honoured place in the mission of our National Apostle. It called the people to pray. It invited them to pause from their busy and distracted lives and to turn to what gives life to the spirit and the soul. It beckoned people to meet Jesus himself in his Word and in the Eucharist.”  

"That call to a new evangelisation will continue to ring out in every parish the bell will visit. It will ring out in memory of Patrick who, in spite of his personal weakness and the many obstacles that came his way, burned with zeal for the hope, life and love that the message of Christ offered to the people of Ireland. The bell will call every one of us to take up that mission from Patrick and make it our own in living out our baptismal call.”

Read the complete homily on our media centre (by clicking on "Media Section"on your left menu and then "Press releases" ), or click on http://www.iec2012.ie/pressreleases

During previous International Eucharistic Congresses there has been a tradition of hospitality with accommodation hosts offering a room and breakfast to overseas pilgrims.

By providing free accommodation, this generous hospitality from hosts in Dublin will allow pilgrims from poor nations to attend the Congress.

All pilgrims who accept host accommodation will be aged over 18 and won't be staying in homes where there are children or vulnerable adults.

You need to apply to become an accommodation host. Read more about hosting accommmodation for pilgrims during the 50th International Eucharistic Congress.

Speaking briefly at the invitation of the Archbishop, Fr. Kevin Doran (Secretary General of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress) invited the young people present to come to Ireland for the Congress.

He announced that, following discussions with the International Catholic Deaf Foundation, it has been agreed that there will be a full deaf track at next year’s Congress, including six workshops facilitated by the Foundation and signed for the deaf.

"You are welcome twice over" Fr. Doran said "You are welcome as young people and you are welcome as deaf people." He also encouraged young people from the Irish deaf community to sign up for the Congress Volunteer Programme.

Find out about volunteering at the 50th International Eucharistic Congress.

The programme called ‘Go! Be Church!’ will happen in an area known as the Chiara Luce Youth Space at IEC2012 in the RDS from 10-16 June. Young people from 17 to 25 years of age will engage in a diverse range of activities that include workshops, dramas, interactive catechesis, celebrations, concerts, social activities, games, and art.

Around 2,500 young people are expected to participate in ‘Go! Be Church!’ this summer and, in preparation for the upcoming Congress, more than 350 young people from across the Dioceses of Ulster gathered in Tyrone on Sunday last, 26 February, to celebrate faith through music, workshops and prayer at an event called Crossroads 2012.

The significant role that youth play in the Church in Ireland was highlighted by the presence of Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland, who was the principal celebrant of the Eucharist at Crossroads 2012.

Other bishops concelebrating the Mass at St Ciaran’s College in Ballygawley included Bishop Liam MacDaid, Bishop of Clogher, and Bishop Donal McKeown, Auxiliary Bishop of Down and Connor. They were joined by IEC2012 Diocesan Delegates from the Northern dioceses.

Bishop McKeown emphasised the important role the youth programme will play in the upcoming Congress: “These are difficult years for everybody in modern Ireland – and, in a particular way, for young people. We are all paying the price for trying to live in the fast lane or coarsening our hearts with superficiality.

“The 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012 provides a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for the people of this island to pause and reflect on the deep human hunger; for meaning, love, God, healing and communion. Adults may well need to see, hear and listen to young people much more than the youth need the adults!”

Bishop McKeown added: “The Congress is a God-given opportunity to reawaken our idealism through reflecting on the mystery of love, community and service. It is a divine invitation to put communion at the heart of who we are as a people.”

Francois-David Freschi, IEC2012 Youth Officer, said: “We are hoping that every parish in Ireland will send at least one young person to represent them in the IEC2012 Chiara Luce Youth Space. The Church in Ireland needs young people and the Congress is a fantastic opportunity for young adults to explore and celebrate their faith.”

Each diocese in Ireland is being invited by IEC2012 to bring groups of young people to the Congress, either for the entire week or a portion of it. At the end of the week, young people will be missioned to go back to their parishes to begin local faith programmes.

The IEC2012 Youth Space is named after Chiara Badano, an ordinary young woman involved in the Focolare movement, who died in 1990 at the age of 18, after succumbing to bone cancer. Because of her qualities as a friend, and her deep sensitivity to the needs of others, especially the poor, she came to be known as ‘Chiara Luce’ (Claire ‘the Light’ in Italian). Chiara was beatified in 2010 and is the patron saint of the IEC2012 Youth Space.

To support the spiritual journey of young people before and after the Congress, groups of young people are invited to dip into the Pastoral Programme which is available on www.iec2012.ie. It invites us to walk in the footsteps of the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

For High Resolution Images See Media Gallery here

• For more information on the Youth Programme click here

• The full programme of the IEC2012 is available here.

• Booking for the Congress is now live on http://www.iec2012.ie/registration

According to the United Nations, persons with disabilities make up an estimated 15 per cent of the world’s population. Almost one-fifth of the estimated global total of persons living with disabilities, or between 110-190 million, encounter significant difficulties. Furthermore, a quarter of the global population is directly affected by disability, as care-givers or family members.

The IEC2012 wants to mark this day by inviting people with disabilities to register to come to the Congress. In the registration form www.iec2012.ie/registration pilgrims are asked to let us know any special need that they may have, to help to plan the events of the Congress in the most inclusive way possible.The IEC2012 will also have translation in sign language in many workshops and wheel chair accessibility in many of its venues and events. We also have the prayer card translated to Braille for those who require it and there will be special need facilities for them in the RDS and Croke Park, the main venues of the Congress.

The clock is ticking for people who’d like to get involved as the closing date for registration with the Volunteer Programme is only one month away on 17 March 2012.

Around 25,000 pilgrims a day are expected to attend the RDS venue between 10 and 16 June, while 80,000 participants will gather to celebrate the Final Mass, Statio Orbis, in Croke Park on 17 June.

Volunteers will engage in a diverse range of assignments, including: event services, medical services, media relations and logistics. A number of roles are also available in pre-Congress activities that include administration, marketing, IT and many other areas.

Places are still available for people willing to assist in the lead up to this international event or during the Congress week itself (10 - 17 June 2012). Anyone interested should be available to volunteer for a minimum of five days between 6 June and 19 June 2012. Volunteers will be fully trained in advance of the Congress.

IEC2012 offers job seekers the ideal opportunity to enhance their CV and brush up on specific skills in today’s competitive jobs market. Full details of volunteering and the application form can be found at http://www.iec2012.ie/volunteer or contact (01) 234 9919.

The Eucharistic Congress is a truly international experience as many of the registered volunteers were not born in Ireland but have chosen to make it their home. So it is fitting that the 1,000th volunteer to sign up was Slovak national, Maria Farkasova, who has lived in Dublin for the last six years.

Speaking about her decision to get involved, Maria said: “I decided to volunteer for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012 because I am passionate about working with people, trying to make a difference in their lives and helping them in any way possible. I feel that the event will have a big impact on the Christian community and I would like to be a part of it.”

Secretary General of IEC2012, Fr Kevin Doran, is emphatic about the importance of volunteers in this year’s Congress: “The input of volunteers will be key to the success of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012. They have a central role to play at the heart of each and every element of this amazing event.”

The basic requirement for volunteering is that you are 18-years-old and legally resident in Ireland. People in receipt of jobseekers allowance are entitled to volunteer without affecting payments. The Department of Social Protection encourages people to do voluntary work.

Full details of the Department of Social Protection’s policy on voluntary work can be found here: http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Pages/JobseekersVoluntaryWorkOption.aspx

Additional functions within the App include a daily guide for pilgrims about Congress events in the RDS; where the main Congress programme, youth programme, prayer space programme, children’s programme and exhibitions take place. Information is also fed through the App about the host churches' programme that will run across 34 Dublin Churches and Statio Orbis in Croke Park.

A unique feature of this App is the ‘My Planner’ section, which allows pilgrims to organise their own personal schedule based around the Congress week programme. ‘My Planner’ creates an individual timetable for the pilgrim based around the workshops, talks, exhibitions and arena events that they are interested in attending.

The App also provides a map and GPS locations for each scheduled event on the Congress programme. Pilgrims will be able to locate where they want to go and how to get there.

Pilgrims using the App will be kept well informed throughout the Congress with the flexible approach that this App adopts, providing the most up to date information at all times.

Additional functions of the App include the news and multimedia sections that inform pilgrims through Youtube videos, photos on Flickr, press releases and TV feeds in the lead up to and during the Congress

A tab with ‘Pastoral Resources’ contains the Congress prayer, an mp3 to play the Congress hymn Though We are Many, details about the IEC2012 logo, the patron saints and Congress Icons, theology and pastoral reflections on the theme of the Congress, and prayers and reflections around the Eucharist.

The pilgrim guide section of the App has details about onsite booking, ticket collection, and maps with GPS guides to the RDS venues, Croke Park, the host Churches, the seven City Churches pilgrimage and optional tourist attractions.

Login to the iTunes store, search for IEC2012 and download the free iPhone and iPad IEC2012 App.

Read more about the IEC2012 App.

Read an interview with Brother Luuk Jansen.

At the upcoming Congress in Dublin’s RDS a diverse programme of events will take place during the fifth day of the programme, 14 June, centering on the theme of the day: ‘Exploring the Challenge of Restoring Communion through Justice and Reconciliation’.

The penitential liturgy will be celebrated at the RDS Arena by Cardinal Peter Turkson, President, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Rome. This celebration will be a timely acknowledgement of the fact that sinful personal actions and attitudes not only impact on our relationship of ‘Communion with Christ and with one another’ but also contribute to the creation of unjust social structures.

Reflecting on this Fr Kevin Doran, who has responsibility for the planning of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012, said: “In so far as we need to seek forgiveness, it is from God and from one another. It includes people close to us and even people whom we have never met. It includes the generations coming after us who will be affected by what has been done in our time. While we cannot re-write history, we can, with God’s help, be reconciled.”

Already, in advance of the Congress, an ‘Inclusive Parishes Programme’ has been developed to help parishioners all over the country to reflect on how parishes can be more welcoming and inviting to people who have experience of being excluded or left on the margins.

