6,000 Catholics from across Southern California converged on Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove this weekend for the Eucharistic Congress – part of a nationwide movement to cultivate a deeper connection between Catholics in the pews and a sacramental mystery at the center of their faith. The event, organized by the Diocese of Orange, is part of the National Eucharistic Revival launched last year by the nation’s Catholic bishops, which unfolds over three-year years.
Attendees participated in a busy schedule of religious talks and processions. Hundreds of clergy and lay Catholics walked together in a solemnly joyful Eucharistic procession and worshipped together in an open-air tri-lingual Mass – in English, Spanish and Vietnamese – celebrated by Bishop Kevin Vann.
The theme of the congress was “I AM” – an iconic phrase that repeats itself throughout the bible, from Moses’s encounter with the burning bush to Christ’s declaration “I am the way, the truth and the life.”
“We considered different themes and went with “I AM” because Jesus uses it directly so many times in the Scriptures,” said Deacon Modesto Cordero, a principal organizer of the congress. “And since our focus is the Real Presence of Jesus of the Eucharist, we agreed ‘I AM’ to be the perfect theme, connecting so many scripture passages to our theme of Eucharistic renewal.”
Cordero said attendees came from all over Southern California, with some registering from as far away as South Carolina.
Among the speakers were Fr. Augustino Torres, a Francisan priest and charismatic speaker who founded Corzaon Puro and Latinos Por La Vida; Emily Wilson, a speaker, YouTuber, author wife and mother whose YouTube channel has more than 130,000 subscribers and tens of millions of views; and Sr. Theresa Marie Nguyen, a Dominican nun, doctor of theology and po-life activist.
Event organizers placed a special emphasis on encouraging youth and young adults participation in the congress. According to Armando Cervantes, the diocese director of youth and young adult ministry, those efforts succeeded beyond their expectations.
Cervantes admitted to some nervousness a few months ago when registration for youth events seemed to be lagging.
“We had planned for, hoped for, participation by 300 seats youth and young adults” for the Friday night youth programs, according to Cervantes.
“When I talked to Deacon Cordero a couple of months out, we hadn’t even hit 300,” said Cervantes.
Youth registrations skyrocketed as the opening of the congress neared, according to Cervantes.
“Four weeks ago, we blew past 300 registrations,” he said. “We had we had over 800 young adults who signed up ahead of time in the last few weeks.”
“We had a packed house of high school-aged students there from a variety of parishes,” said Cervantes, noting that the first day of the congress – which focused on youth – wound up being sold out.
“To see a packed house of almost 2000 youth and young adults on a Friday night, there to adore Christ and learn about Christ, and hear His message about His love,” said Cervantes. “That’s a win.”
The Eucharist occupies a uniquely central and elevated place in Catholicism. Catholic doctrine holds that the Jesus Christ is really and truly present in the consecrated Eucharist, and that intimate connection with Christ that makes it the highest of all sacraments.
The National Eucharistic Revival was launched in 2021 by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops with the goal of sparking a grass-roots movement aimed at re-kindling a deepened and renewed devotion to the mystery of the Eucharist among Catholics.
As the movement’s website puts it:
“Scandal, division, disease, doubt. The Church has withstood each of these throughout our very human history. But today we confront all of them, all at once. Our response in this moment is pivotal.”
In the midst of these roaring waves, Jesus is present, reminding us that he is more powerful than the storm. He desires to heal, renew, and unify the Church and the world.
How will he do it? By uniting us once again around the source and summit of our faith in the celebration of the Eucharist. The National Eucharistic Revival is the joyful, expectant, grassroots response of the entire Catholic Church in the U.S. to this divine invitation.
Eucharistic Adoration – the worship of the consecrated host outside of the mass – is an ancient Catholic practice dating to the 4th Century AD. A consecrated host is placed in a monstrance, an ornate vessel with simulated sunrays emanating from the center, and placed on an altar where it can be venerated by the faithful.
Adoration was central focus of this weekend’s Eucharistic Congress, and Deacon Cordoro noted how powerfully attendees responded to the opportunity to spend time in adoration.
“We had a space prepared for the Blessed Sacrament for people to go and spend time with the Lord,” said Cordero. “And from 11 in the morning to four in the afternoon, it was packed with 100 to 200 people.”
“At no moment was that room empty,” said Cordero. “It was very, very touching you know to see the love that people have for the Lord and the faith of our faithful here in Orange. County.”
The quiet, contemplative nature of Adoration strikes a chord with Catholic youth, as well, according to Cervantes.
“If you think about it, you know, they live in a world that’s full of noise. 24/7 they’re connected to something or listening to something, and this contemplative practice, this opportunity for silence, of just focusing on one moment, one time on being fully present,” said Cervantes.
“This can be surprising to us, as adults who think, ‘Oh, this is definitely not going to be of interest to them,’ but many of them have had powerful experiences and powerful testimonies about how they were skeptical about Adoration but then experienced silence in a powerful way, being more in prayer and in the moment than they’d ever been before,” Cervantes.
The revival is envisioned to unfold over a three-year period and is currently in the Year of Parish Revival, which began in June of this year. This phase is focused on promoting “Eucharistic devotion at the parish level” through “faithful celebration of the Mass” and devotional rites such as Eucharistic Adoration. This weekend’s Eucharistic Congress is one of many being organized by dioceses around the nation, culminating in a National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in July 2024.
The enthusiastic participation by thousands of Catholic at the Eucharistic Congress leads organizers to be hopeful that the spirit of the gathering will endure and spread through the parishes.
“I would love to see it continue because to see our faith community coming together from all over the diocese – all different age groups, all different communities, people focused on service, people focused on spirituality, people focused on liturgy, was inspiring,” said Cervantes.
“We had a children’s track where the kids talked about bringing the faith to the children. I mean, it was just beautiful, right?” said Cervantes. “It was beautiful to have to have the Catholic Church, the Universal Church, all together and, and what brought together was Christ – in this case, Christ in the Eucharist.”
