Philippines counts down to 51st IEC
(Vatican Radio) The
Philippines is making final preparations for the 51stInternational
Eucharistic Congress (IEC) which opens January 24th in the
city of Cebu. Thousands of delegates from the Philippines and from over 70
countries around the world are expected to attend the event.
The theme for the Congress is
"Christ in you, our hope of glory," which is taken from the letter of
Saint Paul to the Colossians.
During the gathering there
will be a Theological Symposium and there will also be speakers over the course
of the week including, Cardinal Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, and
Cardinal Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York.
The Congress will open on
Sunday with a Eucharistic celebration held at the Plaza Independencia in Cebu City.
The choice of the Asian
nation was announced by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI during a video message
at the conclusion of the previous Eucharistic Congress held in Dublin in June
2012.
The organizer of that event
was the Bishop of Elphin in the northwest of Ireland, Kevin Doran. He is also
leading a pilgrimage group to Cebu.
The Bishop shared his
memories of the 50th Congress in Dublin and spoke of his hopes for this year’s
event.
“The theme of the congress in
Cebu, “Christ in you are hope of glory” is a way of reminding us that each one
of us because of Christ in us carries hope, not just for ourselves but for
others…”, he said.
So what advice did he have
for the organizers of the Philippines event? “Trust in God that the congress is
going to be good, they’ve done the work and that they should now enjoy,
obviously, they still have to keep their eye on the ball, but they should enjoy
celebrating the presence of so many people both Filipinos and people of other
nationalities, with them in the city of Cebu and make it a celebration of
thanksgiving for them, for God’s blessings over the last hundreds of years in
the Philippines.”
The 51st International
Eucharistic Congress in Cebu runs from January 24th to 31st.
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