Two-hour procession culminates in Holy Hour, with message to ‘Remain with God and in God’
CHARLOTTE — Thousands of people streamed through Uptown Charlotte Saturday for the signature procession of the annual Eucharistic Congress – singing, praying, strumming guitars and following Bishop Michael Martin carrying the Blessed Sacrament.
The two-day event opened Friday night with a rousing praise-and-worship concert and keynote address from Bishop Martin, then resumed Saturday with a solemn yet joyful procession. An estimated crowd exceeding 10,000 people from across the western half of North Carolina walked in the two-hour procession from historic St. Peter Church to the Charlotte Convention Center, where the congress is taking place.
The procession featured children in their First Communion outfits, hundreds of clergy and consecrated religious, apostolic groups, ministries and all of the diocese’s 92 parishes – carrying 105 banners and walking together in public witness behind Jesus present in the Holy Eucharist.
Afterward, thousands filled the Convention Center for a Holy Hour led by Bishop Martin. This is the 20th annual Eucharistic Congress and the bishop’s first since being ordained for the Charlotte diocese in May.
“A hundred years from now, not one of us will be here. But guess who will? If we remain in God, we remain in Him who remains with us at all times.” — Father Juan Miguel Sanchez
Addressing a standing-room only congregation estimated at 10,000 people, Father Juan Miguel Sanchez – priest-secretary for Bishop Martin – delivered the Holy Hour homily in English and Spanish.
In his homily, he recalled a moment from his childhood when he saw his mother cry after receiving the Eucharist and that he came to understand why as he got older. He told the story to help illustrate the distinction between true faith and appearances.
“We don't pray to be seen, but it is good to be seen praying,” Father Sanchez said. “We don't make a procession with the Blessed Sacrament to be seen in the streets of Charlotte, but it is good to be seen in the streets of Charlotte walking with our God. My mom was not crying in front of Our Lord to be seen by her children, but it was certainly good for me to see my mom being so close to God.”
Father Sanchez’s overall message was shaped by the Gospel reading about the vine and branches (Jn 15:1-8) as he encouraged the congregation to remain close to Jesus.
“In the Gospel, Jesus is saying I am the true vine, and we are the branches, and He eagerly invites us to remain in Him,” he said, echoing the theme of the Congress, ‘Remain in Me.’ “But in being branches we can be two different ways: those who are joined, at least by name, but there are no fruits, and those who are joined and yield fruit and are capable of yielding even more.”
He continued, “The invitation of Christ is to remain in Him. He is not saying remain a Christian in name and that would be enough or even remain somewhat close to me, but in Me. Jesus speaks of a remaining that implies, not just a closeness, but an intimate union to Him, with Him and in Him.”
Father Sanchez said this invitation is what the sacraments are all about and the teachings of the Church have as a goal.
“The more we adhere to Jesus’s Divine Will, the more we will be able to give fruit and the more we will be one with Him,” he said.
Then he connected his message to the sacrament that brought so many of the faithful to Charlotte for the weekend.
“The Eucharist, unlike any of us, will have a mysterious, remaining, permanent presence in the world, at least until the end of times. Think about it. A hundred years ago none of us were here.
“But guess who was here? A hundred years from now, not one of us will be here. But guess who will? If we remain in God, we remain in Him who remains with us at all times.”
— Annie Ferguson. Photos by Patrick Schneider, Troy Hull, Binh-An Nguyen and Giuliana Polinari Riley.
More online
- Catholics fill the streets of Charlotte for Eucharistic Procession
- Thousands join in prayer and praise at Eucharistic Congress opening
- Bishop Martin: ‘May this Congress not stop here, but rather go out into the world’
Bishop Martin: ‘May this Congress not stop here, but rather go out into the world’
CHARLOTTE — In the homily for his first Eucharistic Congress as Bishop of Charlotte, Bishop Michael Martin encouraged nearly 10,000 people to go out into the world and share the presence of Jesus with everyone they encounter – especially people they may not know.
The new bishop marveled at the size and passion of the crowd that gathered over two days for the Diocese of Charlotte’s 20th annual Eucharistic Congress.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but I didn’t expect this!” he said.
The cavernous hall of the Charlotte Convention Center echoed with sacred music and choral voices singing hymns to greet more than 100 colorful banners representing parishes and ministries from around the diocese, followed by flags of more than 20 nations and a procession of more than 100 priests and deacons.
The two-day celebration was a joyful mix of music, worship and fellowship, all centered around the Eucharist as the source and pinnacle of Catholic faith. The Mass tied it all together as a standing-room only crowd heard Bishop Martin’s homily focused on the Eucharist as a source of unity that can draw the Church’s – and the world’s – diverse community together.
During the homily, the bishop reflected on the Gospel reading from Luke which featured the episode on the road to Emmaus, where two disciples do not recognize the risen Christ. They invite Him to share a meal with them, and only then do their eyes open to the fact that Jesus is with them. This moment, the bishop said, shows the power of welcoming the stranger.
“We live in a world that is so frightened…let’s understand how the brokenness of the world has distanced us from the stranger and has made us leery of the stranger,” he said. “Fear born out of sin and born out of brokenness has distanced us and detached us, so it’s harder and harder to remain with each other and to remain in Him.”
People can take a lesson from how the disciples acted on their way to Emmaus, he said. Receiving the Eucharist as part of a larger and diverse community, alongside people they do not know, can help Catholics learn how to bring God’s love to all they encounter in the world.
