A global gathering that unites people in faith, worship, and reflection to deepen their understanding of the Eucharist.
In the mid-19th century, following the convulsions of the French Revolution and in response to the rapid changes in society brought about by the Industrial Revolution, many Catholics felt the need to foster initiatives aimed at promoting reverence for the Eucharist. These initiatives placed at their core Eucharistic Adoration and a revival in a spiritual and theological appreciation of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
It is from within this historical context that Eucharistic congresses arise soon after 1870. The perseverance of a devout laywoman, Émilie-Marie Tamisier (1834-1910) played a key role in the creation of such congresses. She was the pupil of Saint Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868) and Fr Antoine Chevrier (1826-1879), and she was supported by Bishop Gaston de Ségur (1820-1880) in her desire to hold a congress that celebrated and promoted the Eucharistic Mystery.
The aim was to unite devotion to the Most Holy Eucharist with large gatherings of the faithful. In this way, people would be made more sensitive to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, while also recognising that they were not alone in their faith; that there were in fact vast numbers of Catholics who were committed to the same Eucharistic Lord.
In June of 1881 the first Eucharistic Congress was held at Lille, France. Besides faithful Catholics from France and Belgium, delegations were welcomed from eight other countries. The organisers were so taken with the success of the congress that they decided to set up a commission to ensure the continuity of the movement. Their work included planning the framework of future congresses, such that they would always include lectures, personal testimony, large-scale opportunities for worship, and a Eucharistic procession.
One year later the second congress took place in Avignon, thanks to the support of the Confraternity of Pénitents-Gris (Grey Penitents). In 1883 Archbishop Doutreloux of Liège received the participants of the congress, and in the Belgian city a solemn procession was held, which served as a visible sign of the vast scale of respect for the Eucharist, as intended by the organisers.
The fourth congress met in Fribourg, Switzerland, in 1885, under Bishop Mermillod. The congresses thereafter returned to France: to Toulouse (1886) and next to Paris (1888), followed by Belgium again (Antwerp 1890).