National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Thousands of Catholics finished a long journey on Tuesday to the Circle City for a national gathering that hasn’t happened in 83 years.

Worshippers and Clergy from all corners of the country started a pilgrimage in May. They made their way to Indianapolis for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress , which officially begins on Wednesday.

It’s the first time in 83 years the Catholic church will gather for the congress. They’ll use the time in Indianapolis to worship and discuss different topics within the church.

Ken Ogorek, executive director of the Secretariat for Evangelizing Catechesis in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis , says the city was picked mostly because of its location and its ability to host large-scale events.

“(The Archdiocese) kind of have a track record of doing a good job of hosting these sort of large Catholic gatherings,” Orgorek said. “It all kind of converged at the crossroads of America.”

The pilgrims started in four cities in May: Brownsville, Texas; San Francisco, California; Lake Itasca, Minnesota; and New Haven, Connecticut.

Each route consisted of thousands of mostly young worshipers and clergy. They arrived in the Indianapolis area on Saturday, and the four routes converged Tuesday at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church.

“(They’ve been) making their way prayerfully to our city,” Orgorek said. “(Tuesday morning) they’re going to leave from four different nearby churches, and process here to Saint John’s, (and) have a wonderful welcoming mass with Archbishop (Charles) Thompson.”

World War II prevented countries from holding their Eucharistic Congresses. Eventually, they would resume internationally. However, the U.S. did not start them back up until this year.

Leaders in the Catholic Church hope to revive and continue the legacy of the original congress. They are hopeful this will start a new chapter for the church in the country.

“It was really a few years ago that our American bishops decided (to hold the Congress),” Orgorek said. “Catholics love themes. We’ve got Advent, Lent … we like to focus on things now and then. So, what better theme than Jesus and especially how we experience him in the Eucharist? Combine that with the fact that we haven’t had one of these for a while.”

The pilgrims will celebrate one final mass at St. John the Evangelist at noon. The National Eucharistic Congress officially opens for check-in at 11 a.m. Wednesday.