On 14 June, the Congress programme will include a wide range of workshops and talks, aimed at promoting reflection and discussion on the key issues regarding equity, reconciliation and social justice in Ireland and throughout our world today.

One of the keynote addresses in the RDS Arena on Thursday afternoon will be given by Richard Moore, founder of ‘Children in Crossfire’, who was blinded by a rubber bullet when he was a child but has since sought out and befriended the soldier who fired the shot. In this way, his personal experience has motivated both reconciliation and action for justice.

Among the workshops, will be one entitled: ‘Globalisation and its impact on Human Society’ facilitated by Prof Vincent McBrierty, Trinity College, Dublin. Also on Thursday, Sr Brigid Reynolds, Social Justice Ireland, will deliver a workshop on ‘Social Justice and Inclusion’ and Justin Kilcullen, Director of Trocaire, will give a presentation on ‘Communion and Solidarity in World Development’.

Fr Gary Donegan, Holy Cross Parish, Ardoyne, Belfast, will lead a workshop on ‘The Eucharist in Peace and Reconciliation’. Later in the evening, Mary Mangan (SHJM), Sheila O’Gorman (RSM) and Catherine Dunne (SSHM), representing Act to Prevent Trafficking (APT) will together deliver a workshop on ‘Broken Lives: the hidden crime…human trafficking’.

The Mass on Thursday afternoon at 4pm, in the RDS Arena, will also have a particular focus on reconciliation and will be celebrated as Gaeilge, (in our native Irish language) by Cardinal Sean Brady, Archbishop of Armagh.

Read more on the programme for the 14th June here.

Find out more about the ecumenical programme of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress.

The generosity of Dublin people means that hundreds of foreign pilgrims, who wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend this summer’s Congress, can make their way to Dublin to share in celebration of the Eucharist.

To participate in the programme, Dublin residents with a spare room and a desire to help out can apply to provide accommodation to people from countries such as Peru, Ecuador, the Philippines and Bangladesh for the duration of the event.

The HAPP programme will run from 9 – 18 June 2012, while the Congress runs from 10-17 of the same month.

All participating pilgrims have been approved from their home country and will be over 18 years old. Most of the countries sending pilgrims as part of this programme are from countries that have a strong missionary connection with Ireland.

There are currently far more requests for accommodation than available rooms so IEC2012 would be delighted to accept further host homes that can provide a clean and secure environment for one or two pilgrims to stay. Ideal candidates are places which have a direct train or bus route to the Congress venue at the RDS in Ballsbridge, but all Dublin areas will be considered.

Congress organisers hope that families will receive pilgrims into their homes between Saturday 9 June and Monday 18 June 2012, providing them with a simple clean bedroom and breakfast each day. Homes with children or vulnerable adults will not be considered for the programme.

Prior to hosting a pilgrim, participants will receive a short home visit from a representative of the International Eucharist Congress 2012 to ensure their home is suitable for the programme.

Fr Kevin Doran, Secretary General of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012, acknowledged that hospitality of this nature is a central part of organising a Congress. “Over the years, a tradition of hospitality has grown up around the Congress, and in the best spirit of Eucharist, there is a real desire to ensure that nobody is excluded because they can’t afford to be there.”

Anyone who would like to offer complimentary pilgrim accommodation and if you live in an area of Dublin with a direct public transport link to the RDS, Dublin 4, please contact 01-2349919 or email volunteeradmin@iec2012.ie. A home visit will be carried out following expressions of interest.

Click here for further information on the host accommodation programme.

IEC2012 welcomed its first Business2012 partner, Tom Clements, Managing Director of RPD Ltd., a printing company that supplies envelopes and other fund-raising & marketing products to churches, schools, sports clubs & charities

RPD is an Irish printing company based in Dublin, which specialises in supplying offering envelopes, stationery and other fund-raising and marketing products to churches, schools, sports clubs and churches.

RPD supplies fund-raising products for customers in Ireland the UK and Europe ranging from entire diocese to small parishes with fewer than 20 contributing members. www.rpd.ie

For more information on our sponsorship opportunities, visit www.iec2012.ie/sponsorship

For more information on how to get ETWN in Ireland, please click here: http://ewtn-ireland.ie/PDFs/HowToReceiveEWTNIreland.pdf

Work on the Healing Stone project began in early 2012. Following consultation with various people, including abuse survivors, it was agreed that the stone would be an appropriate symbol for the Congress.

Father Kevin Doran, Secretary General of IEC2012, said:

“Stone speaks of permanence. To say something is ‘carved in stone’ is to say that it is here to stay rather than just a passing thought. The stone represents the firm determination to work for healing and renewal.

In our Christian tradition, the stone which covered the tomb of Jesus, symbolises both the end of His earthly existence and the fact of His Resurrection. We are conscious of the fact that, for many who have experienced abuse, either themselves or to a member of their family, the pain of abuse can sometimes be like a stone weighing heavily on them. It is a stone that, in some way or other needs to be rolled back so that they can be set free.”

Father Doran added:

“It is planned that after the Congress, the Stone will be given a more permanent home on an accessible site, where people can pause and pray, and so that there will be a permanent public reminder of our need never to take safeguarding for granted.”

Tuesday 16 August 2011

 "I'm sitting down enjoying a very cold bottle of water after a very long but wonderful day. And I'm thinking of you all!

We're so grateful for the weekend to acclimatise in Madrid, to get a feel of the city and see how the set up is going for WYD. Colette, Gellért and I have had a really enjoyable time together! We found a fab coffee shop on our street and that has become our local coffee stop.

On Monday we set up our stand which is number 6 of a row of 68 stalls. The little kiosks are great but quite hot. It's almost cooler outside in the sun!

Today, Tuesday, was our first day. We are next to the vocations hub for England and Wales and spent a lot of time talking to some really lovely young English pilgrims, many of whom knew about the Congress. Two in particular were so knowledgeable we could have left them on our stand and gone for a break! Nearly all of them had relations in Ireland and would spread the word to them. Fr Julian Greene is well known to a lot of them and he has them well briefed! I also spoke to a Portuguese priest from Faro who is really looking forward to bringing a group from his diocese (he is ordained 3 years and has done 40 weddings, 25 of whom were Irish couples!). There are many pilgrims from Zimbabwe, Nigeria, USA, Peru, Costa Rica....the list really is endless. Far more Spanish speakers than I thought. Plenty of Canadians too and one girl I met on the Metro was a volunteer in Quebec!

Today Colette and I also joined the Irish groups (about 1,000 of them). It was great to feel the energy they had. Real energy and enthusiasm for their faith. We gave out Congress pins to them and told them to spread the word and register as a volunteer!! Gellért kindly manned the stand for the 3 hours that we were gone. All of us were exhausted by the end of the day! The opening mass of WYD was at 8pm tonight.

We are learning so much and picking up great tips. It really is wonderful to be here anyway and I'm keeping all of you in my prayers.

Kevin, Ger and Michael arrived tonight and are heading off to speak to a group of Austrians tomorrow who are coming next year. Their Bishop was in Dublin in June.

Looking forward to seeing what Wednesday has to offer! I'll send an email again tomorrow night. Buenos noches!"

Sheena, Colette & Gellért

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Wednesday 17 August 2011

 " Well what another incredible day here in Madrid. (I'll try not to mention the heat too often!) We spoke to hundreds of people again and all with such enthusiasm for coming to Dublin. Because of where the stand is located, there are a lot of local people popping by and nearly all have kids who have studied in Dublin over the years. It's amazing the connection between our two countries. Plenty of people from exotic locations too - Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius as well as India, Algeria, South Africa. Everywhere. I spoke to a girl from France who comes from the parish where the lady who founded the international congresses was from. She hopes to come over. Ger spoke to a priest who was ordained during the Congress in Lourdes 30 years ago. A group of young Swedish people also really enthusiastic and they know the delegate for Scandanavia so will contact him to get a group over. A Brazilian guy living in Dublin, is here with CYC who can't wait to get more involved and will help with translations.

Ger and Kevin went to speak with a few groups and Kevin ended up on German radio! They are speaking to more Germans on Friday. Ger spoke at a pro life conference that was very well attended by Irish. Cardinal Pell from Australia  was the main speaker. Ger introduced Elation Ministries at that event and spoke about IEC2012. Elation came to our stand tonight and did some amazing promotion. They will be back on Friday for a music session at the stand! Bishop McKeown called by too with his group from Down and Connor. A crowd from Catholic Youth Care too. I got chatting to a lovely group from Jersey who intend to bring a parish group to Dublin. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. So many Americans (north and south!) and Australians. And that was just my experience, Gellért, Colette, Kevin and Ger have loads of stories too.

I took a break in the afternoon and spent a holy hour with Youth2000 and the church was jammers. I would love you all to see the unbelievable faith expressed by so many youth from all over the world. So many cultures and languages, yet all with that one common bond - our Catholic faith. It's so refreshing. One memory from today for me is when on the Metro (packed!) we were stopped at a station for a long time. There was no complaining, just singing and smiling and chatting amongst the pilgrims. Everyone is so polite and helpful and happy! it's kinda funny to see the locals’ reaction, they don't understand why this massive group of young people are happy and not causing mayhem!

Anyway! Ger, Colette, Kevin and I finally ate at about 10pm and we had a great chat and laugh about everything. More action tomorrow, visiting various Catechesis venues, talking to people on the metro and of course at our stand.

 I hope you're able to follow some of what's happening here in Madrid online. Salt and Light TV (online too) have good coverage of events. EWTN too. The Pope arrives tomorrow and there is small Metro strike, yay! But who cares? we'll just sing songs with strangers and have a ball!

Will be in touch tomorrow.

Buenos noches."

Sheena, Colette & Gellért

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Thursday 18 August 2011

" Well the Pope is here! There was great excitement around Madrid today. The locals have done a wonderful job decorating their own windows with Spanish and Papal flags. We were so delighted when at 5pm we were told that the police wanted to close all the stalls at 5.30pm! It was a great relief to know we could leave the stand, guilt free! While it started off in the morning at a very cool 25 degrees and some beautiful refreshing rain, it soon shot up to 38 degrees again and we were roasting for the day! This morning I had a lie in and went to Starbucks for breakfast (Gellért wouldn't allow me to go during the week so I enjoyed my coffee in peace and quiet!).

