CHARLOTTE — For the first time in its 14-year history, the Diocese of Charlotte Eucharistic Congress will feature programming specifically designed for children and adults with special needs.
The 2018 Eucharistic Congress will be held Friday and Saturday, Sept. 7-8, at the Charlotte Convention Center. It will feature Catholic speakers, music, vendors, a Eucharistic Procession through the streets of uptown Charlotte, Eucharistic Adoration and Mass with Bishop Peter Jugis.
The new Special Needs track will be offered from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, for people aged 5 to adulthood.
The congress also features English and Spanish tracks, as well as tracks for children, middle school and high school youth.
The 2018 theme, “I am the living bread,” comes from the Gospel book of John (6:51) and is a part of the discourse on the bread of life in which Christ repeatedly explains to His followers that they must eat His Body and drink His Blood to attain eternal life.
The Special Needs Track can accommodate up to 30 participants. A parent or chaperone must remain with each participant during the track, which will be held in a room on the upper level of the Charlotte Convention Center.
A highlight of the Special Needs Track will be a brief period of guided Eucharistic Adoration.
Registration is required. To register, go to the Diocese of Charlotte Eucharistic Congress website, www.goeucharist.com, and click on “Special Needs Track.”
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
CHARLOTTE — The theme for the 14th Eucharistic Congress of the Diocese of Charlotte has been announced by Bishop Peter Jugis: “I am the living bread,” are the words that will surround the familiar cross and Eucharist that have comprised the annual event’s logo since 2014.
The 2018 theme is taken from the Gospel book of John (6:51) and is a part of the discourse on the bread of life in which Christ repeatedly explains to His followers that they must eat His Body and drink His Blood if they want to have eternal life.
The verse is the third time in Scripture where Jesus explicitly describes Himself as the bread of life. In the George Haydock Catholic bible commentary, the importance of the statement is explained: “Now (He) no longer calls the belief in Him, or the preaching of the gospel, the bread that He will give them; but He declares that it is His own flesh, and that flesh which shall be given for the life of the world.”
The Eucharistic Congress will take place Sept. 7-8 at the Charlotte Convention Center, the weekend after Labor Day.
In addition to the unveiling of the theme, two short videos promoting the Eucharistic Congress are now available on the Eucharistic Congress website, www.goeucharist.com. This year, for the first time, a Spanish version of the video is available.
The website and the Eucharistic Congress Facebook page will be updated in the coming weeks and months as speakers for the event are confirmed.
Attendance at the Eucharistic Congress has grown every year since it was inaugurated in 2005. An official with the City of Charlotte estimated that the crowd size for the 2017 Eucharistic procession through the city streets was more than 20,000, making it the largest in the history of the annual event.
The Eucharistic Congress is funded in part by contributions to the annual Diocesan Support Appeal. Learn more about the DSA and donate online at www.charlottediocese.org/dsa.
— David Hains, director of communication