Mass in the Ferenc Puskás Stadium, on the Kossuth Square and on the Heroes’ Square?

During the International Eucharistic Congress of 2020 in Budapest masses will be held – among other locations – in the Ferenc Puskás Stadium, on the Kossuth Square and on the Heroes’ Square. István Bereznay’s conversation with Gábor Mohos, auxiliary bishop.

Where the organizing of the International Eucharistic Congress is at this moment?

- The preparation happens in two dimensions. On one hand there is the spiritual preparations, which concerns the faithful and the people of the Church. This is going on since many years, His Eminence, Card. Péter Erdő will open the third preparation year today. The first two years were mainly for turning inwards, getting to know our faith better and immersion, and this third year is going to focus on the opening, and on how we shall draw up the message of the congress towards the non-believing members of the society – so this third phase can be interpreted as a part of the missionary task of the Church. On the other hand, there is a practical preparation as well, since we are talking about an 8-days-long series of programs – the Congress will be held between 13-20 September – and organizing all this takes a lot of time. For example, a few weeks ago representatives from more than 70 countries of the world came to Budapest to take a look on the preparation works. They are, who will promote the event in their own countries and will give a helping hand in organizing the arrival of the faithful.

What kind of programs the Congress will have?

- The frameworks of the Eucharistic Congress are given, the organizing itself is done on an international based standard in all the countries. It is the Pontifical Committee for the International Eucharistic Congresses, which gives the directives. The first program of the Congress will be the opening mass, to be held in the Puskás Ferenc Stadium. A five-days long series of programs will follow, and we have chosen the HUNGEXPO as its main location, where the events will be mainly held in the mornings, while in the afternoon special programs around the town will wait the participants. During the morning programs there will be lecturers from different countries, the majority of whom we have already invited. We have called bishops from all five continents, who have messages for us. The Catholic Church is very colorful worldwide. Someone from Latin America or Africa can say such interesting things, or give a new point of view, which will enrich our perspective. So, inviting them is in progress and their majority has already answered of having accepted the invitation. On the seventh day of the Congress a mass in the Kossuth Square will be held, from where we will go to the Heroes’ Square in a procession lit by torches. The next day during the closing mass at the Heroes’ Square, the name of the hosting country and city of the next International Eucharistic Congress will also be announced.

Do you have any estimattion, how many people may participate at the events?

- We have some preliminary estimates, but these day people often decide in the very las moments where to go, so it is difficult to measure the real interest. From the further countries we expect less people, maybe one or two full planes, while from the surrounding countries many thousands may come. There was already an International Eucharistic Congress in Hungary in 1938, and both there and at the other congresses the tendency was that the opening and closing events were very highly attended, so we also expect the same. On the events during the week we think 10-15 thousand people per event. On the mass in the Puskás Ferenc Stadium 60 thousand people can participate. But we do hope that we can fill the Kossuth Square and the Heroes’ Square entirely as well.

Each International Eucharistic Congress has a central theme. In case of the Congress in Budapest in 2020, what will this be?

- Yes, the motto of the Congress will be: “All my springs are in you”. It is a quote from the Bible, which refers to the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. We would like to express that Jesus has brought us the love of the heavenly Father, and he is the one, who strengthens and renews it in us. We have to turn to each other with this love and build such communities, which build everyone. That is, we would like to express, our openness towards the society around us and to every person – offering them the message of love, the base of of the Church faith.



Photo: vasarnap.hu