By Sallie Bachar
Catholic Herald correspondent
Local priest attends eucharistic congress
MEDFORD -- "Just one day would have been enough to satisfy me," said Fr. Gerard Willger, pastor of Holy Rosary Parish in Medford, "but each day was bigger than the next." Willger was speaking of his recent trip to Guadalajara, Mexico, to participate in the 48th International Eucharistic Congress.
The eucharistic congress is part of a long tradition that first began in 1881. Pope John Paul II called this year's congress at the closing of the last one, held in Rome in 2000. It marks the beginning of a special Year of the Eucharist declared by the pope which will conclude in October 2005.
An International Eucharistic Congress is a celebration of the church around Christ present in the Eucharist and affirms the centrality of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the church. It is a universal act of thanksgiving for the mystery of the Eucharist and determines how to celebrate and incorporate that mystery in the contemporary world.
The theme of this year's event was "The Eucharist, Light and Life of the New Millennium" and it took place from Oct. 10-17. Twenty-five cardinals, 400 bishops, approximately 3,000 priests and 16,000 lay people from all over the world came together to celebrate the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
The congress consisted of four main activities: reflection and study; celebration of the Mass; adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; and sharing in the culture of Mexico. Its goal, as Willger saw it, was to stress the importance of the Eucharist in the lives of Catholics and to put that into practical living. Helping other people, especially the poor, he said, should come as an extension of the Eucharist that is shared.
Willger received an invitation to attend the congress from his brother-in-law's parents, who are Mexican and live in Guadalajara. Willger doesn't speak Spanish but accepted the invitation to stay with them.
Guadalajara is the second largest city in Mexico with a population of over three million. The whole city was excited about the event, and families from each church opened their homes to attendees because there were not enough hotels to house everyone.
All the priests were given matching stoles and invited to concelebrate the various liturgies, said Willger. Each day began with a teaching from one of the cardinals. Following that were talks and witnesses from various priests and lay people from around the world who spoke about the importance of the Eucharist in their individual lives and their countries. Most of the sessions were in Spanish but simultaneous translations were made available in seven languages, including English, to accommodate the many countries represented.
The days were packed with excitement for Willger. Besides attending the events at the main conferences he also participated in various other activities in the evening sponsored by the churches throughout the city. One of those included a living rosary that acted out the luminous mysteries in the streets of Guadalajara. The people walked for blocks from place to place, said Willger, to see each mystery portrayed and then ended back at the courtyard of the church for the final mystery, the Institution of the Holy Eucharist. "It was phenomenal the way everything was coordinated and came together," he said.
The highlight of the week for Willger took place on Monday, Oct. 11, when he concelebrated Mass in the plaza with 2,000 other priests. Over 500,000 people attended and after Mass processed to the cathedral with a statue of the Blessed Virgin under the title "Our Lady of Zapopan." The next day the statute was moved in procession from the cathedral to the Basilica of Zapopan. This procession has taken place every Oct. 12 for over 400 years. Usually two million people participate, but this year, because of the congress, there were almost four million people who took part in the celebration. "It was unbelievable," he said.
On Thursday another procession took place with the Holy Eucharist. The monstrance was placed on a wagon resembling a float and made a trek of over 2 miles to the cathedral with well over a million people lining the streets. "There was more enthusiasm and excitement and more spirit than what is displayed at the Super Bowl or the World Series," said Willger. "These people, many of them young, were excited for Jesus. They were dancing in the streets and cheering for Jesus during the procession."
Cardinal Jozef Tomko, John Paul's own personal representative to the congress, celebrated the opening liturgy and summarized the discussions of the different groups and countries that met during the week. He also presided at the closing where 100,000 people packed the stadium. A special benediction service was broadcast live from Rome via satellite, followed by a short message from the pope who could not attend because of ill health. "It was the end of a fantastic week," said Willger, "and I was kind of sad. It was a wonderful experience. I was the only priest from the whole Midwest, and it was an honor to be a part of it.
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2004