“May that teach us something about what the Eucharist means, about what the Eucharist can do and can be,” he said.
The diversity of the Catholic community in the Charlotte diocese was on display earlier Saturday as thousands took to the streets of Uptown Charlotte for a mile-long Eucharistic procession.
People carried the banners of their parishes and ministries. Many marchers were praying the rosary, singing hymns in English and Spanish, and playing instruments as they walked. Bishop Martin and other clergy carried the Blessed Sacrament, and as they passed bystanders on the sidewalks, they made the sign of the cross and kneeled.
The procession ended at the convention center and was followed by a Holy Hour led by the bishop, with a homily delivered by Father Juan Miguel Sanchez. This prayerful morning led straight into a full day of educational talks, Eucharistic Adoration, and activities for families, children and those with special needs. Attendees also could shop for religious objects at more than 80 vendors and view a special sacred art light display featuring images of St. Francis of Assisi, in honor of Bishop Martin, who is a Conventual Franciscan.
The event drew thousands of people from all parts of the diocese, shown by a map set up in the main exhibit hall where attendees could place a pin on their parish location. Hundreds of pins were spread out to all corners of western North Carolina – from Charlotte to Linville, Greensboro to Mount Airy.
Attendees were also hungry to receive the sacraments.
Lines for confession stretched more than 100 yards, with penitents lining up in two areas of the main exhibit halls, waiting for their moment with one of dozens of priests to listen and absolve them.
Fred and Norma Waring drove three hours from Waynesville and said they got more than their money’s worth at the free event – scoring unexpected meetings with the diocese’s Bishop Emeritus Peter Jugis outside their hotel and then Bishop Martin – in the confessional.
“Uh-oh!” Norma Waring said to herself when she and her husband were led to the bishop for confession.
“It made me a little nervous,” Fred Waring, 77, admitted. “I don’t like doing this, but he made it easy. I was comfortable talking to him.”
The standing-room only crowd at the closing Mass was so large that toward the end of Holy Communion, clergy at the 36 Communion distribution stations designated by white umbrellas were breaking consecrated hosts into smaller and smaller pieces so that everyone could receive the sacrament.
At the end of Mass, Bishop Martin invited the crowd back for the next Congress and revealed the logo and theme for 2025’s event: “Pilgrims of Hope.” He also blessed religious items for the crowd, thanked Bishop Jugis for his inspiration to start the Congress in 2004 and Monsignor Roger Arnsparger for overseeing the event throughout its 20-year history.
He also smiled as he looked at the people filling the exhibit hall, noting, “We are busting at the seams,” and joked that next year the diocese may need to hold Eucharistic Congress at the Carolina Panthers stadium.
Bishop Martin also encouraged the crowd to take their experiences from the Congress out into the world.
“May this Congress not stop here,” he said, “but rather go out into the world that needs so much the Real Presence of Jesus, that needs to know where to be connected, that needs to know what true life is, and may we bring that to our encounter with the stranger – the poor, the orphan, the enemy – and may we recognize Him in the breaking of the bread.”
— Christina Lee Knauss. Photos by Patrick Schneider, Troy Hull, Binh-An Nguyen and Giuliana Polinari Riley.
More online
- More than 10,000 turn out for Eucharistic Congress
- Catholics fill the streets of Charlotte for Eucharistic Procession
- Thousands join in prayer and praise at Eucharistic Congress opening
What the pilgrims said
Luna DawkinsLuna Dawkins, 4, of St. Leo the Great Parish in Winston-Salem was attending her first Eucharistic Congress and was happy to share her impressions.
“My favorite part is following Jesus, because we love him more than anything in the whole world. There were so many people who love Jesus,” she said. “I didn’t know there were that many people who love Jesus.”
Anna Bazaldua, a parishioner of Holy Spirit Mission in Taylorsville, is a regular at the Eucharistic Congress and attended with her 
Anna Bazaldua (center)daughters again this year.
“The primary thing I like about the Eucharistic Congress is that we get to be here with Our Lord and share in the diversity in our cultures with the Lord,” she said. “Seeing all of the diversity and sharing with one another is like one big church.”
Lucero Lara, also a parishioner of Holy Spirit Mission in Taylorsville, said she loved seeing how many people showed up this year.
“The Congress was really good this year with the topics and the different tracks,” she said. “I’m really excited and happy to see so many new teenagers and kids here, because they are our future.”
Ethan and Katelyn JonesYoung parents Ethan and Katelyn Jones are members of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Charlotte. The two met at Western Carolina University and now have two children.
“A lot of the talks have been very helpful, and even though we go regularly to Adoration, it’s really nice to have that here, as well as meeting back up with friends and family like my brother-in-law, who is a seminarian,” Ethan Jones said.
Katelyn added, “I love it. I've been coming here since I was 10 years old, actually. I was in the kids Latin choir for a while, and then I was in the Charlotte Diocesan Youth Conference and then we were part of Western Carolina Campus Ministry. I love it because you get to see all these people that you grew up with, especially if you're from this diocese. And so it's like a big Catholic family reunion, and it's a beautiful opportunity to really renew that the whole point of why we're here, which is the Eucharist and having the Eucharist constantly processing around and having these beautiful talks and opportunities for Adoration. It's very, very refreshing.”
Frank Corsi, a parishioner from St. Dorothy Parish in Lincolnton, said he appreciated how well organized things were.
“My thought was how wonderful it was that the whole city just got out of the way so that we could process down the center (of town), how beautiful it was.”