About 130 students and staff joined a Mass and Eucharistic procession at the University of Sydney on Thursday 24 September, launching the archdiocesan chaplaincies’ preparations for the 2028 International Eucharistic Congress.
Bishop Tony Percy and Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay led the procession, taking turns carrying the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance through the campus. At the university’s Quadrangle, the bishops blessed its four corners, symbolically extending the blessing to the institution.
During the Mass before the procession, Fr William Loh OP reflected on the extent of God’s mercy, telling the congregation it went “all the way” and was made particularly visible through the Eucharist.
Sr Susanna Edmunds OP later encouraged the students to share their faith and God’s love with what she described as a “really thirsty world” in the lead-up to the congress (Eucharist28), which will be held in Sydney.
“The International Eucharistic Congress is an invitation for every Australian to share in the mission of the Eucharist, which is that of being taken, blessed, broken and given,” she told The Catholic Weekly.
University chaplaincies coordinator Natalie Ambrose said watching students publicly witness to their faith strengthened her own.
“We do Eucharistic processions on all four of our campuses, but every time I’m so emboldened,” she said.
“It increases my fervour and my faith, watching the students witness so publicly in a place that is so antagonistic towards them.”
Ambrose said carrying the Eucharist through the campus gave other students an opportunity for an encounter, whether or not they understood the procession’s significance.
“You don’t know what kind of encounter they might have or how that’s going to move them,” she said.
Seminarians from the Seminary of the Good Shepherd also attended the Mass and procession.
First-year seminarian Kava Mo’unga said prayer before the Eucharist and receiving Communion had played an important role in his discernment of the priesthood.
“To be able to bring the Eucharist to people as a priest would be a great grace,” he said.
University of Sydney student Annabel Toma also spoke about the importance of the Eucharist in her spiritual development and her realisation that it was truly “God on earth”.
Fellow student Harriet Hurst, who watched the procession as a bystander, described it as something “new and nice for the senses”.
She said students had a right to express their beliefs and that universities benefited from bringing together people with different backgrounds and perspectives.
Student Rose Zoori said the chaplaincy held a Eucharistic procession once each semester to bring its faith into the wider university community.
“Processions like this are a beautiful opportunity to prepare us for the IEC in 2028, because it allows us to get into the practice of walking with Our Lord,” she said.
The chaplaincy plans to continue its preparations for Eucharist28 through prayer, Bible study groups, talks and resources provided by the Archdiocese of Sydney.
