(ANS – Cebu City)– Cebu City is gearing up to host more than 15,000 local and international delegates to the 51st International Eucharistic Congress which will take place from 24 – 31 January 2016. The gathering will have as its theme “Christ in you, our hope of glory,” taken from the Letter of St. Paul to the Colossians. It will be the Philippines’ second time to hold the IEC which happens every four years. It is intended to promote a greater awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Church.
by Fr. Randy Figuracion, SDB
The Pontifical Committee on the International Eucharistic Congress, a Rome-based Commission headed by Archbishop Piero Marini, is leading this ecclesial event. It chose = the Archdiocese of Cebu as host in order to stimulate the faith of the local Catholics in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and challenges them to a more missionary zeal in this part of Asia.
The IEC will open with a Eucharistic Celebration by His Excellency Charles Maung Cardinal Bo, DD, SDB, Archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar whom Pope Francis appointed as the Papal Delegate to the 51st International Eucharistic Congress. He will lead the Pontifical Mass on behalf of the Pope in his absence at the Plaza Independencia.
Prior to the Congress proper, a three-day Theological Symposium will take place with about 2,000 expected participants. Among the speakers for the week-long IEC are local and foreign Bishops Piero Marini, Diarmund Martin of Dublin, Joseph Cardinal Zen, SDB of Hong Kong, Timothy Cardinal Dolan of New York, Oswald Cardinal Garcias of Mumbai, John Cardinal Onayeikan of Abuja, Nigeria, Robert Baron from the USA and Thomas Menamparampil, SDB, from India. Theologians will also be speakers among them Fr. Timothy Radcliffe OP, Fr. Francis Moloney SDB and many more.
The 51st IEC will culminate with Holy Mass at the South Road Properties with an expected crowd of about a million. Papal Delegate Cardinal Bo will preside at the closing rites with the “Statio Orbis” on which the next IEC host country will be announced.
In a press conference, Archbishop Jose Palma, DD, Archbishop of Cebu is confident that this Congress will surely be “a source of renewal” for Catholics. On his part, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila stressed that the significance of this gathering “goes beyond the Catholic Church.” He points out that there is a crying need for humanity today. “Humanity calls for a gift of loving and forgiving and we hope the celebration of the International Eucharistic Congress may add to the year of mercy.”
Published 19/1/2016