Then I headed to Catechesis with Archbishop Dolan from New York....and it was so packed I couldn't get into the church, not an inch of room on the floor. I stood outside in a crowded courtyard and tried to listen but couldn't so made my way back to Retiro to the stand. I was so tired from yesterday that I was wandering around in a daze for a while so decided to go for a wander to see how the confessions and adoration areas were set up in the park. Three Spanish women stopped me thinking I was a volunteer and when they realised I was from Ireland, one of them got very excited and told me she was an O'Donnell! I gave her a Congress pin and she and her friends said they would love to come to Dublin next year. It's amazing how many people have Irish relations over here! Anyway, I strolled down the never ending line of confession boxes and noticed the volunteers kindly giving bottles of water and bananas to the priests to keep them going. An important note!! When I finally got to the Adoration tent, there was a queue to get in so I didn't stay, the heat was too much. On my way back (slightly uphill!), I met some friends from home so we sat down in the shade for a while. Back at the stand and I was really just fit for sleep so Colette and I went for food in a fab Italian restaurant nearby. Suddenly I was human again!! Gellért was delighted because that meant I had the energy to relieve him so he could go for lunch. He's very particular about his food - he needs to eat often!!

 Ger went to the Catecheis with Archbishop Diarmuid Martin this morning and spoke about the Congress. He said there is great interest in volunteering amongst the Irish, thankfully! I spoke to many Australians, Spaniards, of course, and lots of English pilgrims too. Oh and not to mention our daily visit from Bishop Donal McKeown! He arrived at the right time, just when Kevin got back with ice cream! A young lad from Newry, who will volunteer, told me that his grandad is very excited about next year because he turns 80 on 17 June 2012....he was born in 1932! And he will celebrate in Croke Park!

We also had a visit from our number 2 volunteer, Sean Jones (Ger G being volunteer number 1 of course!) who is over with a group from Sligo. Gellért is meeting so many Hungarians too and I think word is spreading that he is at our stand. The girls love him ;-) He did say though that he found it hard to translate the Congress into Hungarian (or Magyar as the language is known) but that he was getting the hang of it.

Everyone loves the Congress pins and we give a leaflet with every pin. It is great to have the Spanish translation on the leaflets.

 We stayed away from the centre tonight and went for dinner near the hotel instead and watched the Pope's welcoming ceremony on TV in the restaurant/bar. On the way in we met two Spanish guys who spoke fluent English and whose daughters were heading off to Ireland in September to study...one guy’s daughter is going to King’s Hospital in Dublin and the other guy’s daughter is going to....wait for it Laura...Our Lady's Bower in Athlone!!! Both will study in Ireland for 3 years and do their leaving cert. And yes, they all got Congress pins!

Tomorrow is our last full day at the stand and my last day with Gellért and Colette :-( I will miss them both so much. They want me to go to Rimini with them! I asked Kevin but.....

 I know tomorrow is going to be another busy but enjoyable and productive day! I’ll need a foot massage when I get home too and knee replacements, my legs are in bits!!

 Buenos noches"

 Sheena

The Vocations Expo 2011 during World Youth Day, brings together over sixty Catholic organisations, including faith, prayer, justice movements, religious congregations and communities. This Vocations Fair gives hundreds of thousands of young people the chance to learn more about vocations within the Catholic Church and discover God’s path for them in their own lives.

The exhibitors at Vocations Expo include: the 50th International Eucharistic Congress, Christian Life Movement,  Net Ministries, Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, Life Teen, Communion and Liberation, Shalom Community and Christians Without Frontiers.
 
Meet Colette, Father Kevin Doran, Sheena and  Gellért from IEC2012 on stand six at Vocations Expo.  They can tell you how Ireland is preparing for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress and invite you to join us in Dublin for this significant event.
 
The Catholic Church in Ireland will host the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin from 10 until 17 June 2012. Registration is now open. 

For more information on our Youth Programme, click here.

In recent years the National Ploughing Championships has provided an opportunity for ecumenical collaboration between the Christian faiths.

At this year’s championships, the Roman Catholic Church, the 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012, the Church of Ireland and the Methodist Church in Ireland are together in a shared space, inviting people to come together to pray. At the Ecumenical Stand, common prayer is said at regular intervals. Visitors can post prayer petitions on a prayer wall.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, and Archbishop Michael Jackson, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, will visit the Ecumenical Stand at the National Ploughing Championships on Thursday, 22 September.

The International Eucharistic Congress Bell is also at the National Ploughing Championships. The bell began its pilgrimage on St Patrick’s Day 2011 and has travelled to dioceses and parishes as a symbol of the call to prayer, to renewal and as an invitation to the International Eucharistic Congress. Recently the Bell was brought to Lourdes with the 2,000 pilgrims who made up the annual Archdiocese of Dublin diocesan pilgrimage to the French Marian shrine.

Fr Kevin Doran, Secretary General of the International Eucharistic Congress 2012, said “The Congress is delighted to be represented at the 80th National Ploughing Championships in Athy, the biggest agricultural event of the year. Another important 80th anniversary occurs next year when the International Eucharistic Congress takes place in Ireland, with 2012 marking the 80 years since the 1932 Congress was last held here. Over the next few days I encourage all to visit us at Stand 300, Block 4 on Row K.”

Find out more about the National Ploughing Championships.  

• the people’s response to the greeting by the priest
• I Confess
• the Gloria
• the Apostles’ Creed
• the acclamations for the Eucharistic Prayer, and
• the invitation to Communion.

There aren't any changes to the Order of the Mass or the structure.

Find out more about the new translation of the Roman Missal and download resources which explain the changes to prayers and responses.

IEC2012 has recently appointed two new members of staff.
Paul Rooney, National Leader of Youth 2000 for the last four years, will join the management team of IEC2012, as Volunteer Services Manager. In addition to the valuable experience he has gained in coordinating a major Catholic youth movement, Paul brings with him to his new role a wealth of professional experience in project management.
Sharon Doyle, a native of Waterford, has just joined IEC2012 as Financial Controller. In these economically  challenging times, she will have a crucial role in plotting the course that will lead to the delivery on budget of a successful international Congress.

Find out more about current job opportunities in IEC2012.
 

Though the final list has not been released while the Congress confirms the availability of all prospective speakers, some names were confirmed: Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga, President of Caritas Internationalis, Brother Alois, Prior of Taizé, Archbishop Michael Jackson, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin and Glendalough, and Richard Moore, Executive Director of Children in Crossfire.

More details will follow in the coming month in the Congress Speakers' section of our website: www.iec2012.ie/speakers.

The IEC2012 official carrier, Aer Lingus, is offering an early bird discount off flights booked between 16th and 30th March 2012 for all pilgrims that choose to travel between 1st and 24th June 2012. Pilgrims can avail of 10 per cent discount off the airfare on short haul routes, or $50 off long haul routes.

To avail of the discounted rates simply log onto www.aerlingus.com, enter the following promotional code for the discount on European routes: IECEUR23. For pligrims flying from US and Canadian routes, the promotional code is IECUSA23. For up to 25 persons travelling to the Eucharistic Congress, flights can be made easier with group bookings providing the flexibility to add the individual passenger names online up to ten days prior to departure. In addition, all groups that are booking online between 16th and 30th March 2012 can also avail of the early bird discounts.

Pilgrims from the US and Canada can fly direct to Ireland with Aer Lingus from Boston, Chicago, New York and Orlando. Alternatively, pilgrims may connect at those gateways when travelling from over 50 cities across the US and Canada.

Those travelling to the Eucharistic Congress from the UK can choose from up to 38 daily services operating from ten airports Birmingham, Cardiff, Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester.

The official IEC2012 carrier also offers direct flights from 21 countries across Europe including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Switzerland.

Read more about Aer Lingus discounted flights for pilgrims.

The music will be led by a core choir each day with the participation of many others throughout the RDS and, on the last day, Croke Park. We hope to involve those from the four provinces of Ireland through contact with the relevant Diocesan Directors of Music and Liturgy. Visiting delegates are asked to express an interest in joining in the music programme when they register.

Local and regional rehearsals will take place after 17 April. Details will be announced locally and on this website. It is important that those who wish to participate in singing in the Congress liturgies as part of the massed choirs register for the Congress as soon as possible. We suggest that you register as a group, giving your choir name as the group name. This will allow us to place choirs appropriately in the RDS Arena. For choirs hoping to come to Croke Park only, please note that all available one-day tickets for Croke Park are being distributed via the diocesan network and contact should be made with your diocesan representative as soon as possible to see if some of these can be allocated to your group.

If you have access to Sing the Mass then you can start your community rehearsals now if you know on which day or days you intend to be present. As the core Mass parts are the most important in addition to the Congress Hymn Though We Are Many we suggest that you look at these first and use them in your own parish liturgies over the coming months.

To read more and download the IEC2012 music repertoire, please click here

All roads lead to Knock this weekend for the National Eucharistic Congress at Knock Shrine. The Catholic Church in Ireland is marking the one-year count down to next year’s International Congress by hosting a National Eucharistic Congress in Knock on 25 June next.  Thousands of people from parishes all over the country will travel to Knock to take part in special events, workshops, celebrations and prayer.  The Knock Youth Festival is also running at the same time as the National Eucharistic Congress.

The celebration in Knock is a chance to focus on the local community and the pastoral preparation in Ireland for the International Eucharistic Congress next year.  The International Congress is not just a once-off week of events in 2012, but a journey of renewal.  This is an opportunity to remind ourselves that we are part of something bigger than ourselves and to do something together – in communion – as one body.

Click here for more information.

The volunteer team for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress, which will take place in Dublin from 10– 17 June 2012, is using National Volunteer Day to promote volunteering for the Congress.

The Congress needs between two and three thousand volunteers.
Find out more information on volunteering for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress.

Visit IEC2012 Facebook page to see photographs of IEC2012 volunteer Ger Brennan who went to Croke Park this week for a team talk with fellow IEC2012 vounteers.

1st Option: Pilgrims have the choice to register for 7 days, 10 - 16 June, at the RDS for €95 with the option to gain admission to the final Mass Statio Orbis in Croke Park on 17 June, for an additional €10. Registration for the Congress does not include accommodation costs.

