IEC, ‘Olympics of the Spiritual World’
The 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) is 121 weeks away but as far as the general manager of the previous IEC held in Dublin, Ireland is concerned, the Catholic Congress slated in Cebu City in January 2016 started on the day preparations for the international gathering rolled out.
Anne Griffin arrived in Cebu City three weeks ago in the company of Vatican representatives to inspect possible venues for the IEC. Archbishop Pierro Marini and Fr. Vittore Buchardi who represented the Pontifical Committee for the IEC had since left, but the Irish lady stayed a few days more to share her professional expertise and experience with the local clergy and lay church workers.
I had the privilege of meeting Griffin during a briefing for the media and promotions committee that the local diocese set up for the IEC. Fr. Adonis “Dondon” Aquino chairs the committee together with Nonito Limchua, President of Cebu Catholic TV Network CCTN Channel 47 as co-chairman.
Griffin is a whiz in organizing international events that resemble the Olympics and since the IEC is otherwise referred to as the Olympics of the Spiritual World, I must say the IEC 2012 job was cut out for her.
Her stint as project manager for the Special Olympics World Games 2003 and event manager for the 2004 European Heart and Lung Transplant Games makes her sharply unique in the sense that she is able to meld humanitarian causes in massive sports, entertainment and religious events.
But her talents for the Dublin gathering where she handled administrative tasks, including finance, logistics, marketing, media and promotions and coordinating event services were severely tested because Ireland has grown into a secular society and the Church in that part of the globe was hard-pressed getting support from the mainstream media and other sectors.
During the last Thursday’s interface with the committee, Griffin revealed only the Catholic newspaper in Dublin covered the event extensively. There was one mainstream press which released a special supplement during the Congress days, copies of which were brought to Cebu City.
To address the lack of support from mainstream media, she set up communications desk in every diocese to make sure that Congress-related news and advisory reached the audience. The setup likewise enabled the different dioceses to gather feedback about IEC events.
The Dublin IEC attracted more than 7,000 pilgrims from 114 different countries; from June 10 to June 17, 2012 some 10,000 to 15,000 participants attended Congress activities on a daily basis in the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) Arena.
The biggest crowd of 65,000 was noted during the concluding Mass held in a public park. All in all, some 150,000 people descended on Dublin during the Congress. The event boosted tourism-oriented industries and Ireland’s national economy.
During the press conference last Thursday, Archbishop Palma was asked about the financial requirement needed to mount the global meeting but he declined to state a figure.
The IEC in Ireland was set at €11.8 million. Half of the total budget was raised through generous contributions extended by parishioners in four annual national collections beginning 2008. Owing to Ms. Griffin’s financial management, expenses was in the vicinity of €9.3 million.
In other words, the Ireland experience has shown that public support can go a long way in raising funds. The obverse side of the challenge, one which is equally important as generating resources, was to keep expenses at a minimum.
Griffin predicts that the Church in the Philippines will be in a better situation compared to Ireland because Filipinos are generally staunch Catholics.
Another significant challenge is to instruct people on the relevance of the Eucharist in their daily lives. Griffin hinted that in a few weeks the archdiocese will roll out a special catechetical program, one that will encourage people to join hands with the Church in making the IEC successful and fruitful.
I could sense high energy in the way Archbishop Palma and IEC 2016 Secretary General Msgr. Dennis Villarojo conducted the news conference with respect to the upcoming Congress.
I can only hope that the local clergy and lay people who will be tapped for various assignments will have the same focus and commitment because in terms of scope and responsibility, the task that lies ahead can be overwhelming, and that is putting it mildly.
