Come and join us on the journey towards 2012! This is the warm invitation issued to you by the Diocese of Elphin’s Eucharistic Congress & Adoration Committee. The International Eucharistic Congress which will take place in Dublin from June 10th to 17th, 2012.

The main events of the International Congress will be held in the RDS and Croke Park as well as other venues in Dublin, but events associated with the Congress will also take place right throughout the country, including the Elphin Diocese.

The theme of the International Congress is: The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with One Another

The journey starts now!

What is an International Eucharistic Congress?

A Eucharistic Congress is an international gathering of people which aims to:

* Promote an awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Catholic Church
* help improve understanding and celebration of the liturgy
* draw attention to the social dimension of the Eucharist.
These aims are achieved through
* a programme of pastoral preparation in the years leading up to the Congress
* a programme of liturgical and cultural events, lectures and workshops over the course of one week every four years.
* The most recent Congresses were held in Quebec in 2008 and Guadalajara (Mexico) in 2004.
Most people in Ireland are familiar with the fact that a Eucharistic Congress was held in Ireland in 1932. Our parents and grandparents speak of it as a significant event in their own experience of Church.

Theology Of Congress

The Theological Commission for the International Eucharistic Congress has produced a booklet developing the theme of the Congress. This booklet is being circulated to parishes and provides direction in the following areas:
• catechesis
• evangelisation
• celebration
• solidarity

see http://www.iec2012.ie for more details

Summary of Programme for Congress Week   

• Sunday 10th June  Feast of the Day: Corpus Christi.     Papal Legate
• Theme: Gathering 
• Opening Ceremony    Main Liturgy: Celebration of the Eucharist 

Monday 11th June

•  Feast of the Day: St Barnabas     Br. Alois Löser (Prior of the Taizé Community, France),
•  Theme: Communion in One Baptism  Dr Maria Voce (President of Focolare)
•  Morning Mass by Language Groups 
•  Right Rev. Michael Jackson (Anglican Archbishop of Dublin and Glendalough)
•  Principal Liturgy: Ecumenical Liturgy of Word and Water  Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev (Metropolitan Archbishop of Volokolamsk Russian Orthodox)

Tuesday 12th June

•   Feast of the Day: Ordinary week day
•   Most Rev. Barry Hickey (Archbishop of Perth)
•   Theme: Communion in Marriage and Family   Dr Carl Anderson (Supreme Knight, Knights of Columbus)
•  (Family Day)  His Eminence André Cardinal Vingt Trois (Archbishop of Paris)
•   Principal Liturgy: Celebration of the Eucharist 

Wednesday 13th June  

• Feast of the Day: St Anthony of Padua   
• Most Rev. J. Michael Miller (Archbishop of Vancouver, Canada)    
• Theme: Priesthood and Ministry in the Service of Communion   Ms Noreen Carroll (Foxrock parish, Dublin)    
• Principal Liturgy: Celebration of the Eucharist    His Eminence, Oscar Andrés Cardinal Rodríquez Maradiaga (Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras)    
• Evening Eucharistic Procession 

Thursday 14th June

• Feast of the Day: Ordinary week day    
• His Eminence, Peter Cardinal Turkson (President, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Rome)  
• Theme: Reconciliation in our Communion    Mr Richard Moore (Children in Crossfire)  
• Principal Liturgies:    His Eminence, Seán Cardinal Brady (Archdiocese of Armagh, Ireland)  
• Liturgy of Reconciliation (Morning)     
• Celebration of the Eucharist (Afternoon) 

Friday 15th June

• Feast of the Day: Sacred Heart of Jesus  
• Ms Rose Busingye (Meeting Point, Kampala, Uganda)  
• Theme: Communion in Suffering and in Healing   Partriarch Fouad Twal (Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem)
• Principal Liturgy: Celebration of the Eucharist with Anointing of the Sick 

Saturday 16th June

• Feast of the Day: Immaculate Heart of Mary    
• Most Rev. Luis Antonio Tagle (Archdiocese of Manila, Philipines)    
• Theme: Communion in the Word through Mary    Dr John Monaghan (Deputy President, Society of St Vincent de Paul)  
• Principal Liturgy: Celebration of the Eucharist     His Eminence, Robert Cardinal Sarah (President, Pontifical Council Cor Unum, Rome)

Sunday 17th June

• Statio Orbis (In Croke Park) Papal Legate
• Principal Liturgy: Celebration of the Eucharist 

Contact Us
For further information about Elphin Diocese’s preparations for the International Congress, please contact PRO Siobhan Hall (087-9935055). We welcome your ideas and your views, so please get in touch with us!