2nd Option: The second option is to register to attend the Congress for 3 consecutive days in the RDS for €60, again with the offer of admission to the final Mass for an additional €10.

3rd Option: The third booking option is to purchase a single day ticket for €30 to attend one day of the Congress programme in the RDS. However, this does not include the option to gain admission for the final Mass.

Croke Park

To gain admission to Croke Park you can book for 7 or 3 days (plus €10) or obtain a ticket through your diocesan network.

More than 80,000 people are expected to attend the final Mass in Croke Park, therefore a limited number of tickets for the Statio Orbis are being distributed by each Irish diocese and through local parishes in the coming weeks. Information on who you need to contact in each specific diocese is available on www.iec2012.ie/statioorbis

Online bookings are available until 9 May 2012. Until this date, pilgrims can register either as an individual, as a family or as a group at www.iec2012.ie/registration. Clergy and Media will also need to register. Alternatively, for those who cannot register online, you can do so by calling 00353 (1) 298 1122. Online registration closes on 9 May 2012, after this date bookings will be on-site only at the RDS.

The 50th International Eucharistic Congress (IEC 2012) will be a momentous occasion for all pilgrims travelling from all over the world, who will join an expected 25,000 people, including 12,000 international pilgrims, during each day of the Congress at the RDS. Pilgrims attending IEC 2012 can look forward to an exciting programme of cultural events, workshops, keynote addresses and themed liturgies.

More information on the Programme of the Congress can be found on www.iec2012.ie/programme.

The Eucharistic Congress is an international gathering of people, held every four years somewhere in the world, which aims to promote an awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Catholic Church and to help improve our understanding and celebration of the liturgy and draw attention to the social dimension of the Eucharist. The theme of the Congress is ‘The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with one another’.

The programme of cultural events, workshops, exhibitions, catechesis and testimonies throughout the week of the Congress will help deepen and renew the commitment to the lifestyle of justice and service inspired by the Eucharist.

In addition, a dedicated Youth Space for more than 2,500 young people will be held each day at the RDS with a programme of interactive catechesis, workshops, dramas, celebrations, concerts and fun. Young adults between 17 and 25 years of age can register online to participate in the Youth Space programme.

More than 2,000 volunteers are also required to make this great international event happen. Anyone over 18 years of age can now register online to volunteer either before, during or after the Congress at www.iec.ie/volunteer.

These will allow commercial organisations and Church to represent themselves and offer religious goods, Irish craft products and services to thousands of pilgrims.

The exhibition layout is now available and bookings are being taken by email: exhibition@iec2012.ie

The Irish delegation presented the preliminary arrangements for the Eucharistic Congress to seventy delegates nominated by Bishops’ Conferences from all five continents.

The delegation was composed of Archbishop Martin (President IEC2012), Gerard Gallagher (Chair of Committee for Pastoral &Liturgical Planning and Programming), Barbara Gilroy (Chair of Special Events committee), Anne Griffin (General Manager), and Fr Kevin Doran (Secretary General IEC2012).

Press Release from the Archdiocese of Dublin

This morning in the Sala Clementina of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Benedict XVI received in audience the participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses. Addressing the delegation, His Holiness expressed the hope that the preparations in Ireland for the International Eucharistic Congress would help with the renewal of the Irish Church.

Pope Benedict said “your Assembly has paid great attention to this event, which is also part of the modernisation programme of the Church in Ireland. The theme, recalls the centrality of the Eucharistic Mystery for the growth of the life of faith and every authentic process of Church renewal”.

Pope Benedict also remarked that this week’s meeting falls on the 50th anniversary of the Eucharistic Congress in Munich, Bavaria, which marked a turning point in understanding these ecclesial events, and which the Pope said “I had the pleasure of attending that assembly in person, as a young professor of theology”. In addition, he said the 2012 Congress in Ireland will have a jubilee character, as it will be the 50th Congress and it will also be 50 years since the opening of the Second Vatican Council.

The Eucharistic Congress will be hosted by the Archdiocese of Dublin on behalf of the whole Irish Church. The theme of the 2012 Congress is “The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and one another” and pastoral planning and preparations are well under way throughout Ireland.

The programme of the 2012 Congress was presented to the assembled delgates by the Irish organisers on the second day of the conference. The Congress theological document "Pastoral and Theological reflections for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress" was presented by Archbishop Martin in plenary session. Alongside this, Fr. Kevin Doran (Secretary General) outlined the four-stage programme of pastoral preparation which has been introduced in most Irish dioceses, and invited delegates to make this a truly international Congress by making use of these pastoral resources in their own countries also.

The delegates were also introduced to the new Congress hymn "Though we are Many" by contemporary Irish composer Bernard Sexton. The Congress prayer (in 7 languages) and the promotional DVD were also presented.

The Holy Father received the Bell, which was presented by a delegation headed by the President of IEC2012, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, accompanied by Secretary General of IEC2012, Fr Kevin Doran, and members of IEC2012 staff during a papal audience.

The Pope received the delegation during a papal audience in St Peter’s Square at 10.30am on Wednesday, 14 March. The Holy Father rang the Bell which is calling people from across the world to Dublin for the Congress, which takes place from 10-17 June.

"Pope Benedict XVI blessed the bell, rang it vigorously, and paused to admire the icons as Archbishop Martin explained their significance", explained Fr. Kevin Doran.

Colette Furlong, Pastoral Services Manager in IEC2012, presented Pope Benedict XVI with the first commemorative medal struck to mark this year's 50th International Eucharistic Congress. Sheena Darcy, IEC2012 Office Manager presented shamrock to the Holy Father.

Later today the Bell will move to St Peter’s Basilica where it will remain for Mass at 5pm celebrated by Archbishop Piero Marini, President of the Pontifical Committee for the International Eucharistic Congresses. The Bell will be rung at Masses throughout Wednesday as an invitation to the Congress.

Later in the week the Bell will travel to St Isidore's Irish Franciscan College, where this year’s St Patrick’s Day Mass will be celebrated on Saturday 17 March. Also attending this Mass will be Deputy Pat Rabbitte, Irish Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources, as part of his visit to Italy for St Patrick’s Day celebrations. On Sunday 18 March, the Bell will be present at Mass in the Pontifical Irish College at 10am.

Speaking during the Bell Pilgrimage in Rome, Fr Kevin Doran, Secretary General of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012, said: “It seems somehow appropriate that the Bell, on its way to visit Pope Benedict, was delivered on Tuesday afternoon [13 March] to the very office beside St Peter’s Square where Pope Benedict himself worked for over 20 years.”

Fr Doran added: “We are truly delighted that with this visit the Bell has brought parishes, schools and hospitals all over Ireland into a closer Communion with the Pope as we enter the final phase of preparation for the Eucharistic Congress.”

Journeying with the Bell are the four Eucharistic Congress Icons which represent the four parts of the Mass, and correspond to each of the four stages of the pastoral preparation programme for the Congress. The Bell calls people to prayer and the Icons offer rich themes for reflection.

Ring for Renewal invites people to pause on the journey of life and reflect on how we can renew as people and as members of the Church as we prepare for IEC2012. Read more about Ring for Renewal.

Facts about the Bell

Tradition has it that St Patrick left a bell in each Church he consecrated as a way to call people to the Eucharist.

In parishes all over Ireland, the Eucharistic Congress Bell Pilgrimage is building on the tradition of St Patrick and the ringing of Bells.

Since commencing phase one of its pilgrimage on St Patrick’s Day (17 March) in 2011, the Bell has visited the 26 Dioceses of Ireland, over one thousand parishes, more than 100 schools, and a dozen hospitals and nursing homes, calling people to ‘Come to the Congress’.

In September 2011, the Bell travelled to Lourdes, France with the Dublin Diocesan group. The Bell has now entered phase two of its pilgrimage and is travelling abroad for the second time. This week the Bell has travelled to Rome for the first time.

 Eucharistic Congress Medal

Pope Benedict XVI will be presented with a commemorative medal celebrating the 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012.

In 1932 Ireland hosted the 31st International Eucharistic Congress which coincided with the 1500th anniversary of St. Patrick’s arrival in Ireland. Commemorative medals and badges were issued to mark the event and many are still treasured to this day. 

To mark the 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012, organisers have produced a commemorative medal designed by Martin Barlow, who also designed the IEC2012 logo. The medal is gold plated and enamelled. It is 50mm in diameter and carries the Congress logo in colour on the front and on the reverse a Celtic cross motif surrounded by the Congress theme: The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with One Another. Each medal comes in a presentation case complete with an explanatory card available in the seven official languages of the Congress.

The company producing the medals for IEC2012 is Dublin based Lee Brothers, founded by John Lee. In an interesting connection with the 1932 medal, John Lee’s uncle, Kevin Lee, worked for the Jewellery and Metal Manufacturing Company of Ireland which produced the 1932 medals.

There are two versions of the commemorative medal available: A medal for general issue and a limited edition Irish language version, of which only 1,000 will be produced.

The medal will be available online at www.thecollector.ie/iec2012medal. The medal is priced €29.95 + p&p.

Details of the team accompanying the Eucharistic Bell Pilgrimage in Rome:

Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin and President of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012: A Dublin native, Archbishop Martin was ordained a priest in May 1969 and a bishop by Pope John Paul II in 1999. In 2001 he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to the UN Institutions in Geneva before returning to Dublin as co-adjutor Archbishop in 2003 and succeeded Cardinal Desmond Connell as Archbishop of Dublin in April 2004. Archbishop Martin is currently Vice-President of the Irish Episcopal Conference, Chairman of the Department of Social Issues and International Affairs and Chairman of the Bishops’ Commission on Europe.

Fr Kevin Doran, Secretary General 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012: A priest of the Archdiocese of Dublin, Fr Doran has been working on the preparation of the Eucharistic Congress for almost four years. He worked for five years as Spiritual Director at the Pontifical Irish College in Rome. Ordained in 1977, Fr Doran has a particular interest in Catholic social teaching and in the ethics of healthcare. He is currently a Consultor of the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education, in the section dealing with Vocations. He assists in St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Marino.

