Pope Leo XIV will visit Sydney in the spring of 2028 to preside over the International Eucharistic Congress. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
On the day after the Pope’s installation in May last year, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese invited him to visit Sydney for the congress, known as Eucharist28.
Since Pope Leo is the head of a foreign government, the Holy See, diplomatic protocol requires the Australian Government to extend a formal invitation to him, and he responds to that invitation.
However, in the strongest indication yet that the Pope will be coming to Sydney, Pope Leo expressed his intention to attend the congress.
Eucharist28 chief executive Bishop Richard Umbers told a press conference at St Mary’s Cathedral yesterday: “[Sydney] Archbishop Anthony Fisher was in Rome speaking to Pope Leo. He said to him, ‘Look, we’re counting down the days for you to come to the International Eucharistic Congress which will be held here in 2028’ and the Pope said, ‘Well, it’s still a way off, but I’ll be there.’”
The year 2028 will mark the 100th anniversary of Australia’s first international Eucharistic Congress – in Melbourne in 1928.
Melbourne also hosted the quadrennial event in 1973, which was attended by two saints – Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, now St John Paul II, and Mother Teresa, now St Teresa of Calcutta.
With the massive event still two-and-a-half years away, many logistical issues still need to be resolved. But Bishop Umbers sketched out Eucharist28’s main features.
“The congress itself will be run for a week. There’ll be an opening Mass.
“And then one would expect, if the Pope is able to make it, which we really hope he does, in the latter part of that week he will be involved in a very, very long and large, Eucharistic procession, which will be very exciting.
“And then there will be a final Mass. As we’ve seen with previous papal visits, it also brings people all over the world.”
Bishop Umbers was reluctant to forecast attendance at the final Mass. But he said, “given that there are five million Catholics in Australia, we expect hundreds of thousands to attend the Mass and to be at the conference and many to come from overseas”.
“We hope that Eucharist28 will invigorate people in their faith, to appreciate the presence of Jesus among us, and through spiritual conversion, return to their parish renewed and on fire with love for the Lord.”
FULL STORY
Sydney to welcome Pope Leo in 2028 (By Michael Cook, The Catholic Weekly)
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