INDIANAPOLIS (OSV News) -- The streets outside Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis were abuzz with excitement July 17 as Catholics of all ages and walks of life gathered for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, the first such congress in 83 years.
Dominicans sang into bullhorns and volunteers passed out water as thousands waited in line that stretched out blocks to pick up their congress registration.
Across the street from the convention center, religious sisters handed out rosaries and welcomed congress-goers into the cool and silence of the historic St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church for perpetual adoration. Next door, parish volunteers sold charcuterie boards, beer and ice cream under a spacious tent, in view of a 22-foot-high bronze sculpture commissioned for the National Eucharistic Congress depicting Jesus Christ's crucified body and blood pouring out for the salvation of the world.
"Jesus comes to us yet today in His Real Presence in the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist to fortify, strengthen and heal His people and our nation!" read a sign explaining the statue, "This Is My Body" by Timothy Paul Schmalz.
Love for the Eucharist and a desire to be part of the nationwide "Catholic family" were frequently cited reasons that attendees shared for why they made the trip to Indianapolis for the July 17-21 congress, held at the Indiana Convention Center and the adjacent Lucas Oil Stadium.
Speaking with OSV News outside of St. John the Evangelist July 16, Tim Glemkowski, CEO of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., described the event as a "family reunion" with more than 50,000 passes sold. According to the NEC, registered attendees speak more than 19 languages, and include well over 1,000 priests and more than 200 bishops and cardinals. Around 8,000 of the attendees are under 25, with 5,000 of them under 18.
The event -- scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. July 17 with a procession and revival session featuring prominent Catholic speakers and Eucharistic adoration -- saw the surrounding blocks buzzing with final preparations and pre-congress excitement all day, starting with a standing-room-only 8 a.m. Mass at St. John the Evangelist celebrated by its pastor, Father Rick Nagel.
Father Nagel said his own life was transformed after attending World Youth Day in Denver in 1993.
"I hadn't been to Mass in some time. I hadn't been in confession in 13 years at that point in my life. But God loved me," he said. "And there (at World Youth Day), I heard the words of St. John Paul II, St. John Paul the Great: 'Open wide the doors to Christ,' he proclaimed. ... My heart began to open. ... I began to live my life to seek to be a reflection of Christ in the world."
"I know some are already on fire and just wanted to dive deeper into love of the Lord in his holy church," he said of those attending the congress. "And there'll be some that got here because the Spirit called them here, like he did me to Denver.
"No matter what the case is and where anybody's at," he continued, "I pray that all the pilgrims that come here for this week ahead have this same divine intimacy experience with the Lord. And our lives are changed. Our churches are changed. Our city is changed. Our nation is changed. Our world is changed so that we can be Christ's love in the world."
As he waited in line to claim his registration, Deacon Jim Reinhardt, 63, from the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park, also pointed to World Youth Day as a model of what could come from the congress.
"You see the numbers of the people who don't believe in the Real Presence and that kind of thing, and it's heartbreaking," he said. "I'm thinking about what John Paul II did for Denver, and it just revived that city. ... Maybe this is the next spot -- that the Lord is going to do incredible work in Indianapolis that will spread out to the wider United States."
Father Gonzalo Siller-Ramirez, 37, of the Diocese of Fresno, California, who was traveling with 10 members of his parish, St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Dinuba, expressed similar expectations while in line and holding wooden rosary beads alongside his water bottle.
"My hope is that it impacts many generations," he said, including new vocations to priesthood and religious life and holy matrimony.
For Joan Hiel, a parishioner of St. John Vianney in Kailua, Hawaii, that impact is especially important for the youngest Catholics, whom she was preparing to serve during the congress in family spaces dedicated to the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
A longtime teacher of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a hands-on approach for children learning the faith, Hiel said she hopes the congress will "reinflame, especially in the youth, a fervor for the faith, for the Catholic faith in particular."
"Quite a few of our young Catholics have left the church," said Hiel, 60, "and I'm hopeful that they come and see, or even witness it online -- 'Look, all these young people. I don't need to go to another church to feel connected with youth and young adults.'"
Deeply instilling the Catholic faith in their three children -- ages 7, 10 and 12 -- played a major role in inspiring Brenda and Matt Almaguer of Kansas City, Kansas, to head to the congress.
"As a family, it begins in the home," said Brenda Almaguer, 46. "We're so grateful that we have the opportunity to get together (as a church) after 80-plus years. It's also a good example for them to see all these faith-filled people here."
Her 10-year-old son, Luke Almaguer, said he felt "excited and blessed" to be at the congress.
"There's so many Catholics," he said. "We get a bunch of adoration and we get to spend more time with Jesus, the king of the universe, which is kinda cool and big."
Asked what he was most looking forward to at the congress, he grinned and said, "Father Mike Schmitz." His dad gave him an approving fist bump.
Father Schmitz, a priest of the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, known especially for "The Bible in a Year" podcast, is scheduled to speak in Lucas Oil Stadium during the evening revival session July 18. Other keynote speakers include Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota; and Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus in the miniseries "The Chosen."
The July 17 evening revival session was scheduled to include Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, board chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc.; Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States; and Sister Bethany Madonna, the Sisters of Life's local superior and mission coordinator in Phoenix. The event was expected to open with a "major" Eucharistic procession and conclude with adoration, with worship music from Dave and Lauren Moore, founders of Catholic Music Initiative.
While attendees waited for upwards of two hours to check in, the congress's exhibit hall opened at noon with a carnival-type feel. Families played lawn games on artificial turf while children colored on large pillars with black-and-white artwork of symbols of the Gospel writers. Someone dressed as a Legoman priest hurried past exhibitors, while Benedictine College's mascot, Rocky the Raven, ambled throughout the hall.
The hall also offered places for prayer and reflection. After writing a petition on a prayer wall at the Knights of Columbus exhibit, Gracie Díaz from the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, said she came to the congress for "healing" and "to be a witness of what God has done."
"Encountering that love that we had for our Lord. Everything he's done for us. Seeing everyone here come together as a family -- (a) big family that we are all united," she said, standing with her sister Sandra.
Díaz and her sister look forward to sharing the congress's testimonies "to those that are in need of his love, that don't know about him. Just bring out that word and spread it out," she said.
Exhibitors ranged from Catholic publishers, booksellers and software developers to rosary-makers, sacred art purveyors and a company that sells candles fragranced like the oils used to anoint Jesus after the crucifixion. Stickers, bottle openers and miniature Jesus figurines were among the freebies passersby snagged while visiting with the array of exhibitors and vendors.
Employees of the men's ministry Exodus 90 filled carts attached to bicycles with cold water bottles and towels to distribute to those in line outside, parked alongside an orange and white Exodus 90-branded race car "because it's Indianapolis," explained Adam Minihan, the organization's head of marketing, in an apparent nod to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's famous Indy 500.
"There's a lot of smiles, a lot of joy out here," he said of the crowd in the exhibitors hall. Even outside in the 85 degree Fahrenheit heat and humidity, "there's nothing but excitement, joy -- they're eager to talk, which is pretty fun," he said.
Across the street, that's also what Olivia Fugate, 19, experienced in the first 20 minutes of her shift at St. John the Evangelist's hospitality tent billed as a "Eucharistic Village." Seeing masses of Catholics inspires her with "pure joy because you know you're not alone," she said.
"When you're (worshipping) with a group, it just feels like family," she said. "It feels like what heaven is going to feel like one day."
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