The National Eucharistic Congress is officially underway, kicking off the five-day celebration of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist in an immense ceremony on July 17 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The first night of the revival, a highly-anticipated event meant to reinforce and remind Catholics of the importance and meaning of the Eucharist, brought tens of thousands of people together for the once-in-a-lifetime national celebration.

For three hours, Catholics from across the country listened to musical performances and talks by the event’s organizers and witnessed a symbolic ceremony of the four pilgrimage routes merging at the altar, illuminated by more than 100 spotlights and carrying a monstrance made just for this event.

The four routes each were given a patron saint to guide them as they walked for eight weeks, and images of each — St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, St. Junipero Serra, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and the Blessed Virgin Mary — were processed through the stadium by the pilgrims, met with rapturous cheering and a standing ovation from the attendees.

Then, in a rarity for the NFL stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts went completely silent. The monstrance was processed through the center of the stadium by Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston Minnesota, the chairman of the board for the congress and leading force behind its formation. Nearly every person knelt in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for a Holy Hour.

“Jesus, I trust in you,” Bishop Cozzens prayed.

Bishop Robert Brennan was accompanied by fellow priests and parishioners from the diocese. They sat in the crowd and joined in prayer with all those around them. The night reminded the bishop of the diocesan revival recently held at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, which began in a very similar way.

“It was so clear how much people love Jesus and how they really do believe that Jesus is in the Blessed Sacrament,” he said.

Parishioners from the Basilica of Regina Pacis in Bensonhurst had traveled to the National Eucharist Congress, most arriving just hours before the opening ceremony. One of those parishioners, Beatriz Garcia, is looking forward to seeing her faith grow and developing a stronger understanding of Jesus so she can connect that to her relationship with her husband.

“Regardless of addictions, regardless of things you’ve done, Jesus is with you, forgiving you, always accepting you, and embracing you,” Garcia, 40, said. “For me, it was a very touching and heartwarming experience to be here.”

Paul Lien, 24, came alongside Garcia from the Basilica of Regina Pacis.

“It’s a pleasure to be here to understand more about the Eucharist and how the Eucharist works in our daily lives,” Lien said.

Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the papal nuncio to the U.S., was the evening’s keynote speaker. During his reflection, he prayed for the church as a whole to grow in unity “so that we may become more fruitful in our mission.”

“When we are truly revived by the Eucharist,” he said, “then our encounter with Christ’s real presence in the sacrament opens us to an encounter with him in the rest of our life.”

The revival’s emcees included Father Joshua Johnson, vocations director for the Diocese of Baton Rouge; Montse Alvarado, president of EWTN News; and Sister Miriam James Heidland, a member of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity.

Bishop Brennan said the messages were forward-looking, as the speakers told personal stories and reminded the attendees of the need to find Jesus in all aspects of life.

“The picture isn’t always so clear, but the Lord walks with us and draws the answers out of us. He brings it out, little by little. Sometimes it’s in these struggles that we are dealing with that we encounter Jesus,” Bishop Brennan said.

by Katie Vasquez

These feet have walked hundreds of miles.

For the past 60 days, perpetual pilgrim Zoe Dongas has been traveling the country, a journey that began in Connecticut and is ending at the National Eucharistic Congress.

“We met so many people along the way that are like, ‘Oh, see you at the Congress,’ and our joke has been like, I’ll wave to you in the crowd of 50,000 people,” Dongas said. “But I really do think that this is going to be really unexpected for all of us.”

She’s seen sights others could only dream of: walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, through cornfields, and even visiting a men’s prison. But Zoe said the most beautiful sight of the 1200-mile journey was seeing people’s reaction to the Body of Christ.

“That was really moving for me to see their heart for Jesus,” Dongas said.

Her pilgrimage was one of four routes traveling from four points of the nation heading to the Congress.

Natalie Garza was the team leader for the Eastern Seton Route, ensuring that it went smoothly for the pilgrims.

“It has been nothing short of a real lived experience of the scriptures, the lived experience of hospitality, and a real great joy to be in so much time for prayer,” Garza said.

After traveling north, south, east, and west, the four routes finally converged, praying together at St. John the Evangelist in downtown Indianapolis.

The two dozen perpetual pilgrims bonded together over a shared experience seeing Christ work in the hearts of others.

“Grounded in the ways that, like just knowing all the ways that he’s moved in all the places we’ve been,” Dongas said.

“I really learned how trustworthy God’s Word is. Whenever Jesus says, ‘This is my body,’ He meant it,” Garza said.

It’s a faith they can’t wait to share at the Congress’ opening event.

“To anticipate it spiritually and physically for the past 60 days, it feels like a real joy and maybe a foretaste of what heaven will be like,” Garza said.

And one they will carry with them when they finally return home.

“I’m really, really excited to go back to New York City to bring the zeal that I’ve experienced on pilgrimage to my local parish community,” Dongas said. “Yeah, find all the ways that we can continue to foster Eucharistic faith and love and adoration.”

Here’s one final look at the pilgrims from the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton route who walked miles across several states to the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage.