In little more than a week, the 2024 International Eucharistic Congress will get underway in Quito, Ecuador.

In an interview with EWTN Noticias, Valeria Gavilanes, official spokesperson for the event, shared details about the significance of the event and what to expect.

“The Eucharistic Congress is a living manifestation of the presence of Jesus among us, and it is a unique opportunity to renew our faith and our relationship with the Eucharist,” Gavilanes noted.

The event, which will take place Sept. 8-15 at the Metropolitan Convention Center in Quito, will bring together some 4,000 participants, including laypeople, men and women religious, and ecclesiastical authorities from around the world. In addition, nearly 500 experts in the study of the Eucharist will participate in a pre-Congress symposium in the Ecuadorian capital.

The organization has placed special emphasis on the participation of delegations from 54 countries so that they may have a transformative experience. “We are working to make this Congress a place for encounter, dialogue, prayer, and celebration,” Gavilanes said.

Agenda

The event will feature a program packed with Eucharistic celebrations, presentations, testimonies, and times for adoration.

Among the most notable events is a massive procession with the Blessed Sacrament, which will include the participation of the Catholic faithful from Quito and other parts of the country. Gavilanes emphasized that “this procession will be a special moment in which all participants will be able to publicly manifest their love and devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist.”

The International Eucharistic Congress will begin on Sunday, Sept. 8, at 10 a.m. local time on the esplanade of the Bicentennial Park in Quito, where more than 1,500 children will make their first Communion.

“We want to make an analogy between the purity of the holy Eucharist and the purity of a child’s heart,” Gavilanes explained.

The theme on Monday, Sept. 9, will be “A Wounded World.” Juan Manuel Cotelo, a Spanish Catholic filmmaker and journalist, will present his film “El Mayor Regalo” (“The Greatest Gift”), which talks about forgiveness as a way to heal the world’s wounds and achieve fraternity.

On Tuesday, Sept. 10, Sister Daniela Cagnavina, secretary-general of the Latin American Confederation of Religious, will share testimonies of the lives of great witnesses of faith in the Americas. In the afternoon, Cotelo will talk about his film in a forum open to the public at the Metropolitan Convention Center in Quito.

On Wednesday, Sept. 11, the topic “The Eucharist and the Transfiguration of the World” will be discussed with the participation of one of the foremost leaders of the National Eucharistic Congress initiative in the United States, Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota. In the afternoon, Bishop José Ignacio Munilla of the Diocese of Orihuela-Alicante in Spain will speak about the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

On Thursday, Sept. 12, the theme “For a Synodal Church” will be the focus with the presence of Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and Mari Wu, adviser to the Council for the Lay Apostolate of the Archdiocese of Taipei. On this day there will also be Masses in several languages, highlighting fraternity in diversity.

That same day there will also be gatherings in the churches of Quito’s historic colonial quarter with Masses in several languages, including Spanish, French, Italian, German, Quechua, Portuguese, and Chinese.

On Friday, Sept. 13, the theme to be discussed will be “Eucharist: Psalm of Fraternity” followed by a concert with Argentine singer-songwriter Pablo Martínez along with Marco Antonio Espín, author of the hymn for the International Eucharistic Congress, as well as the group Solideo. “This will be a time dedicated especially to young people,” Gavilanes added.

On Saturday, Sept. 14, at 4:30 p.m., a Mass will be celebrated outside St. Francis Church in the St. Francis Plaza, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1978.

After the Mass, the Blessed Sacrament will be carried in procession through the streets of the Colonial Quarter, which will be “decorated with carpets of roses, to the Basilica of the National Vow, where a special blessing will be given for Quito, Ecuador, Latin America, and the world,” Gavilanes said.

Finally, on Sunday, Sept. 15, on the day of the closing ceremony, also at 10 a.m. on the esplanade of the Bicentennial Park in Quito, the Statio Orbis or final Mass will be celebrated by the pontifical legate, Cardinal Baltazar Porras, archbishop emeritus of Caracas, Venezuela.

In addition to the main events, Gavilanes noted there will also be an exhibition of relics of saints who loved the Eucharist, which will allow the faithful to venerate those who “have lived their faith in an exemplary manner.”

“It’s a unique opportunity to be in contact with the testimonies of holiness that inspire us to live with greater dedication to the Eucharist,” she explained.

As for final preparations, Gavilanes said the organization has worked closely with local authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of all participants.

She asked for prayers for the success of the Congress, assuring that “prayer is the foundation of everything we do, and we trust that it will be a blessed event.”

EWTN will provide complete coverage of the opening and closing Masses and Eucharistic processions as well as all the important sessions and speakers.

This article was originally published by CNA.