|
Thousands of members of the Knights of Columbus and their families in Chicago for the Order's 123rd Supreme Council meeting -- and thousands of local Catholics -- took part in a procession from the Chicago Hilton to Grant Park on Friday, Aug. 5, following a Mass celebrated by Cardinal George at 11:30 a.m.
Scenes from the Eucharistic Congress
More than 1,000 delegates of the Knights of Columbus -- and nearly 100 bishops and cardinals from around the world -- gathered for the Order's 123rd international convention in Chicago held Aug. 2-4 and its third Eucharistic Congress Aug. 4-5. The Congress holds special meaning for Catholics this year since the late Pope John Paul II declared 2005 the Year of the Eucharist.
The Eucharist is central to Catholic belief and refers to the consecrated bread and wine, which Catholics believe becomes the body and blood of Christ during the Mass.
The first Eucharistic Congress was held in 1881 under Pope Leo XIII. 48 congresses have been organized by the Papal Committee for Eucharistic Congresses to increase devotion to the Eucharist as a part of the practice of faith, and as a public witness of faith to society at large.
In addition to periodic Vatican-sponsored International Eucharistic Congresses, Catholic organizations are encouraged by the Church to hold national events when possible. The Knights of Columbus Eucharistic Congresses are a response to this call and the 2005 event was cosponsored by the Archdiocese of Chicago.
The Aug. 5 event included benediction and a homily by Cardinal George.
An associate of Pope Benedict XVI's was among the featured speakers at the Eucharistic Congress. Dominican Father J. Augustine DiNoia, an undersecretary at the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, spoke on the congress theme, "Sacrament of Unity, Sacrament of Charity." Father DiNoia worked with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger before his election as pope.
The congress was part of the Order's yearlong observance with the Church of the Year of the Eucharist proclaimed by Pope John Paul II and affirmed by Pope Benedict upon his election. Other presenters were Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, superior of the Sisters of Life; Margaret McCarthy, an assistant professor of theology at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, and Michael and Karen Splonskowski, the Order's 2003 International Family of the Year, from Fargo, N.D.
Eucharistic congresses have been held periodically since 1881, when the first such event was held in Lille, France, as part of an effort to renew the faith of Catholics. The Knights of Columbus has sponsored two previous congresses, in 2002 and 2003, both held in Washington, D.C.
|
