Pope Francis will be unable to travel to the United States this month to attend the National Eucharistic Congress, and has appointed Cardinal Tagle as his special envoy along with a pontifical mission of clergy members.
Pope Francis also wrote a letter to the envoy encouraging them to unite themselves to Christ in the Eucharist so they may “be fully aware of the universal gifts they receive from heavenly food and be able to impart them to others.”
Last summer, leaders of the Congress travelled to the Vatican to meet with the pope. There, he blessed the monstrance that will be used at the Congress and encouraged the members to continue their mission.
The Eucharistic Congress will involve liturgies, adoration, breakout sessions and keynote speeches from Catholic leaders, like Jason Evert, who travels around the world speaking to young people about chastity.
“The Eucharistic Revival, that’s the heart of the church, its the source and summit of our faith,” said Jason.
“At the Eucharistic Congress, I’m going to be tying in kind of a Eucharistic theme of ‘This is my body given up for you,’ tying that into the subject of gender of how we can pastorally love individuals who are wrestling with this, without having to compromise clarity for the sake of charity.”
The Congress will take place from 17-21 July and is the milestone of the 3-year National Eucharistic Revival in the United States. Over 50,000 people are expected to gather for the big event in Indianapolis.