Colette Furlong, IEC2012 Pastoral Services Manager: Colette has a spent a number of years working in the area of faith development. Colette regularly lectures at St Patrick’s College, Carlow and All Hallows College, Dublin and she is also a guest lecturer at the National Centre for Liturgy, Maynooth. She joined the 50th International Eucharistic Congress team in 2010 with responsibility for developing and supporting a four stage pastoral preparation programme. Colette lives in Dunboyne, Co Meath.

Tommy Burns, Bell Pilgrimage Coordinator: A native of Drogheda, Tommy has been working with the International Eucharistic Congress for the past two years as the IEC2012 Diocesan Delegate for the Archdiocese of Armagh. As Bell Pilgrimage Coordinator he has also been involved with the pilgrimage of the Congress Bell since it began its journey on St. Patrick’s Day 2011. Tommy is Chairman of the St. Oliver Plunkett national campaign for Peace and Reconciliation. He has written extensively on the life and times of St. Oliver and recently created the St. Oliver Plunkett website.

Sheena Darcy, IEC2012 Office Manager: Hailing from Dublin, Sheena joined the IEC2012 team in June 2010 as Office Manager. Prior to this, Sheena spent a year studying in Rome and previously managed the National Office of Youth 2000 Ireland for four years. Sheena holds a diploma in Human Resources Management. At IEC2012, Sheena’s role is to ensure the smooth running of the office for the 40 staff preparing and planning this international event. Her role for the week of the Congress will be to oversee the running of the Main Operations Centre in the RDS.

“By a noteworthy coincidence”, the archbishop went on, “the fiftieth International Eucharistic Congress of Dublin coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of Vatican Council II; and it is to the Council that the Congress will refer because the theme chosen – ‘The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with one another’ – has been taken from paragraph 7 of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium. That theme reminds the baptised that it is by participating in the Eucharist that we construct communion with Christ and, at the same time, with one another; in other words, the most authentic face of the Church. … Progressive emphasis on the ecclesiology of communion ‘according to which the Eucharist has a causal influence at the very origins of the Church’, is replete with pastoral, ecclesial and ecumenical consequences, which will be studied in Dublin at a theological symposium to be held before the Congress.”

Archbishop Marini explained that the event will be attended by thousands of faithful from all over the world who, apart from celebrating the Eucharist together, will pray and participate in a number of processions, eighteen general conferences and 150 workshops and discussion groups, examining important religious themes and experiencing “authentic ecclesial solidarity”.

For his part Archbishop Martin recalled that Dublin had also hosted the thirty-first International Eucharistic Congress in 1932. “The Church in Ireland in 1932 was very different to the Church in Ireland today”, he said. “The Eucharistic Congress must address its participants in the context of the culture in which they live.” In 2012 it must “reflect and present the Church in Ireland, a Church which has faced and continues to face enormous challenges, but a Church which is alive, energetic and anxious to start a journey of renewal.

“There are divisions within the Irish Church”, he added, “sometimes unhealthy divisions. I believe it is helpful to look back to 1932 and to Irish society of the time, which less than a decade previously had been lacerated by a harsh civil war lasting two years. It is a fact of great honour to my predecessor Archbishop Edward Byrne that he celebrated the Congress as a moment of reconciliation and rediscovered unity. For the first time in the newly independent Ireland, men and woman on both sides of a bitter divide met to work together on a shared project. The Eucharist has the power to reconcile. Communion with Christ nourishes communion and reconciliation with others.”

Archbishop Martin went on: “The fiftieth International Eucharistic Congress of Dublin will again be a moment of renewal and reconciliation; an event reawakening awareness among all Catholics of the central place of the Eucharist in the life of the Church, the true summit to which all Church activities strive, the source whence all Church life pours forth.”

The Congress will remind the Church in Ireland “of the centrality of spiritual renewal and of the significance of the Church as the Body of Christ”, he said.

The archbishop of Dublin also announced that the Congress will have an ecumenical aspect, with the participation of other Christian Churches in Ireland. The event will conclude in Croke Park on 17th June with a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and pontifical delegate to the Congress. During the Mass a televised message from the Pope will be broadcast.

As part of the promotion of IEC2012, Fr Doran recorded five programmes with Salt and Light Television and broadcast live on Radio Galilée (Quebec).

Presentations were made to diocesan groups in Toronto, London, Quebec and Montreal as well as to Canadians and Irish people who have lived in Canada for most of their lives. Fr Doran held meetings with Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto and Archbishop Gerald Lacroix of Quebec City, both of whom are leading pilgrim groups to the Congress.

He also had the very useful opportunity to compare notes with many of those who were directly involved in the preparation of the last Congress in Quebec City in 2008.

With 12 months to go, there are strong indications that there will be a truly global presence at the Congress in Dublin in June 2012.

 Already there has been confirmation that groups will travel from the United Kingdom and Canada as well as many other countries, including Taiwan, the Ivory Coast and Paraguay.

Additional is also be available to assist pilgrims with registration, accreditation, accommodation, tours and transport for individual and group attendance to the Congress.

For more information and registrations visit: www.iec2012.ie/registration

Find out more about speakers and events at the theology symposium.

Find out more about the call for papers to present at the theology symposium.  

The bell is a symbol of the invitation to gather for the Eucharist and to join in the journey of preparation for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress. Thousands of people in cities and villages all over the North and West of Ireland have received the bell to their parishes in recent months. Some of them came to ring it once again at the Horse Show.

Over the next month the Congress Bell will be visiting parishes in the dioceses of Dublin and Meath, before joining the Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes from 7th-12th September. Between September 2011 and January 2012, the Bell will make its way through the southern part of the island, visiting parishes, schools and places of pilgrimage.

Registrations to attend the Congress are open and pilgrims can register through our website: www.iec2012.ie/registration.

Registration to become a volunteer for the Congress is also open through our website: www.iec2012.ie/volunteer.

Background Information on the Eucharistic Congress Bell:

The Eucharistic Congress Bell is a key symbol of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress. From its origins in the Dominican Convent of Portstewart, Co. Antrim the Bell was more recently used to ring in the Jubilee Year 2000 in Glendalough, Co. Wicklow. The Bell will reflect the invitation to faith, to prayer, to reconciliation and to mission which has always been important in our Christian tradition and is no less so today. The pilgrimage of the Bell throughout the Dioceses of Ireland, and beyond, will be a vehicle to:

• Invite people to deepen their communion with Christ and with one another

• Promote the pastoral aims of the Congress

• Invite all Christians to join in giving a common witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in an increasingly secular society

• Animate the people of your Diocese to become involved with the Eucharistic Congress both locally and nationally

• Invite people to come to the Congress from June 10th to 17th 2012

There is a strong emphasis on the inclusion of young people in the Eucharistic Congress Bell Pilgrimage however it is not exclusively a youth project. The pilgrimage has included the infirm, senior members of the community, and an outreach to the families and of the children preparing for sacraments (Baptism, Confirmation, and Communion).

The pilgrimage began with the blessing of the Congress Bell by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin at the St. Patrick’s Day Mass in the Pro-Cathedral on the 17th March 2011, and will end in a final pilgrimage ceremony at the opening of the International Eucharistic Congress (back in the RDS) on June 10th 2012.

Wherever the Bell stops on its journey, it is placed on a specially designed plinth, with four icons, written by Irish iconographers) which reflect the four elements of the Eucharist which are being emphasised in the pastoral preparation for the Congress (Assembly; the Word, the Breaking of Bread and Mission / Service).

For further information visit www.iec2012.ie/bell  

Aer Lingus is offering an early bird discount to pilgrims who book flights before 30 November 2011 of 10% discount off airfare on short haul routes or $50 off their return long haul routes.

Aer Lingus operates flights direct to Dublin from 22 countries:

- From North America and Canada – flights direct to Ireland from Boston, Chicago, New York and Orlando in addition to connections from over 50 cities across the US and Canada.

- From the UK - up to 38 daily services operating from ten airports across the UK.

- From Europe – direct flights from 20 countries including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey.

- Read more on Aer Lingus Special Offer and book flights availing of this offer.

- More information on Parish or group flight ticket bookings

IEC2012 staff members and volunteers will gather in RTE for the Mass to be broadcast live on RTÉ1 at noon on Sunday 6th May. Music will be provided by the Palestrina Choir, under the directorship of Blánaid Murphy, and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

Speaking in advance of the televised Mass, Fr Kevin Doran, Secretary General of IEC2012 said:

“Those who are sick or frail due to old age have an important place in the life of the Church and we are delighted that, through this celebration of Mass, they can be drawn into the final stage of preparations for the Congress.”

Meanwhile this weekend, the final National Collection to raise funds for this year’s 50th International Eucharistic Congress (IEC2012) will be held in parishes across Ireland on 5th & 6th May 2012.

This annual collection is the final in a series of four which form a key part of fundraising for the Congress. Parishioners responded very generously to collections in 2009, 2010 and 2011 on the Feast of Corpus Christi raising a total of €3 million to date.

Due to the difficult economic climate and a desire not to compete with funding for education or healthcare, IEC2012 has specifically not sought any of the kind of public funding that would normally be made available to a large international event such as the Congress, which will be attended by around 20,000 people daily in the RDS from 10-16 June and will have an audience of up to 80,000 people in Croke Park on 17th June.

Funds generated from the National Collections will form part of the overall budget of €11.5 million for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress.

Events such as the Congress must adhere to stringent health and safety requirements involving careful preparation and infrastructure. The money raised will go towards logistical expenses including: hiring and fitting out of the two venues; RDS and Croke Park, provision of essential requirements for the liturgy, the communication of the Congress on website and broadcast media, the preparation of signage for venues all around Dublin and all the other preparatory work that will enable us to welcome pilgrims in comfort and safety.

The funds will also support the volunteer programme which is helping to make the Congress run smoothly by providing it with meals and uniforms for almost two thousand volunteers working as part of the organisation team.

Previous Congresses have been funded by a variety of measures including private contributions, sponsorship, fundraising and delegate fees. This Congress is following a similar approach. The Congress, though hosted in Dublin, is a pastoral initiative of the whole Irish Church.

