Sue Ruedinger, third from left, attended the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17-21 with pastor Fr. Kevin McManaman and other members of St. Alphonsus, Greendale. (Submitted photo)
John Bourne describes himself as a 70-year-old “work in progress” when it comes to his Catholic faith.
That said, the recent National Eucharistic Congress was a mountaintop experience for him. The five-day event inspired about 60,000 joyful, like-minded Catholics who were united in shared worship, a downtown Eucharistic procession, revival speakers and many other experiences.
“It will take quite some time to absorb everything I saw, heard and felt. It was at the same time holy and magical,” said Bourne, a member of St. Francis Borgia, Cedarburg.
Bourne — along with hundreds of other Archdiocese of Milwaukee pilgrims who relished the peak experience — is now mulling how he can answer the call to action to “Go!” and share his faith in this coming year.
“While peace was so tangible with the 60,000 in Indy, however, with that peace, we must not be complacent — rather, we got a call to do more. I finally feel a ‘need’ to be more assertive in my discussion with others about this gift of the Eucharist. “
Bourne said the congress “pushed me over the top” in terms of his confidence and belief that the Body, Blood, soul and divinity of Jesus is indeed present in the Eucharist.
“Jesus was present in the soul, mind (and) heart, and ran through my entire being. This experience is soul searching and personal, and I focus on it every day,” he said. “I will put my weak soul into living, believing and especially now, evangelizing the Roman Catholic Church. I saw what it means to place our total trust in Jesus.”
The congress was held as part of the National Eucharistic Revival, an effort initiated by the Catholic bishops of the United States in 2022 to renew the Church by enkindling a living relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist.
Sue Ruedinger looks forward to being a part of a new evangelization and discipleship formation project that her pastor, Fr. Kevin McManaman, who also attended the congress, is planning at St. Alphonsus Parish, Greendale.
“My National Eucharistic Congress experiences have given me the courage to share my Eucharistic faith as a Christian formation catechist and adult formation small group leader this upcoming year, two things I have never felt comfortable doing before,” Ruedinger said. “Lastly, I will promote adoration and share my joy and love for the Blessed Sacrament in my daily life, without hesitation, for all to see.”
Alex Chernouski, a member of Immaculate Conception (St. Mary), Burlington, said she has been praying on how she will live out the Year of Mission since returning home from the congress.
“While I haven’t discerned the answer to this question yet, I have reflected a lot on Fr. Mike Schmitz’s encouragement to find the ‘fire extinguishers’ in our lives that put out the fire of our faith,” she said.
Chernouski, who serves as a catechist for high school students, coordinates her parish’s Lenten mission and recently started to help coordinate more parish adoration events.
“I know that as I continue to work in my current ministries and seek out new opportunities to share my faith with others, I must also work on two things: 1) better centering my life around my faith so that I can more effectively share it with others and 2) not allowing aspects of my life, both big and small, to ‘snuff it out.’ I am confident that as the gifts of Jesus in the Eucharist and God’s presence in prayer become more central to my life, the Spirit will guide me to exactly where I need to be to share my Eucharistic faith with others.”
Fr. Juan Camacho, the archdiocese’s Vicar for Hispanic Ministry, was one of five clergymen who led the archdiocesan pilgrimage to the congress.
“No one can hide from the Lord’s call to be disciples who share and proclaim the Kingdom of God. This call to intentional discipleship is paramount for the renewal of the Church,” said Camacho, who also serves as pastor of the Catholic Community of Eight in Racine. Those parishes are St. Richard, St. Patrick, St. Edward, Sacred Heart, St. Lucy, St. Sebastian (Sturtevant), St. John Nepomuk and St. Joseph.
“The congress has inspired me to explore the concept of intentional discipleship more deeply in my homilies and writings. I desire to inspire my parishioners to commit to being intentional disciples of the Lord who share the gift of the Eucharist with those around them,” he said.
As a priest, he said, “it was a life-giving and reenergizing moment to attend the Holy Masses with so many brother priests. The Eucharistic procession, a profoundly moving moment, revealed the laity’s profound love and gratitude for us priests.”
Fr. Matthew Kirk, an associate pastor at Holy Family, Fond du Lac, said it was very moving to be completely focused and centered on our Lord in the Eucharist.
“We plan to take that same energy and excitement for our Lord back to the parish, allowing it to be the source and summit of our faith,” Fr. Kirk said. “I was very moved by the many opportunities for adoration and the procession through the streets of Indianapolis. Most especially the moment in adoration in the giant football stadium when 55,000-plus Catholics were completely silent, and you could hear a pin drop.”
St. Leonard Principal Laura Bisher also said her biggest takeaway that she is eager to share with her staff and students is how powerful time in adoration can be.
“I’ve never felt so close to Jesus as I did during adoration,” said Bisher, who attended the congress with several St. Leonard teachers, as well as other parish staff members. “That’s something that we are going to work on very specifically this year — giving them more opportunities for adoration.”
As a result of her congress experiences, more adoration opportunities also are planned by Silvia Jiménez, Parish Life Director with Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Patrick parishes in Milwaukee.
“After experiencing great moments of grace during my participation in the National Eucharistic Congress, I recognized myself as a disciple of Christ within a living and revitalized Catholic Church,” she said.
In increased adoration, the parishes will be “creating spaces where we recognize that the light of Christ shines brighter than all darkness, and where we feel that Jesus heals us by listening to us and that he is waiting for us to tell him what is happening to us,” Jiménez said.
2033 Eyed for Next Eucharistic Congress
Plans are already in motion for the next steps of the National Eucharistic Revival as it launches its third year, the Year of Mission.
- The revival’s “Walk with One” initiative provides a simple path for anyone who wishes to accompany just one other person in a spiritual way in the hopes of igniting faith.
- Find a guide to Walk with One at org/walk-with-one, and a whole Year of Mission Playbook with practical suggestions at eucharisticrevival.org/year-of-mission.
- Already for 2025, a National Eucharistic Pilgrimage procession is planned, with a single route from Indianapolis to Las Vegas, concluding on the feast of Corpus Christi on June 19, 2025.
- Another National Eucharistic Congress is likely in 2033, during the Year of Redemption anticipated to mark the 2,000th year since Jesus’ Death and Resurrection.
