Next National Eucharistic Congress to be in 2029
Organizers are working to narrow down a location.
The next National Eucharistic Congress will take place in 2029, organizers said Friday — four years earlier than a date floated by chairman Bishop Andrew Cozzens at the 2024 Eucharistic Congress.
Jason Shanks, president of the National Eucharistic Congress, confirmed the news to The Pillar, after announcing it at the “Legatus Summit” taking place currently in Naples, Florida.
A location for the gathering has not yet been determined, but organizers are working to narrow down options, he said.
Shanks told The Pillar that a decision to hold the next national gathering in 2029 was made “in consultation with the bishops.”
Sources close to the U.S. bishops’ conference told The Pillar that a voice vote on the prospect of a 2029 Congress was taken during an executive session of the USCCB meeting last November, and that a task force of bishops was established to work on the event.
For his part, Shanks told The Pillar a formal presentation will be given to the USCCB when it gathers this November. The conference’s typical June meeting will not take place this year, as it will be replaced by a retreat for the bishops.
Last year’s National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, set amid a three-year USCCB-organized National Eucharistic Revival, drew some 60,000 Catholics and was widely praised as a successful effort to promote Eucharistic devotion and reinvigorate the faith of attendees.
Organizers announced afterward that they wanted to build on the gathering’s success with future events, creating an ongoing movement within the U.S. Church to promote Eucharistic devotion — with Cozzens floating 2033 as a likely date, “the 2,000th anniversary of the Year of Redemption.”
While the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress won widespread plaudits from attendees, some also noted organizational and logistical challenges during both planning and the several days of the Congress in Indianapolis.
Pointing to the prospect of ongoing logistical challenges for the independent nonprofit formed to organize the Congress, a source Friday told The Pillar that some NEC staffers had not yet been informed that the expected upcoming Congress was set to be announced, even as Shanks made the announcement at the Legatus Summit.
But despite logistics issues flagged ahead of and during the 2024 Congress, the event itself garnered strong support from a majority of American bishops.
Former National Eucharistic Congress CEO Tim Glemkowski told The Pillar in September that he believed the event was taken as a success because “efforts for the Congress were … covered in intercessory prayer.”
So thrilled! The EC in Indianapolis was such an incredible and edifying experience, fundamentally shifted the direction of my life and continues to bear fruit over half a year later.
Come on... Portland!