Organizers: We still hope Pope will attend event
Local church and International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) officials continue to hope that Pope Francis will attend the event in Cebu in 2016.
Archbishop Piero Marini, IEC president, said he hopes that the Holy Father will officiate the final Mass of the event.
“The concluding Mass, since 1960, has been called statio orbis. Statio means a worldwide meeting or celebration under the presence of the Holy Father and/or his delegates. So we hope that the Holy Father will come to Cebu,” said Marini, who together with other IEC officials arrived in Cebu on Sept. 10 to inspect the proposed venues for the event set to be held from Jan. 25 to 31, 2016.
Marini said, at a press briefing at the Cebu Archbishop’s Residence, that there will be a three-day symposium during the IEC that will be attended by around 300 theologians who will discuss the importance of the Holy Mass.
“The celebration of the Eucharist is itself one of the most important moments of the congress,” said Marini, who for about 20 years served as the master of papal liturgical ceremonies.
Fr. Vittore Buchardi, IEC pontifical committee member, echoed the hopes for Pope Francis to attend the IEC in 2016.
“We did everything to facilitate the coming of the Holy Father. Now, it’s the pope who will make the decision,” Buchardi said.
He said every IEC showed the richness of the country where it was being celebrated.
“(But) for the IEC to be conducted, there is no need of a rich town or a town of a western area. What is needed is a Christian community, ready and willing to receive the faithful coming from all over the world,” he said.
CEBU AS HOST
Buchardi said they are happy to have Cebu as the venue for the EIC in 2016.
“I think Cebu has been a good choice. Our first impression of Cebu is a very good one. A place rich in (prayer) and tradition. We found kind people in Cebu,” he said.
Marini said the IEC is aimed at calling back those whose devotion to the Mass has gone cold.
Marini yesterday admitted that the Catholic Church, especially in Europe, has been confronted with a variety of challenges.
“This is a great problem, the transmission of faith. That is the reason why the new evangelization is so much talked about. We hope that the IEC will support the new evangelization, not only by transmitting faith to children but even to other cultures and countries,” Marini said
Good choice
Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma said hosting the IEC is an event of a lifetime for Cebu.
“The congress is done every four years. And there’s a cycle for every continent to host the event. If we miss it in 2016, the opportunity for Asia to host the IEC will be 20 years later,” Palma said.
The last time the country hosted the IEC was in 1937 in Manila.