Speaking about the fourth National Collection and its significance to the Congress, Fr Kevin Doran, Secretary General of IEC2012 said:

“We are conscious that in the circumstances of the times that the Congress should not be ostentatious. We are committed to making it a worthy celebration of faith. The celebration of the Eucharist will be at the heart of IEC2012, but the Congress will also include a comprehensive programme of educational and cultural activities.

The Bishops asked parishes to continue to promote the Congress using the materials available from the Congress headquarters in the RDS, Dublin. Parishioners are encouraged to book for their attendance at the Congress by completing a booking form. The various booking options for the number of days people wish to attend are available on www.iec2012.ie/registration. A special booking office for those who do not have access to a computer is now available from the Congress offices in the RDS.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, President of the International Eucharistic Congress 2012 said: “We look forward to welcoming pilgrims from both Ireland and overseas next June. Our Congress will focus on the theme of ‘The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with one another’.  It will be different in many ways from the 1932 Congress because we are a changed Ireland, a changed people and a Church that is going through an important period of renewal. All of this change brings challenges. We are renewed by the constant centrality of the Eucharist in our lives as Church.”

Next year’s 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Ireland involves two main venues in the RDS and Croke Park, Dublin. The week long programme in the RDS consists of prayer, Eucharist, workshops, discussion groups, catechesis and testimonies, cultural events, tours, exhibitions, and a Eucharistic Procession. It is expected to involve 25,000 pilgrims participating in over 150 workshops; including 12,000 pilgrims from the five continents; and 80,000 participants at the Statio Orbis - the official title for the final Mass of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress, which will take place on 17 June 2012 in Croke Park, Dublin.

"Many people will be familiar with the story of how St. Francis of Assisi had the experience of a voice speaking to him from a crucifix in the ruined of San Damiano, saying “Rebuild my Church.” Francis responded by undertaking a refurbishment of the building, which is now a Poor Clare Monastery, situated on the slopes just below the town of Assisi. But what God had in mind for Francis was not just about restoring an old building. He went on to initiate a spiritual renewal which had a profound impact on the life of the Church both in Italy and much further afield, even in the life-time of Francis. The renewal of the Church, now as then, is about faith in Jesus Christ, and a renewed commitment to discipleship. Church buildings and administrative structures have only one purpose, and that is to serve the building of Christian community and the spread of the Gospel.

Catholics all over Ireland speak of the need for renewal in the Church. This need has been flagged for many people by the pattern of clerical abuse which has surfaced over the past fifteen years, and particularly by the failure of the Church, in many cases, to deal honestly and effectively with it. This in its turn has led us to question attitudes to power, to partnership and to the management of information in the Church. Renewal, in the final analysis, as about conversion of heart, so that sinful structures are replaced by vibrant Christian communities.

The Church in Western Europe has, for many years, been showing signs of tiredness and lack of energy for evangelisation. There are many outstanding examples of generous service and effective ministry on the part of clergy, religious and members of the lay faithful. Parallel with this, however, the liturgy is often poorly prepared and celebrated. Catechesis and preparation for the sacraments is often haphazard, and poorly received. The spirit of individualism, which is so much a feature of our age, has also taken its toll on the Church. We don’t easily recognise ourselves as “one body in Christ”; all too often, indeed, we see the Church as a service provider, on a par with the bus company and the electricity network.

Against that background, some wonder whether renewal in the Church is even possible. History tells us that it is, and faith shows us how, even when the very resources we need for renewal seem to be in short supply. It is the Spirit of Jesus who makes all things new and the Spirit has not gone away. It is in Communion with Christ, who in his Mercy reaches down to us and lifts us up, that fresh beginnings are possible.

Like the new growth in springtime, renewal in the Church will be made up of many elements. Most, if not all of these elements, will surface among the daily themes for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress, which will be celebrated in Dublin, Ireland from June 10th to 17th this year. To that extent, it can honestly be said that the agenda of the Congress is an agenda for renewal.

The period between the 15th and 18th centuries was, in many ways, a dark period in the history of the Irish Church. It was a time when the Mass was forbidden and people were deprived of the sacraments for long periods. Indeed, one of the patrons of the Congress, Blessed Margaret Ball, died in prison because she provided facilities for mass in her own home. Still, the faith was handed on and nurtured from one generation to the next in the family and in the local community, with the support of small numbers of priests who were constantly on the move. In the twentieth century, paradoxically, although the Church had already been free for over a hundred years and now had unprecedented numbers of clergy and religious, we seem to have lost the capacity to hand on the faith to the next generation. Could this be because, with all those clergy, we lost sight of the responsibility and dignity of those who, in Baptism, are anointed for mission? The vocation of Baptism will be among the themes on which the Congress will focus.

The sacrament of marriage is, in many ways, very closely related to the Eucharist. Marriage, like the Eucharist, is a covenant based on the gift of the whole self. St. Paul talks about how the love of husband and wife is the visible sign (or sacrament) of the love of Christ for the Church. That love is sacrificial and the element of sacrifice is just as central to marriage and to parenthood, as it is to Eucharist. In order to be renewed, the Church must help couples to understand and to live their marriage as their Christian vocation. One day of the Congress will be devoted to this theme.

I was ordained more than ten years after the second Vatican Council. The priesthood is still essentially what it was forty years ago, but we exercise our ministry in a very different world. Much that was permanent is now temporary and many of the structures of community have broken down. Modern technology has provided us with many helpful ways of exchanging information, but it sometimes seems that real inter-personal communication is a dying art. In this “brave new world” we priests are called to give “the bread that lasts forever” and to find effective ways to witness to eternal truths. We are to be, as Pope Benedict says, “men of communion”, whose identity is rooted in our relationship with Christ and with the people we are called to serve, and not just in the functions we perform, or the areas of activity we control. Sadly, through a misunderstanding of the meaning of celibacy, priesthood is more frequently defined in terms of the absence of relationship. One day of the Congress will focus on the ministry and life of priests.

A renewed Church will be one in which those who suffer, whether in body, mind or spirit are cared for. One element of that care, which is to be found in the ministry of Jesus himself, is to ensure that in their suffering, people are not isolated. As many religious congregations review the nature and extent of their involvement in healthcare, the Church must always be looking for new ways of responding to the needs of the sick and of those who are vulnerable in our society. This too will be a focus of the Eucharistic Congress.

Finally, there are many hurts which need to be healed and reconciled in our society. We are called to acknowledge the wrong we have done and to seek forgiveness, from God and from one another. We are also called to be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful. But what is the meaning of forgiveness, when we still remember? How can we be forgiven, even while we are still far from perfect? What is a just society and how can we build it? These are some of the questions which will be explored in the workshops and celebrated in the liturgies of the Congress as we look to the Lord to walk with us on the journey of renewal."

Mater Dei Spring Lecture Series 2012
REFORM OF THE CHURCH IN IRELAND: FACING THE FUTURE WITH HOPE
Speaking Notes of Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland
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Mater Dei Institute, 23rd February 2012

Clonliffe Road came on to the radar screen of my personal life fifty years ago. Coming towards the Leaving Cert in 1962 I began thinking of my future. As I have said on many occasions, my first interest was in becoming a broadcaster and in particular a newsreader or announcer. But that was a very limited market in Ireland at the time and with the opening of RTE television just some months earlier the available posts had all been filled. The likelihood of getting a position with the BBC, which would have been my real ambition, was even less. BBC announcers in those days did not speak with Dublin accents.

Not that priesthood was a reluctant second choice. My reflections on priesthood were there all the time and were maturing and it was at this time that I began to notice the existence of Clonliffe College, the place where the priests of Dublin were trained.

In my final years at school Pope John called the Second Vatican Council. It opened, as you know, on the 11th October 2012, seven days after I entered Clonliffe. Preparations for the Council were underway. Change seemed to be in the air. It was an exciting time. In 1962, however, Clonliffe College was not an exciting place. Clonliffe was a place where there had been little change for decades. The daily routine had been the same almost since the College opened one hundred years earlier. One professor made no secret of the fact that he had been giving the same lectures for at least twenty years - and to be true his were not the worst lectures.

One could easily have gotten the impression that the Irish Church that we encountered then was the Irish Church “as it was in the beginning”, and that the established order “now” would, “ever shall be”. Indeed the established order of Clonliffe was on a major expansion course, building a new wing to cater for an increase in students and revamping the main building. Things seemed to be on the up. There was very little understanding of the historical ups and downs of Irish Catholicism over the centuries.

In 1962 Clonliffe College was not an exciting place but in the years that followed it became an exciting pace. There was great interest and ferment in theology. The Vatican Council broke down walls of an over institutionalised Church and the new air generated new vitality. Today there are those who feel that the Irish Church has failed the vitality and hope that the Vatican Council had engendered; there are others who would say that opening the windows of the Church so widely and indiscriminately without noticing the contamination of the outside air, let in viruses that we would have been better off without. I imagine that future historians with the light of hindsight will probably say that there are elements of truth on either side.

There have always at the same time been reasons of hope and reasons of concern in the Irish Church. To imagine otherwise would be do be totally a-historical. As always at times of change, the hope of one side can quickly become the anxiety of the other. In times of change each side sticks to its side and we Irish when we get stuck into a position are not always that good on the subtlety thing. In time of change – like today - we always need the light of historians who remind us of the ups and downs of Irish Catholicism over the centuries and who recall that the winds of reform and renewal often come not from those debating on the different sides but from unexpected quarters and take unexpected paths.

When we look back in history, there is no doubt that the achievement of Cardinal Cullen in reforming the Irish Church in the aftermath of Catholic Emancipation was phenomenal. Participation in Church life flourished after the extremely low Mass attendance rates of an earlier time. Existing religious orders found new life; new Irish religious foundations were founded and religious came from abroad. Institutions which showed the care of the Church for the marginalized sprung up across the nation. The commitment to care was there, but often it was conceived and clothed in the dominant Victorian philanthropic and social culture. As often happens, the Church in its desire to care for the marginalised espoused the contemporary climate of institutional care and built even bigger and more institutional institutions that Victorian Britain.

