Feeling the presence of Jesus

Diocese of Knoxville pilgrims experience National Eucharistic Congress in Indy

By Gabrielle Nolan

“Holy God, we praise thy name; Lord of all, we bow before thee.”

More than 50,000 Catholics sang these words during eucharistic adoration at the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17-21.

Over 80 years had passed since the last Eucharistic Congress, which was held in Minnesota in 1941.

The congress was a key part of the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, an initiative of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that aims to increase knowledge and reverence of the true presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

The revival, which began in June 2022, will formally conclude in 2025.

As its name implies, the National Eucharistic Congress drew pilgrims from around the country, including more than 170 pilgrims from the Diocese of Knoxville.

Father Doug Owens, pastor of All Saints parish in Knoxville, blessed the pilgrims before their departure. Three charter buses carried youth and adults from Knoxville Catholic High School to Indianapolis, where congress events took place at Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indiana Convention Center.

Deacon Jim Bello, director of the Office of Christian Formation or the diocese, led the pilgrimage. Assisting him were Kelly Deehan, assistant director of Christian Formation, and Lisa Morris, a parishioner at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus who also organizes pilgrimages for the diocese. Sister Madeline Rose Kraemer, OP, who serves as religion department chair and teaches religion at Knoxville Catholic High School, led the group of youth on the trip.

“This pilgrimage to the NEC can best be described as holy,” Deacon Bello shared. “After two years of planning and hoping, the people of our diocese showed up. We filled all of our available space with pilgrims eager to follow our eucharistic Lord. It was incredibly special to board our buses each day with the sound of joyful pilgrims being moved by the Holy Spirit. Upon our return to the hotel each day after about 16 hours of intense prayer and adoration, we saw God’s faithful children absolutely worn out, but still filled with great joy and love for one another. It seemed that nothing could interrupt the movement taking place in the hearts of those who attended. Also special was knowing how our brothers and sisters in our diocese were lifting us up in prayer and following us online.”

‘Bring others to the Eucharist’

The three emcees for the event included Montse Alvarado, the president and chief operating officer of EWTN News; Sister Miriam James Heidland of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), who is an author, speaker, and retreat leader; and Father Josh Johnson of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, La., who is known for his Ascension Presents videos, podcast, and books.

The Eucharistic Congress consisted of daily prayer, including recitation of the rosary and Mass in different rites. The processions for the Masses lasted over 20 minutes, as more than 1,600 priests, bishops, and seminarians took part.

Across the street from the Indiana Convention Center was perpetual adoration at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, where pilgrims could visit Jesus present in the Eucharist at any time of day.

An entire conference room at the convention center was dedicated to the sacrament of reconciliation, where priests volunteered to hear thousands of confessions.

Keynote speakers such as Bishop Robert Barron, Father Mike Schmitz, Chris Stefanick, Sister Josephine Garrett, Sister Bethany Madonna, and Gloria Purvis graced the main stage throughout the week.

In addition to keynotes, there were various impact sessions throughout the week featuring more speakers such as Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, Chika Anyanwu, Lisa Brenninkmeyer, Dr. Scott Hahn, Curtis Martin, and Cardinal Daniel DiNardo.

Praise and worship sessions were led by Catholic musicians such as Matt Maher, Sarah Kroger, Dave and Lauren Moore, and The Vigil Project, among others.

An exhibition hall featuring Catholic businesses, schools, and programs was available for attendees to walk through each day of the congress. The exhibition hall also hosted musical groups and meet-and-greets with authors and speakers.

Deacon Bello’s favorite speakers from the congress were Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart, who is founder and servant mother of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth, and Bishop Barron.

“This beautiful consecrated religious Sister knows first-hand the terror of war, pain, and intense suffering, yet [Mother Olga] seeks to bring the faithful together, understanding that our Lord walks with us and unites us in our suffering,” he said. “To see 50,000 pilgrims captivated by the experience of this tiny, faithful, and bold Sister was likely the most memorable for me. Of course, Bishop Barron was perfectly Bishop Barron. His call to all the faithful to proclaim the Good News with great obedience in a way contrary to popular culture was a cornerstone of pondering our mission going forward.”

Ron Martinez, a parishioner at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville, attended the pilgrimage with his wife, Jean.

“I wanted to experience it. It looked like it was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” he said.

Mr. Martinez said he was struck by the tens of thousands of pilgrims who were showing reverence in receiving the Eucharist.

He described his own relationship with the Eucharist as “very reverent, very close.”

“I have a great love for the Eucharist; I have a great love for Jesus, but this experience kind of blossomed that a lot more. I have a deeper understanding of my love for Jesus and why I love Him,” Mr. Martinez shared.

With plans to retire next year, Mr. Martinez said the congress gave him inspiration.

