Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP has held several meetings with the Vatican in anticipation of the next International Eucharistic Congress, which will be held in Sydney in 2028.
“You have a great opportunity to evangelise and catechise and excite people about the faith,” Archbishop Fisher said.
“Then the celebration itself, and then the years afterwards of reaping the fruits of that.”
In Archbishop Fisher’s opinion, the challenge is for Catholics to value the Eucharist.
“After the period of COVID, after a long period of secularisation in Western countries, like my own, there are a lot of Catholics who are not very connected with the Eucharistic or as connected as they should be,” he said.
“And I would hope to rejuvenise people’s love for the Eucharistic, for the celebration of Eucharist, for praying with the Eucharist, for the Eucharistic community that is in each parish church and group.”
The arrival of Catholics from the Philippines, Lebanon and Vietnam to the Archdiocese of Sydney has brought a new vitality to some traditions never seen before in Australia.
“Our Corpus Christi procession is growing and growing and growing every year to such a scale that it is now is a very major operation, and it close many streets to make it happen,” he explained.
“We also have processions for Our Lady and a procession for St Joseph. The processions are growing and growing in Sydney.”
It’s a popular piety that paves the way for the next International Eucharistic Congress in Sydney.