Congress attendees 'ready for everyone in the church to get on fire'

INDIANAPOLIS (OSV News) -- Even before the July 21 announcement that National Eucharistic Congress organizers are considering holding another congress in just a few years, 9-year-old Thomas Gangestad had prayed for it.

Having heard this was the first time a national Eucharistic congress had been held in 83 years, he was afraid this was the only chance in his lifetime to experience what he did over five days in Indianapolis.

He was certain he wanted to bring his future children if he got married, he said -- prompting his parents' smiles -- but, upon reflection, he added he definitely would go again if it were held in four years, when he'd be 13.

Justin and Meghan Gangestad of Brainerd, Minnesota, brought Thomas and his five younger siblings to Indianapolis for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, held July 17-21 in the Indiana Convention Center and adjacent Lucas Oil Stadium, home to the Indianapolis Colts.

As a former FOCUS missionary, Meghan, 33, has seen the broader church in the United States, as well as "the fire of the church" for Jesus, and "I just want that for them," she said.

The day before, she had walked with her second-oldest son, James, at the front of the congress's massive Eucharistic procession through downtown Indianapolis, with other children who had recently received their first Communion.

"I think God plants little seeds with things, and this is just one of those seeds for them, for the future," she said.

The congress drew more than 50,000 registrants from across the United States. As it closed after five days of dynamic speakers, music and worship, many attendees expressed hope, gratitude and vigor to be the "Eucharistic missionaries" congress speakers and leaders called them to be.

The event was a highlight of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative of the U.S. bishops to increase understanding of and inspire deeper love for Jesus in the Eucharist. It launched the revival's third year, the Year of Mission, which includes the bishops' "Walk with One" initiative that encourages Catholics to actively share their love of Jesus with someone who does not know him or who no longer practices the Catholic faith.

The congress exceeded the expectations of Marie Settles of Indianapolis, who brought four of her five children, ages 11 to 2, to the congress for the weekend, but who said she wishes she would have gotten five-day passes.

"We love Jesus so much, and it was really exciting to see the revamping of the church and the Eucharist and just to get more on fire," she said. "I'm ready for everyone in the church to get on fire, because I feel like it's been a slow coming. And this is just getting everyone back into it, and bringing a wave of Catholics back to the church."

Her takeaway is "spread the good news," said Settles, 35. "Evangelize. Talk about the Gospel more. I feel like we don't do that enough. We do it in our home and with our friends and family that are already Catholic, but to bring it out to the world. The whole Eucharistic procession just really set us on fire was just really cool."

Femila Riguera, 74, from Arlington, Virginia, left the congress believing "we are really commissioned to spread the word" and that God "answers our prayers.”

For Riguera, being at the congress was an answered prayer. She did not know for certain if she would be able to attend the congress until July 16, the eve of the congress. She had asked people to go with her but they were unable to, mostly due to work, she said.

In 2016, she had attended the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu, Philippines, and felt she could not miss this moment. So, she kept on praying. Then her grandson told her “we are going,” and he picked her up at 1 a.m. to drive 10 hours to Indianapolis.

“I know the Real Presence,” said Riguera, who tries to go to Mass daily. “I truly believe that it's there. That's why I'm so thankful every time. … The only way we can be converted is through the Eucharist.”

Deacon Robb Caputo of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, said that he had been deeply impressed by the reverence he saw people show when receiving the Eucharist at Mass, in contrast to going through the motions or taking the Eucharist for granted.

"(I) found myself in tears almost," he said. "The reverence was just awe-inspiring, and that's something I would like to take back to our parish, and just to preach the fact of how that touched me and how that … the people (who) were receiving were so touched because they truly knew what they were doing and the presence of God."

Families -- including many with infants -- were ubiquitous. According to congress organizers, around 5,000 attendees were under 18.

Murielle and Dominic Blanchard of Gallup, New Mexico, navigated the congress with six children aged 8 and under, including 20-month twins, and a baby on the way. The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium was key for them, because it provided both faith formation for their older children and space for the twins to play.

"We've had to be really flexible," said Murielle, 31, while her children sprawled on the floor with crayons and coloring pages in the back of Lucas Oil Stadium ahead of the closing Mass. Sometimes the family stayed late for the nighttime revival sessions, and sometimes they missed speakers they would have liked to see, but they plan to revisit parts of the congress online back home, she said.

In attending the congress, the Blanchards' hope was for their kids to have a "concrete experience, where they see all the people, they can feel the energy, they can experience … (that) God is real, and all these people are here because they really love him, just like we say we do," Blanchard said.

"It's been good to be like, we're not just a big family. We're a big Catholic family," she said. "We want to talk more about Jesus in our daily life" and "not hide who we are -- either to our kids or to our friends or to our community."

Blanchard described herself as "not very good with the evangelizing thing," but said that's something she hopes to change as she roots her identity in being a child of God.

"It's really hard for me to be open about my faith, and I know I need to work on that. ... I need to be able to share the good news, and if I really believe that then I need to be joyful."

Hannah Avila, 11, of Nashville, Tennessee, participated with her parents in the congress's family track, Cultivate. Standing in Lucas Oil Stadium before the closing Mass alongside her mother, Sindi Anguiano, she said the experience made her feel "closer to Jesus, and that he'll always be at my side, even in the tough times."

Carla Fernando-Bowling, the director of Catholic Family Life in the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, told OSV News that "an encounter with Jesus strengthened my faith, and I hope that we will bear many fruits for the glory of God."

"What I want to take from this National Eucharistic Congress is the reaffirmation that our Lord is alive and present in the Eucharist and that is the main source, so that we can continue on this path of faith and the mission that he has entrusted to us," she said.

On Saturday night, 41-year-old Marie Noel prayed aloud at the close of Eucharistic adoration, and danced and sang from her stadium seat as the Grammy-nominated Catholic musician Matt Maher played his hit "Alive Again." For her, the congress rejuvenated her work with youth faith formation in the Archdiocese of New York.

"It was amazing!" she exclaimed. "It meant freedom!"

Bishop Donald E. DeGrood of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, said the congress was "like a Catholic Disneyland," but unlike the actual Disneyland, "it's not magic, it's real."

"The real presence of Christ is so palpable," he told OSV News, pointing especially to Eucharistic adoration during the evening revival sessions. "Everybody's there just adoring the Lord, and what's so clear to me is that this is heaven. Heaven is contemplation of what is real and true and good. And everything draws our right hearts to that."