What to remember from the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress in Quito?

“Brotherhood to heal the world. You are all brothers” (Mt 23:8): this is the theme of reflection of this intense week that has just ended in Latin America. This congress thus brought together more than 25,000 faithful around brotherhood and the Eucharist as an instrument of evangelization. This gathering coincides with the 150th anniversary of the consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the first nation to have done so.

Brotherhood in the Eucharist, a remedy for the world’s difficulties

After Budapest in 2021, the Church chose Quito to delve deeper into the themes of unity and fraternity, in order to strengthen the faith of Christians in the face of contemporary challenges. These issues are more urgent than ever, according to Pope Francis, as violence and individualism spread throughout the world. During the opening Mass on Sunday, September 8, the Holy Father, in a video released for the occasion, urged people to live an “authentic” and “active fraternity” every day. For him, the Eucharist is the foundation of a fraternity that becomes an “indispensable condition for building a new, more just and more human world.” In inviting people to embody this fraternity in every place and at every time, Francis emphasizes that this is how “we grow together, as brothers and as the Church.” This unity, according to him, is nourished by “regular communion” and Eucharistic adoration.

A meeting rooted in the realities of the Church and society

Although historically rooted in national or internal realities of the universal Church, the themes of the Eucharistic Congresses have evolved over the decades. With the theme of fraternity as a source of healing, the Pope underlines “the importance of healing the social and spiritual wounds left by violence and individualism,” both in Ecuador and in the world, as one of the official spokespersons of the 53rd Congress explained to Aleteia. In a time marked by injustice and armed conflict, this event offered a space where “the Eucharist becomes an inexhaustible source of peace and reconciliation,” he added. The Congress also allowed the various delegations to engage in dialogue on the future of the Church, in the hope of making it more “synodal” and finding a path towards unity. “The Eucharist is a condensed synod,” said Bishop José Cordeiro, representative of the Portuguese delegation, during a press conference on Thursday, September 12, 2024. A way to transform men into “more active brothers and citizens, to implement justice and peace, forgiveness and love,” he concluded.