National Congress Ends and Ushers in a New Era of Eucharistic ‘Missionary Conversion’

The five days of the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis could not have ended in a more fitting way: with the celebration of the Eucharist with more than 50,000 people gathered in Lucas Oil Stadium.

The stadium, normally home to the Indianapolis Colts, was filled with people worshiping and praising Jesus Christ, their hearts overflowing with love and gratitude for what they had experienced over the past week.

The Mass was celebrated by papal legate Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who was present in Indianapolis for the entire congress and greeted participants in many different languages. In a homily delivered with energy, joy and humor, Cardinal Tagle thanked “the God who is Love … for bringing us together as a family of faith at this closing Mass of the National Eucharistic Congress.”

Cardinal Tagle, who serves the Holy See as pro-prefect of the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches of the Dicastery for Evangelization, said he brought with him the “paternal, fatherly blessings” of Pope Francis, who “prays, as we all do, that the Congress may bear much fruit for the renewal of the Church and society in the United States of America.”

Pope Francis’ message to the congress attendees, he said, was “conversion to the Eucharist.”

As attendees prepared to leave the five transformative days of the national congress and be tasked with spreading the Gospel anew, Cardinal Tagle reflected on the connection between “eucharistic conversion” and “missionary conversion.”

Those who go on missions are a “gift” to the church and to the world.

“Mission is not just about work, it is also about giving yourself,” he said. “Jesus fulfills his mission by giving himself, his flesh, his presence to others as the Father wants. The presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a gift and the fulfillment of his mission.”

Where there is “a lack or weakening of missionary zeal,” it “could be partly due to a weakening of appreciation of gifts and talents,” he said.

“When pessimism takes over, we see only darkness, failures, problems, things to complain about,” he continued. “We see no gifts in persons and events. And those who see no gifts in themselves and in others will not give gifts; they will not go on missions.”

The cardinal asked those present to examine their own consciences and consider why some people choose to distance themselves from the Eucharistic Lord, preferring “his absence in their lives rather than his presence.”

“I invite you to pause for a moment and to ask some rather painful questions about this mysterious rejection of Jesus by his disciples — by his disciples,” Cardinal Tagle said. “Is it possible that we disciples are contributing to the departure of others from Jesus?

“Why do some people abandon Jesus, when he gives the most precious gift of eternal life? Why do some of the baptized turn away from the gift of Jesus in the Eucharist?” he asked. “Does our biblical, catechetical and liturgical formation allow the gift of Jesus’ person to shine forth? Does our Eucharistic celebration manifest Jesus’ presence or does it obscure the presence of Jesus?”

Finally, the Cardinal asked: Will those present who go out remain with Jesus?

“Those who choose to remain with Jesus will be sent by Jesus,” he said. “The gift of his presence and love for us will be our gift to people. We should not keep Jesus for ourselves. That is not discipleship. That is selfishness. The gift we have received, we should give as a gift.”

He invited them to “share the tender love of Jesus” with “the tired, the hungry and the suffering.”

“Go and share the caress of Jesus’ shepherd with the lost, the confused and the weak. … Go and share Jesus’ gift of reconciliation and peace with those who are divided,” he said.

“A Eucharistic people is a missionary and evangelizing people,” he said. “Let us proclaim Jesus joyfully and zealously for the life of the world!”

During and after Communion, the stadium was filled with traditional Eucharistic hymns, including “Panis Angelicus” and Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus,” performed by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. The musicians also played the original score of “the Mass of Peace,” composed by Dave Moore, director of liturgy and music for the National Eucharistic Congress, and his wife, Lauren. The Moores, founders of the Catholic Music Initiative, “a nonprofit organization that creates beautiful, singable music for the Mass,” also performed during the closing Mass and revival session.

Before the missionary Mass, the Congress held a morning revival. Mother Adela Galindo, founder of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary, encouraged them to look to Mary as the model Eucharistic missionary and urged those present to share the visible fruits of what they had experienced.

“This is a new chapter in the life of the Church, a chapter that we will write with the power of the Holy Spirit,” she said.

“What we have freely received, we must freely give,” she said. “We must be witnesses and ardent missionaries of the Eucharist and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

At that event, Chris Stefanick, founder of Real Life Catholic, told attendees that every Communion is a reminder of God’s love and that it requires a radical response. We must share the Gospel with confidence, rejoice in his love even when life is difficult, and above all strive to become saints.

“Every human heart is made for the love that is Jesus Christ,” he said.

“Some people have compared this conference to a Pentecost moment,” Stefanick said. “Ask for the grace He promised to make us His witnesses.”

At the conclusion of the Mass, Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, chairman of the board of directors of the National Eucharistic Congress, Inc., stood before the audience in Lucas Oil Stadium and received a standing ovation.

“I have a question for you,” he told the crowd. “This is the 10th National Eucharistic Congress — do you think we should have an 11th?”

The stadium roared with approving cheers and applause. He said that congress organizers were already planning for the next congress in 2033, the Year of Redemption — 2,000 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection — but they were now considering holding another Eucharistic Congress even earlier.

“We will remain critical and let you know,” he said with a smile, to laughter from the audience.

He also announced another national Eucharistic pilgrimage for next year, which would begin in Indianapolis and arrive in Los Angeles in time for Corpus Christi Sunday, June 22, 2025. Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles said he would welcome “all of you.”

He also asked those present if they would accept the bishops’ invitation to join the Walk With One initiative, so that they could identify someone with whom they could get to know Jesus better.

“Commit yourself to walking with one person,” he said. “Commit yourself to becoming a Eucharistic missionary, someone who lives a deeply Eucharistic life, and who, having received that gift, lets himself be given as a gift.”

The fire of the convention’s Eucharistic revival was already showing signs of spreading beyond the United States as tens of thousands of Catholics filed out of Lucas Oil Stadium to the orchestral afterglow of the final stirring hymn, “O God Beyond All Praising.”

Christina Nugent, 18, traveled from Calgary, Alberta, with her 20-year-old sister to the convention. She told OSV News she would like to see a similar event for Catholics in Canada.

Rather than being satisfied with her personal experience of the convention, “it really made me want to see what I can do for others when I get home,” she said. “They say something like, ‘If you’re in love with someone, you should tell others.’ So if you’re in love with Jesus, you should tell others. That’s what I learned from it.”

After Mass, Bishop Cozzens told OSV News that he is “just filled with so much gratitude for what God has done, and really for the power of the Holy Spirit that is here.”

“It’s hard to put into words what the whole experience has been, from beginning to end, so beautiful and such a sense of God renewing his church,” he said. “I’m so thankful for what God has done.”

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Gretchen R. Crowe is the editor-in-chief of OSV News. Contributing to this story were Lauretta Brown, Maria-Pia Negro Chin and Maria Wiering.
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