This past weekend, over 8,000 people gathered together in Liverpool for the first Eucharistic Congress to be held in England in over 100 years. The efforts of the Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales, spearheaded by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, this Congress was focused on evangelizing and encouraging Catholics throughout England and Wales to be more centered in and focused on the Eucharist as the source and summit of our Catholic faith.
With keynotes from Bishop Robert Barron for the adults and myself (Katie Prejean McGrady) for the youth,+8,000 people joined together in three days of learning, prayer, and community building, culminating in a Eucharistic procession throughout the streets of Liverpool (in the pouring rain) followed by Mass in the Cathedral.
It was an epic weekend. Hundreds of photos were taken. Here are few that capture the event well and show a Church in England and Wales that is alive and thriving.
A floral arrangement decorates the main aisle of The Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.
Religious sisters gather outside Echo Arena, in the shadow of The Wheel of Liverpool.
Echo arena housed 8,000 people for a Saturday of presentation, prayer, & worship.
Bishop Robert Barron gave 2 keynotes on the significance of the Mass, importance of Eucharistic devotion, and focus on going forth to be living tabernacles in the world.
Next door to the Echo Arena was a parallel youth program with 1,000 teenagers & young adults gathered together for talks, worship, Adoration, and fellowship.
Katie Prejean McGrady & Isaac Withers, both representatives from the U.S. and England to the Pre-Synod on Youth in Rome, spoke on the importance and significance of the Synod on Youth happening in October.
A statue of Our Lady of Walsingham is processed into Echo Arena. Catholics in England are devoted to her Marian apparitions to Richeldis de Faverches, a pious English noblewoman, in 1061 in the village of Walsingham in Norfolk, England.
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Echo Arena.
Thousands gathered for a Eucharistic procession through the streets of Liverpool on Sunday morning.
Despite the rain, faithful men and women lined the streets of Liverpool.
Priests in the rain during the Eucharistic procession.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, drenched, but happy.
Benediction of the crowd outside the Cathedral at the end of the Eucharistic procession.
Katie Prejean McGrady is an international speaker and author. She has been traveling for the past 10 years, engaging audiences of all ages and sizes with theological truths and a unique blend of humor. Katie has appeared on EWTN, Catholic TV, Radio Maria, Sirius XM’s Catholic Channel, writes books & articles for Ave Maria Press, LifeTeen, and EpicPew, and has spoken in parishes & dioceses across the United States and Canada. She lives with her husband, daughter, and dog in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
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