by Sr. Angela Laquet, ASC
I was blessed to be able to attend the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 16-21, 2024. The program was filled with speakers, testimonies, prayer experiences, and exhibits meant to deepen our Catholic faith and to encourage the participants to look outward to carrying Christ to the world. Some of the speakers were nationally known, like Fr. Mike Schmitz, Bishop Robert Barron, Fr. Leo Patalinghug, Tony Melendez, Fr. Ricky Manalo, and Martha Hennessey, the granddaughter of Dorothy Day.
Masses were held in Lucas Oil Stadium, holding 50,000 + participants, and were truly celebratory in nature. The music selections ranged from contemporary Christian music to old favorites to some Latin chant, which was a nice mix. Some of the music was provided by the Indianapolis symphony. In addition, at the stadium in the evenings, were the keynote speakers and a period of adoration.
My brother, Deacon Dan Laquet, participated in the mile long procession through downtown Indianapolis. He found it a profound experience to see the number of people lining the route and waiting in the park for the prayer service at the end of the procession. My sister-in-law and I were among those lining the route.
Overall, I was very happy and that the focus of the event was not enhancing personal piety, but really to live as Christ dwells in us, and become better witnesses of Christ’s presence to the world. The messages I heard from the speakers and testimonies, resonated well with our charism. I hope many Catholics will be enriched and renewed by the experience of those who participated in the Eucharistic Congress.
For me, it was quite an experience to be in a stadium full of people that became so quiet and reverent simultaneously. The first evening, it was powerful when the four Eucharistic pilgrimage participants entered the stadium, and they showed a video about their journey and how many people across the U.S. participated.
I was able to meet up with my brother and his wife, a cousin and her husband, and two friends from the Belleville diocesan Teens Encounter Christ group. I represented our Congregation by handing out about 1,000 “Love Unconditionally” stickers, provided for me through the vocation office, which allowed me to encounter some of the participants more personally. I also was able to visit with Fr. Angelo Anthony, C.PP.S at the C.PP.S. vocation booth in the exhibit hall, as well as connect with the Religious Formation Conference and LCWR at their booths.
