Benedictine College takes leading role at National Eucharistic Congress – Benedictine College Media & Culture

The Ravens brought 54,000 people to worship Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at Indianapolis’ NFL Stadium from July 17-21. Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, was the center of attention at the largest Catholic event of the year before it even began.

The National Eucharistic Congress, the centerpiece of the U.S. bishops’ long National Eucharistic Revival, drew 54,000 attendees. On the first day, a line stretched blocks around the Indianapolis Convention Center for the event.

So conference organizers asked Benedictine College’s costumed mascot Rocky the Raven and Student Activities Director Catherine Kluempers to act as “moral boosters” for those lining up on Maryland Street.

Thereafter the Benedictine College remained the centre of events:

• Former Bishop Andrew Cozzens was the lead organizer of the National Eucharistic Revival and Congress, the main event (pictured above).
• Mountain Alvardo (right)member of the board of directors, was an evening emcee at Lucas Oil Stadium, the NFL stadium of the Indianapolis Colts, where the main events of the convention took place.
• Professor Andrew Swafford and alumna Sarah Swafford were the speakers, inspiring thousands of people at the Indianapolis Convention Hall and online.

The college was one of the main sponsors of the congress and was involved in the organization in various ways.

• Benedictine manned a popular booth next to the main stage of the convention center’s exhibit hall and organized an extensive program of meetings, games and opportunities to win prizes.
• Deacon Charles Welte, principal of Benedictine College, read the Gospel during one of the main Masses in the stadium.
• Diane Mahoney, a former student, wrote the theme song for the event.

A Eucharistic Congress is a gathering of Catholic bishops, priests, religious, and lay people to bear witness to the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Catholics believe that the Eucharist, the host consecrated during Mass and kept in tabernacles, is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ, based on the words of Jesus Christ, St. Paul, and the earliest Christians.

The meeting in Indianapolis was the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in the United States, 83 years after the previous congress in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1941.

The convention was preceded by a Eucharistic pilgrimage, in which the Blessed Sacrament was brought in procession from four points in the United States. The procession was carried by Perpetual Pilgrims such as Patrick Fayad, a 2023 Benedictine College graduate, and included a stop at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, among other planned stops.

Bishop Cozzens, Benedictine College 1991, and Bishop of Crookston, Minn., opened the Congress by inducting the Blessed Sacrament, placing the monstrance on an altar in the center of Colts Field, which had been covered, and then knelt before the sacrament and prayed, “Lord, we wanted to give you the first words in our National Eucharistic Congress.”

Stephen D. Minnis, president of Benedictine College, said that moment gave him goosebumps.

“We could not be more proud of our own Bishop Cozzens for all the work he has put into this great conference,” said President Minnis. “When he called to ask if we would sponsor the conference, I did not hesitate for a moment. There is nothing more important on earth than the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.”

Cozzens spoke about the university at the conference, where lay and religious alumni (pictured) gathered.

“I am very grateful for Benedictine College and the gift it has been in my life,” he said. “The monks had a profound impact on me, evangelizing me and making me realize that the priesthood was a possibility in my life.”

Patrick Fayad, one of the perennial pilgrims who traveled across America with the Blessed Sacrament, graduated from Benedictine College in 2024. He said Benedictine College was the place that “ignited my faith” and that the Eucharistic pilgrimage took it to a new level.

“In the silence of my heart I have come closer to Him, I have been more comforted and the Lord has broken down many walls,” he said.

Archbishop Joseph Naumann, a longtime friend and associate of Benedictine College and leader of the college’s archdiocese, was a member of the bishops’ organizing committee for the Eucharistic Revival and said he was very pleased with the conference.

“It’s more than I could have imagined,” he said. “The biggest surprise is that it’s gone so smoothly, because it’s such a huge undertaking. Of course, there were some setbacks, but it’s gone very smoothly.”

He said the college’s participation was greatly appreciated. “Benedictine has been one of the great sponsors of this and they have been recognized as one of the leading institutions.”

Bishop Cozzens agreed. He said, “In small and large ways, Benedictine College is shaping the future of our country, so we are truly grateful for all that they do,” Bishop Cozzens said.