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Local parishioners connect at the National Eucharistic Congress

More than 70 pilgrims from parishes across the Diocese of Charlotte joined Bishop Michael Martin for lunch during the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.INDIANAPOLIS — Every person who attended the National Eucharistic Congress last week has been called to bring the fire of the Gospel and their faith back home and “to the ends of the earth.”

That message was echoed by Bishop Michael Martin, who joined hundreds of local pilgrims and 60,000 other Catholics in Indianapolis for the event – the culmination of a national campaign meant to spark renewal in devotion to the Eucharist.

“The road to conversion, the road to revival is made real every single day in your parish, in your home,” Bishop Martin told pilgrims from the Diocese of Charlotte. He urged attendees and clergy who had traveled from more than 15 parishes to get out of their comfort zone and join in the Eucharistic revival.

“Look around you. These people are on the journey with you. I am not in this revival by myself,” Bishop Martin said. “Let us remember the challenge ahead. We need to find ways to make connection, which is the heart of the Eucharist. It’s the communion that we share.”

Like its Charlotte counterpart, the National Eucharistic Congress is a massive gathering of Catholics to celebrate faith in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Among the thousands of people in Indianapolis last week were pilgrims from small towns and big cities across the diocese – Brevard to Charlotte, Linville to Mooresville.

“It feels like the Eucharistic Congress in Charlotte but on a much, much grander scale,” said Chris Beal, who as the diocese’s faith formation director helps organize the local Eucharistic Congress each fall. “The number of Catholics from across the country, that’s powerful enough in itself. But they’re here for one reason: for the love of the Eucharist.”

During five days of non-stop praying and powerful speakers, pilgrims from the Charlotte diocese walked with tens of thousands of people in the largest Eucharistic procession in the country.

They worshiped at stadium-sized Masses celebrated by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York and Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C., alongside their own bishop. And they came together for fellowship at meetings, talks and a special luncheon hosted by Bishop Martin.

Deacon Bill Schreiber, diocesan director of deacon formation and member of St. Aloysius Parish in Hickory, said being with this many people “crazy” about the Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist has been inspiring.

“I was in tears this morning at Mass,” Deacon Schreiber said of the Mass celebrated by Cardinal Gregory. “I counted 75 bishops and cardinals in the procession, along with hundreds of seminarians and priests and deacons. It’s such a blessing that we’re able to do this in Indianapolis.”

Joining Deacon Schreiber was a group of permanent deacon candidates who are hoping to be ordained in 2025.

“The power of seeing that many people come together in our faith is overwhelming. It lights your heart on fire,” said one candidate, Tracy Neumann from St. Therese Parish in Mooresville.

CALLING FOR UNITY

Unity was a key theme of the 10th annual National Eucharistic Congress – and for Bishop Martin and pilgrims from the Charlotte diocese.

During a July 20 appearance on Relevant Radio’s “The Inner Life” with Patrick Conley during the National Eucharistic Congress, Bishop Martin called for unity and communion through Christ, saying “division is at the heart of sin.”

The Eucharist makes us “one,” he said. “Jesus’ constant message, especially in John’s Gospel, talks about the desire for all of us to be one in Him, as He and the Father are one. That is the Holy Spirit – the unity between them.”

Noting the divisiveness in our country, Bishop Martin cautioned that unity is easier said than done.

Bridge building, repentance, open hearts – that’s what it takes, he said.

“God gives us the grace, but we have to respond. We have to allow His grace to be made to bear in our world, to bring about the unity that we so deeply desire.”

CONNECTING IN CHRIST

As Charlotte’s bishop for only a few months, Bishop Martin was greeted with smiles and hugs at every turn from the North Carolina pilgrims as well as clergy he’s known in his decades in ministry all over the country – everyone stopping to say hello and congratulate him.

Bishop Martin marshaled pilgrims to help package food with him for the Million Meal Movement, which stocks food pantries across Indiana. Charlotte pilgrims pitching in to help alongside him included the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena from St. Thomas Aquinas Parish.

While packaging food, Sister Charis Gavan couldn’t help but talk about the Eucharistic pilgrim processions – there were four of them that began in different regions of the U.S. and ended in Indianapolis for the start of the National Eucharistic Congress.

“It was remarkable,” she said. “The convergence of the Eucharist from the four corners of the country was a sight to see. Seeing this many Catholics together, it feels like the faith is growing.”

A luncheon arranged by Bishop Martin for diocesan pilgrims during the Indianapolis event brought together all sorts of people – from small mountain parishes like St. Bernadette in Linville and

Charlotte-area parishes such as St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Mark Church in Huntersville to Catholic professionals, Spanish-speaking Catholics, Eastern rite Catholics, monks, deacons, priests, and people pursuing vocations.

One family from St. Aloysius in Hickory drove all night from Charlotte to make it to the weekend days of the congress and the bishop’s luncheon. A couple who attends St. Bernadette, who had their first date at a Latin Mass, came without their four children for a chance to experience the Eucharistic Revival together as a couple. They each said they “revived” the other in the faith they share together.

Bishop Martin shared stories and answered questions from the pilgrims, asking them about their experiences at the congress.

“It’s been such an impactful couple of days,” said Katie Nelson from Sacred Heart Parish in Brevard, who was inspired by the various speakers. “Father Mike Schmitz shared some great wisdom, and he spoke of God’s love.”

Her favorite part of the Congress? Confession available on-demand, she said.

“We’re living the Eucharist here. It’s amazing to be among 60,000 Catholics and to see God’s glory and His goodness and just adore Him,” she said.

Perpetual adoration at a historic church across the street from the Indiana Convention Center was a highlight for Belmont Abbey College student Hannah Martin.

“It’s a very beautiful moment to just rest in the peace of Christ,” she said.

The National Eucharistic Congress centered around the Eucharist and included live music, engaging speakers for clergy and pilgrims, daily Mass inside the football stadium, as well as smaller youth-oriented and Spanish-language Masses offered throughout the event.

Beal said when he returns to his home parish of Sacred Heart in Salisbury, he plans to bring back one of the lessons he took away from a breakout session with Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota.

“Bishop Cozzens talked about the power of inviting just one person to come to Mass. If everyone invited one person to return to the faith, we can change the culture one person at time,” Beal said.

From intense speakers and moving, prayerful moments, Bishop Martin said he also has a lot to share after returning home. One thing he’s not sharing? The nameplate from the stadium locker room where he and the other bishops vested for Mass.

“The number for each of us on our locker is our year of priestly ordination,” Martin said with a grin. “I’m taking that magnet home with me, and it’s going on my refrigerator.”

— Kimberly Bender. Photos by Kimberly Bender and provided by Aidan Creter

More online

At www.catholicnewsherald.com: See comprehensive local and national photo, video and news coverage from the National Eucharistic Congress

At RelevantRadio.com: Listen to Bishop Martin's appearance on Relevant Radio's "The Inner Life" live from the National Eucharistic Congress on July 20.