July 14, 2024 - "The National Eucharistic Congress"

The first National Eucharistic Congress in the United States took place in Washington, D.C. at the Catholic University of America and St. Patrick’s Church in Washington, DC.  Bishop Camillus Paul Maes of Covington, Kentucky, played a big part in promoting this congress and the next four. This congress was held in 1895.

 

The second National Eucharistic Congress was held at the Church of St. Francis Xavier, the college church for the Jesuit-run St. Louis University. The congress was held in 1901 in St. Louis.

 

The third National Eucharistic Congress was held at St. Patrick Cathedral in New York in 1904.

 

The Cathedral of Saint Paul in Pittsburgh was the site of the fourth National Eucharistic Conference in 1907.

 

The fifth National Eucharistic Congress was held in 1911 at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Cincinnati. This happened to be the first Eucharistic Congress to convene after Pope St. Pius X promulgated Quam Singulari, the decree admitting younger children to Holy Communion.

 

The sixth National Eucharistic Congress was held at several locations in Omaha, Nebraska in1930.  This was held in several locations including the Cathedral of Saint Cecilia and Creighton University.  There were several newsreel companies on hand filming this event.

 

The seventh National Eucharistic Congress was held in Cleveland, Ohio in 1935.  Approximately 500,000 people attended.  The closing Mass, held in Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium, drew 125,000 people. Speakers at the Congress included Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen and Al Smith, the  first Catholic major party presidential candidate.  Pope Pius XI addressed the congress by radio.

 

The eighth National Eucharistic Congress was held in New Orleans in 1936. Pope Pius XI opened the congress with a five-minute address and closed it with a special blessing.  The Goodyear blimp broadcast sermons, music, and the Rosary.

 

St. Paul, Minnesota, was the site of the ninth National Eucharistic Congress. It was held at the fairgrounds for the Minnesota State Fair from June 23-26, 1941.  About 150 bishops attended this congress.  The final day of the congress was marked by a Pontifical Mass attended by more than 100,000 pilgrims.  Following the Mass, Pope Pius XII addressed the pilgrims through a radio broadcast. 

The Holy Father urged the faithful to maintain a spirit of sacrifice and reparation.  Less than six months later the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor which brought the U.S. into World War Two.  The call of the Pope for a spirit of sacrifice took on new and unexpected meaning for Americans with the rationing brought on by the Second World War.

 

I didn’t cover the two International Eucharistic Congresses held in the U.S.  We’ll talk about them next week.

 

Until then,

Fr. John