We understand that today and regret that dimension of our past and we are quick to point the finger of blame and not without right. What is harder to do is discern how much our current visions of the Church are actually underpinned by aspects of contemporary culture which in their way distort the Christian vision and the realisation of the Christian message. We can never have a vision of the Church which is totally de-culturized, but that does not mean that inculturation may not distort.

In Cardinal Cullen’s time the physical and religious geography of Dublin was changed within a few decades. And Cullen did not just reform structures and build new ones. He restored the discipline of a Church which had become lax and recalled all, bishops, clergy and laity to integrity in their calling challenging a culture of litigiousness and self-affirmation. He invited Newman to establish the Catholic University - and even though the personal chemistry between the two was not a good one - the invitation was a clear indication of the need for theological renewal and the establishment of a mature lay Catholicism able to take its place in Irish society. All in all, this was not a bad reform package.

Others today, however, would be highly critical of aspects of the vision of Cullen’s reform. Cullen’s was a reform from above, but perhaps only an outsider could have done it. His was a Roman reform, but at that time the elements for a more Irish reform were not easily at hand. Newman himself was dismayed at the lack of an Irish Catholic elite, due to the fact that Irish Catholics on the whole were excluded from university education.

Cullen’s predecessor, Archbishop Daniel Murray had a different vision. He would have been in favour of a greater participation Catholics in the public life of the day. He was almost the only Irish Bishop to be favourable to the participation of Catholics in the Queens Colleges and in the national school system as originally proposed. One can really ask “what if” Archbishop Murray’s idea had prevailed and the Catholic Church had become a different style of partner in the Irish educational system. But the “what if” analysis can easily be superficial because it tends to look at the question of the past in the light of the culture of today. One would have to remember that Archbishop Murray was universally regarded by his Episcopal colleagues as being a very holy man, but they thought of him as a little politically naïve, underestimating the intentions of Dublin Castle and of the not entirely unfounded suspicion of proselytising that was current.

It is interesting that a good deal of the reflection on the history of the Catholic Church in Ireland focuses above all on Church-State and Church-Society relations. This is even more true of current commentary of the life of the Church in Ireland. This is not a criticism of historians or the social commentators of our day. It is a real and at times unique dimension of the history of Irish Catholicism that as the history of a demographically dominant religious confession, there would inevitably be an intense interaction of interests on the part of both the Church and the State, especially at moments of great change.

Interestingly, at the moment of Catholic emancipation there was no Irish Government. Through the Act of Union Irish Catholicism had become a minority confession in the larger United Kingdom, which had its own established Church. This was to have its repercussions as the subsequent struggle for Home Rule was not just political but touched the aspirations of Irish Catholics. It was to have repercussions further anon with the establishment of the Irish independent State where Catholics who had been excluded from participation in the public administration inevitably took up their new political and administrative roles in a climate of a certain re-vindication also for Catholicism.

It is useful to look at the past to remember that in the history of Ireland Church and State in Ireland have been intertwined for the good and for the lesser good, in good times and in difficult times, and that the same is true today. Church and State are separate but not necessarily hostile realities. The challenge is to find a mature interaction which is neither that of being in bed together nor that of living as survivors of a hostile divorce, unable to converse. The structured dialogue between Church and State which was launched some years ago offers a useful model for mature dialogue, but it has not yet taken off effectively. Greater attention needs to be given to identifying the best ways of putting into practice this important structure.

Church and State will inevitably be intertwined in Irish society for many years to come. We see this is the current debate about no longer accrediting a resident Irish Ambassador at the Holy See which has evoked a widespread reaction which many had not anticipated. I fear however that the controversy has taken on a life of its own and one not always related to the best interests of the Church or of the Government of Ireland or of our common interests around the world. While I believe that the change in status of the Embassy was a mistake and that it will in time be changed, the current polemic is distracting us from the real challenges of Church State relations and from the real crisis questions facing the Irish Church. But the debate has laid down markers.

The change that is taking place in the Irish Church today is much more significant than many imagine. The change that will take place between now and the year 2020 – just eight years away – will be enormous. I am more and more convinced that these years will be the most challenging years that the Irish Church has had to face since Catholic Emancipation. The goal posts have changed and changed definitively.

These are difficult times in the Church; day after day there are those within the Church and outside it who prophecy the end of the Church as a significant factor in Irish society. There are others who feel that the Catholic Church in Ireland is on a suicide path created by its own internal culture. We must realistically recognise the critical situation of the Church, but we should never give in to pessimism and negativism.

I thought it would be good to quote from the homily of Pope John XXIII on 11th October 1962 at the opening of the Second Vatican II.

Pope John’s first words to the Vatican Council at the beginning of his homily were Gaudet Mater Ecclesia: Our Mother the Church rejoices. Polarisation in the Church can and has led to a loss of the sense of joy which should be a mark of the community of believers. Reformers and traditionalist alike can all too often be men and women with a mission, but also men and women with gloomy and stern faces. The Church at all times has reason to rejoice. Jesus loves his Church and will be with his Church. The Church’s agenda is driven by Jesus and it is from his fidelity to the Church that we can draw hope.

That reminds me of the story of the current Archbishop of New York when he was Rector the North American College in Rome and welcomed a group of new students who were a little on the gloomy side about the fate of the Church and felt that they had a special mission to save the Church according to their plan. The Rector welcomed their aspiration to save the Church but added: “However, I have got bad news for you; we already have a Saviour”. The Church’s agenda is driven by Jesus and it is from his fidelity to the Church alone that we can draw hope.

But let me come back to Pope John’s Homily. He was not one to sponsor gloom and he pulled no punches in what he said.

“In the daily exercise of our pastoral office, we sometimes have to listen, much to our regret, to voices of persons who, though burning with zeal, are not endowed with too much sense of discretion or measure. In these modern times they can see nothing but prevarication and ruin. They say that our era, in comparison with past eras, is getting worse, and they behave as though they had learned nothing from history… They behave as though at the time of former Councils everything was a full triumph for the Christian idea and life…

We feel – Pope John said - we must disagree with those prophets of gloom, who are always forecasting disaster”

There have always at the same time been reasons of hope and reasons of concern in the Irish Church. It will always be so. We have to prove wrong the doomsayers both inside and outside the Church, both conservatives and traditionalists. Gaudet Mater Ecclesia: gloom about the Church and its future – from whatever side - can very often be a sign of a faith that is weak.

Gaudet, rejoice: but be realistic. Our rejoicing about the Irish Church must be kept within the limits of realism and realistic analysis. The Church needs more than the analysis of spin doctors and public relations gurus. It is no use rejoicing at every fleeting sign of change or statistic. Our analysis must go straight to the point. The real roots of the religious crisis in Ireland are deep and of a different character than many would wish to admit. They are linked with a crisis of faith, among individuals and within Irish society.

That crisis of faith then manifests itself in a crisis about the Church as an institution within a broader context of a change in the cultural infrastructure which had traditionally sustained the faith of people but which has become much more fragile over the years. Ireland is a highly secularised society and secularisation should not leave us unmoved.

I am not talking about crusading, but we must admit that unfortunately the Church in Ireland was slow and is slow in recognising the fragility of the infrastructure of faith and in many ways continues to think that the challenges of tomorrow can be addressed with the pastoral methods of yesterday. For their part many well-intentioned outsiders fail to understand the particular characteristics – both historical and contemporary - of the Irish Church and they fail to understand the depths of the current crisis.

The challenge of faith in Ireland can only be addressed by radical efforts of new evangelization. That new evangelization must however have its own Irish characteristics. The renewal of the Irish Church must be led from within the Irish Church. It must begin immediately. There is little time to waste.

Many people are disillusioned by the Church. It is very hard to underestimate how much the scandals regarding the sexual abuse of children and the manner in which it was dealt with by Church authorities has wounded the Church in Ireland. I am struck by the effect that these scandals had on young people who find it hard to reconcile what happened within the Church with the Christian message. The fact that thousands of children were abused within the Church of Jesus Christ in Ireland is a scar that the Church will bear within it for generations to come. There is no way in which what happened to be consigned out of the way into the archives. The lessons of what happened and how it happened are a vital key to our looking forward to and building the future with hope.

Inevitably the effect of these scandals on some has been an anger on the part of many and by some a complete rejection of the Church and even in some places it has resulted in appeals to remove the Catholic Church presence in society.

In other cases there are appeals for a sort of de-institutionalisation of the Church. There are those who would wish an Irish Church separate from Rome. There are those who would speak rightly of a strengthening of the role of lay people in the Irish Church, but really want a Church in which Office and Order would be radically emptied of their theological meaning. There are others who want reform, by reform by going back to the past. Renewal is required, but that renewal first of all requires conversion on the part of all and not just outward changes in structures.

Church authorities must learn to listen; but that listening is not to be equiperated simply with sounding-out public opinion. It requires above all listening intently and in common to the word of God and proclaiming that word and living it.

There is a certain ambiguity in the attitude of Irish society to the presence of the Church in the area of education. There is a strong move to reduce the number of schools under Church control, yet at the same time on local level most parents still want their children to attend schools with at least generic religious inspiration. The Irish system of Catholic schools is quite different to that in most other countries. Almost 90% of all State-funded schools are Catholic schools. It is not a parallel system for the Catholic community. There are very few alternatives available and Catholic schools welcome children of all faiths and none. This shows that the Catholic Church is open and welcoming to children of different cultural backgrounds but it has inevitably contributed to an erosion of the concept of what a Catholic school truly is.

Those parents who do not wish their children to be educated within a religious framework have their rights which the State is obligated to protect. Ireland needs plurality of provision of schools. But the rights of those Irish citizens who wish their children to receive Catholic education can only respected by fostering Catholic schools that are truly Catholic and there is an obligation of the State to foster that possibility also.

The family in Ireland is still healthy compared to other parts of the Western world. There is a high birth-rate and rates of divorce are low. Like other parts of the world, however, more and more young people opt to live together before marriage or not marry at all. Moves to change the Constitution will inevitably mean that attempts will be made to change its definition of marriage, but for the Christian tradition marriage remains a natural institution rather than just a social construction. The mutuality of the two sexes belongs, according to the biblical tradition, to the very essence of the human person since creation.