“I’m looking for what the Lord wants me to do next, and this gave me a lot of guidance in that I need to go out and bring Jesus to people, bring the Eucharist to people, through the way I live, through the things I do, and how I carry myself,” he remarked.

Deacon Bello said that his heart was “filled with gratitude to overflowing.”

“We are each loved by Christ more than we could ever love ourselves,” he said. “He became one of us, suffered and died, and rose because of that love. He gives Himself in the Eucharist to share that love. Now, He asks us to love one another as He loves us, sharing our experiences of both joy and suffering to bring others to the Eucharist.”

‘I found meaning in my identity’

Sister Madeline Rose was inspired to take youth with her to the Eucharistic Congress back when the revival was first beginning.

“Bishop Andrew Cozzens is a good friend of my community,” she said. “He told us about his dreams and prayers for the Eucharistic Congress when the revival was in the early planning stages. As he described what a significant moment he wanted this to be for the Church, I knew I wanted our youth to be there.”

Sister Madeline Rose shared that the Eucharist is the center of her life.

“It was such a joy to draw near to Him surrounded by so many people. It was an indescribable encounter between Christ and His Church,” she said.

“All of the speakers at the congress were excellent, but my favorite ‘speaker’ was listening to Our Lord speak to our hearts during eucharistic adoration,” Sister Madeline Rose continued. “There was a profound grace of peace poured out during each Holy Hour.”

Sister Madeline Rose was “deeply moved by the receptivity and faith of our young people” as she chaperoned the youth on the pilgrimage.

“They witnessed to me by their joy and enthusiasm, asking me to pray rosaries with them as we walked to and from lunch, encouraging their friends, and opening their hearts deeply in prayer during eucharistic adoration. For me, it was an experience of how powerfully Christ is at work in His Church, and it deepened my trust in Him. He is with us, and He is working all things together for our good and the good of His whole Church,” she remarked.

Skyler Hay, a parishioner at St. John Neumann in Farragut and a junior at Knoxville Catholic High School, was among the nearly 40 youth who attended the congress as part of the diocesan pilgrimage.

“I recognized the need for a eucharistic revival in our country, and I wanted to be a part of it,” she said. “I, myself, needed to learn and understand more about how and why the body and blood, soul and divinity of the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith as Catholics. I came into the congress with an emptiness about me, but I went to confession and really allowed Jesus to work in me and left on fire for the Lord!”

Skyler said that Brian Greenfield was her favorite speaker at the congress because “he really knew how to reach out to the youth.”

“For me, he was a big part of what made me realize I want to be on fire for the Lord because he is so passionate about what he does. It makes you want to listen and soak in every bit of information you can,” she continued. “I could just tell that he has a good relationship with the Lord, and he told us that it was going to be hard, but I saw how happy and full of the Holy Spirit he was, and I recognized that I wanted that no matter the suffering!”

Skyler shared that she felt the presence of Jesus at the Eucharistic Congress.

“Before I attended the Eucharistic Congress, I saw the accidents of [the Eucharist] and not the true substance of what it was,” she said. “I did not fully believe that the Eucharist is truly Jesus’ body, but once I participated in eucharistic adoration and really opened my heart to Him, I felt His presence in the Eucharist and something in me could just tell that it was really Him. The feeling I got when I let myself believe, that is something I never want to go away!”

“During the pilgrimage I realized that living on top of the mountain was a feeling greater than any other, but now that I have come down, I need to live differently than I did before,” Skyler continued. “I want people to look at me and see Jesus, and I need to live as He did in order for that to happen. It is a scary thing, and it requires sacrificing worldly things to be closer to Him, but I am ready. I found meaning in my identity as a daughter of the King.”

Xavier Flores, a parishioner at St. Mary in Oak Ridge and a junior at Knoxville Catholic High School, was another pilgrimage attendee.

“I attended the NEC to meet new people and grow closer to God,” he said. “I had a great experience because I was able to get closer to God along with my friends.”

His favorite speaker was Paul J. Kim because “I felt that I could relate to him in a lot of his situations that he had when he was my age.”

Xavier said that the Eucharistic Congress taught him to treat the Eucharist as God.

“Seeing the people I care about in my life getting closer to the Eucharist alongside me was the most meaningful thing to me,” he shared.

At the final Mass of the National Eucharistic Congress, Bishop Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, Minn., announced that the next Eucharistic Congress is planned for 2033, the Year of Redemption, observing 2,000 years since Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection.

Leading up to the National Eucharistic Congress, pilgrims from around the country took part in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage that processed its way through all sections of the country to Indianapolis. Four pilgrimage routes traversed the United States May 17-July 16 as part of the National Eucharistic Revival. One of the routes, the St. Juan Diego Route, went through Chattanooga in the Diocese of Knoxville.

While in Chattanooga, the traveling pilgrims took part in Mass at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul and a eucharistic procession that went from the basilica, through downtown Chattanooga, to the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Newman Center.