The Catholic Church has long been in the forefront in the area of providing education for marriage, courses of marriage preparation and counselling and services to families in difficulty. Priests tell me that in the evaluation reports completed by couples at pre-marriage courses there is a growing appreciation of the specifically religious context on these courses.

The concept of life-long commitment and fidelity are hard to understand in today’s culture, but most young people who come for marriage in Church have a genuine hope that their marriage will be successful and will last and develop and mature with the passage of years.

For too long the Church appeared in a role of moralisation and people failed to transmit the real depth of the Christian message which is about Jesus as a person who in his life and teaching reveals to us who God is. God is a God of love with whom we can in Jesus enter into a personal relationship, which then brings richness to the way we live of our lives.

On a deeper level, however, there is a certain ambiguity as to what “being Catholic” means in contemporary Irish society. There are multiple expressions of the claim: “I am still a Catholic, but…” Many people who no longer regularly practice will still come to Church on special occasions and on the great feasts and maintain some personal contact with the Church. In some cases people live out a sort of cultural Catholicism; in other cases what is called Catholicism is really a type of civil religion, a social spirituality without dogma, with blurred reference to a Jesus of one’s own creation.

Again, without becoming elitist, the Catholic Church in Ireland must be concerned about the lack of knowledge of basic elements of the Christian faith and of the nature of the Church among Catholics. This is a situation which should be a cause of concern as it can only increase from one generation to the next.

The Irish Church invests too little in the on-going education of the faith of adults. The New National Directory of Catechesis Sharing the Good News is truly a forward-looking document and work in underway in every diocese to address its implementation. The Irish Church is extraordinarily weak in its knowledge and use of the scriptures.

In other cases there remain among those who have drifted from Church life vestiges of faith and of affection for the Church. The importance of these signs should not be underestimated. But such vestiges will never flourish again without a genuine programme of new evangelization.

I can see that priests in Dublin have gone through a troubling period and at times they felt lack of support but they have never abandoned hope. There is a genuine enthusiasm for renewal and among priests, diocesan and religious. The results are already being seen. Attendance at Sunday Mass may be falling but enthusiasm is not missing.

The Church in Dublin is opening new horizons in evangelisation. We have a full-time Episcopal Vicar and Office for Evangelization. We have a priest dedicated full time to the animation of pastoral programmes based on the Scriptures. Priests are working on the implementation of a new National Directory of Catechesis “Sharing the Good News”. The occasion of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress, which will be held here in Dublin in June of this year, is being seen as a unique opportunity for renewal of the Christian life. To the surprise of its critics the Eucharistic Congress is taking shape as a genuine moment of renewal in the Church.

Fifty years ago Clonliffe Road appeared for the first time on the radar screen of my personal life. Who are my successors in taking up today the challenge which I undertook as a future priest? Where will we find the leaders of the future Catholic Church in Ireland? There will be fewer priests and the place of the priest in society will be different. Those priests will have to be men of a strong and outreaching faith. They must understand their priestly role founded on their bond with the Eucharist around which the Church is constructed. They will have to be able to listen to but also talk to and with the community of believers which they serve. They must be able to break the bread of the Word of God.

The future of the Catholic Church needs such priests but leadership will not be the prerogative solely of the priest. The presence of the Church in the society of tomorrow will be lay lead, but lay lead by men and women who have a profound understanding of what faith in Jesus Christ entails. The future of the Church will not be about social commentary on political issues but about witness, witness to the impact that the message of Jesus Christ can make on lives and on the interaction of people. The “Communion with one another” which must be the mark of Christians must be one which reflects the meaning of communion with Christ and the communion within his Church.

The Church of tomorrow will not be created tomorrow or next week or next year. The Christian life is a life long task. Ecclesia semper reformanda est: the Church must constantly reform itself. Each Christian must constantly reform himself and herself. Reform and renewal involve humility and holiness; not the empty humility and holiness of performance, but a humility and holiness which can be tested and verified by the lenses of integrity, personal and institutional.

The Church of tomorrow will not be created tomorrow or next week or next year but I believe that slowly the Church in Ireland is turning the corner. I say “is turning the corner, not ”has turned the corner”. History teaches us that hope and challenge will always be present together in the Irish Church. We have to get the balance right. The crisis today is however much greater than in the past and we have only one chance to get it right. Burying our head in the sand or making a mistake of discernment, especially any return to triumphalism or self-satisfaction, could turn renewal back irreversibly.

That said I am with Pope John: the Catholic Church in Ireland “must disagree with those prophets of gloom, who are always forecasting disaster”.

Source: Archdiocese of Dublin

 The Eucharistic Congress will be celebrating the theme of ‘Communion in Suffering and Healing’ on Friday 15 June, with a special celebration of the anointing of the sick as part of the principal liturgy. The Mass will be celebrated by Patriarch Fouad Twal from Jerusalem.

Marking World Day of the Sick, Fr Kevin Doran, Secretary General of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012, commented that the healing ministry of Jesus was not just about curing people physically, but also about drawing them back into full participation in the life of the community, from which their illness often excluded them. “Suffering has a way of isolating people. This is sometimes because of their own physical frailty and sometimes because we who are well are often unsure of how to respond to suffering.”

“It is an essential element of the mission of the Church today that we continue to seek ways of keeping people in communion even when they are no longer visible in the community on a daily basis. This remains a challenge for the Church both on a social and on a pastoral level,” Fr Doran said.

In his Message for the World Day of the Sick on 11 February 2012, the Feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, Pope Benedict said he wished to renew his spiritual nearness to all sick people who are in places of care or are looked after in their families. The Holy Father placed emphasis upon the Sacraments of Healing particularly upon the anointing of the sick, which have their natural completion in the Eucharistic Communion. That Communion will be the focus of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012.

Throughout the Eucharistic Congress there will be an extensive programme of workshops, talks and keynote addresses. On Friday 15 June 2012, many of the programme events will focus on the theme of healing and the promotion of a richer communion with those who suffer in body, mind or spirit.

Another aspect of this theme of Communion is the important place of people with disability in the community of the Church. Six workshops during the Congress will be signed for the deaf and jointly facilitated by people who themselves are deaf. Br Donatus Forkan will offer a workshop entitled ‘Including People from the Margins’, while Fr Niall Ahern will present on the theme of Disability and Active Participation.

The theme of disability will come to life in a particular way in a sensory garden, which will be prepared and maintained by people with disability in the grounds of the Poor Clare Monastery that is being used as one of the chapels of adoration for the Congress.

Keynote speakers on this day of healing include Rose Busingye, a Ugandan nurse who has devoted her life to the care of people suffering with AIDS. A workshop on Co-dependency, Communion and Healing will be facilitated by Sr Consilio Fitzgerald, from the Cuan Mhuire Centre.

Archbishop Bashar Warda of Iraq and Archbishop Rrock Kola Mirdita of Tirana, Albania will speak about the experience of personal suffering that is so often the result of tyranny and religious intolerance.

For more information, visit our programme section 

For media information, visit our media centre

We need to deepen our understanding of this reality and this is the reason for the important gathering which will soon take place “close to home” we might say – here in the cosmopolitan city of Dublin. I refer, of course, to the upcoming International Eucharistic Congress which will be held from June 10th to the 17th of this year, a very significant event not only for the Catholic Church in Ireland, but for the universal Church. It has been carefully and creatively organized and prepared. What is the point of such a gathering? It is to renew our faith in the reality which is at the absolute center of Catholic life – the real presence of Christ himself in the Eucharist. Ultimately, it is renewed faith and love for the Lord in the Eucharist that will renew our lives and renew the life of the Church. It is his true presence in the Eucharist which can heal our own spiritual paralysis, which fills us with light and joy, which gives meaning to our lives, and which prepares us for the life of the world to come.

It is a great joy for me to be in Ireland, beginning my time here as Pope Benedict’s representative, especially in this year of the International Eucharistic Congress. Something new is indeed happening. I am convinced that the Lord is preparing something beautiful for his Church. May I ask your support and your prayers for my mission, as I thank you from the heart for being here with me today. Let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, to intercede for us and for Ireland as we strive to follow her son more closely."

Extract from Homily of Archbishop Charles John Brown, Apostolic Nuncio, in the Pro-Cathedral of Dublin, 19 February 2012

Read complete Homily here

The theology symposium is a meeting of academics who will reflect on the theme of the 50th International Congress, The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with One Another.

In 1962 the Second Vatican Council opened and strongly underlined the ecclesiology of communion. Fifty years on, the theology symposium in Saint Patrick's College, Maynooth examines the status questionis with the theme The Eucharistic Ecclesiology of Communion Fifty Years after Vatican II.

From 6-9 June 2012, scholars across the disciplines of theology (scripture, systematics, moral theology, liturgy, pastoral studies, missiology and ecumenics) will explore the question: How goes it today with the ecclesiology of communion in aspects?

Speakers include Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, Professor Dr Martin Stuflesser, Father Michael McCabe, Professor Piero Coda, Cardinal Kurt Koch and Cardinal Marc Ouellet.

Each day plenary sessions, liturgy, seminars and workshops will follow a daily theme. There will be round table discussions and dialogue with the halls. Translation facilities will be available. Participants who attend the theology symposium will be graduates (or equivalent) in theology. 

Find out more about speakers and events at the theology symposium in Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth.

They heard from Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and Eucharistic Congress organisers on how preparations for the International Congress were progressing. There were also detailed discussions and presentations from the International Congress Pontifical Committee and Theological Symposium.

The delegates from 70 different countries represented Albania, Angola, Arab Countries, Australia and New Zealand, Austria, Balkans, Belarus, Belgium, Botswana, South Africa and Swaziland, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina-Faso, Cameroon, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, England and Wales, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Guinea, Hungary, India, Italy, Kenya, Korea, Lesotho, Lithuania, Namibia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, Paraguay, Phillipines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Rep Dem Del Congo, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Vatican, Vietnam, West Indies, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Log to our Media Centre and read Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin's address to the delegates, as well as that from Archbishop Piero Marini, President Pontifical Council for International Eucharistic Congresses.

Fr. Kevin Doran was interviewed on EWTN on the preparations for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012. Watch the interview now on our media centre: http://www.iec2012.ie/thecongressinthemedia