Eucharistic Congress - 19th and 20th Century

19th and 20th Century

The first International Eucharistic Congress owed its inspiration to Bishop Gaston de Ségur, and was held at Lille, France, 21 June 1881. The idea at first was merely local and met with few adherents, but it grew from year to year with an ever-increasing importance. The sixth congress met in Paris, 2–6 July 1888, and the great memorial church of the Sacred Heart on Montmartre was the centre of the proceedings. Antwerp entertained the next congress, 15–21 August 1890; an immense altar of repose was erected in the Place de Meir, and an estimated 150,000 persons were gathered about it when Cardinal Goossens, Archbishop of Mechlin, gave the solemn Benediction. Bishop Doutreloux of Liège was then president of the Permanent Committee for the Organization of Eucharistic Congresses, the body which has charge of the details of these meetings. Of special importance also was the eighth congress, held in Jerusalem in 1893.

In 1907, the congress was held in Metz, Lorraine, and the German Government suspended the law of 1870 (which forbade processions), in order that the usual solemn procession of the Blessed Sacrament might be held. Each year the congress had become more and more definitely international, and at the invitation of Archbishop Bourne of Westminster it was decided to hold the nineteenth congress in London, the first among English-speaking members of the Church.

The presidents of the Permanent Committee of the International Eucharistic Congresses, under whose direction all this progress was made, were: Bishop Gaston de Ségur of Lille; Archbishop de La Bouillerie, titular of Perga and coadjutor of Bordeaux; Archbishop Duquesnay of Cambrai; Cardinal Mermillod, Bishop of Lausanne and Geneva; Bishop Doutreloux of Liège, and Bishop Thomas Heylen of Namur, Belgium. After each congress this committee prepared and published a volume giving a report of all the papers read and the discussions on them in the various sections of the meeting, the sermons preached, the addresses made at the public meetings, and the details of all that transpired.

The 19th International Eucharistic Congress was held in London in 1908.

The 20th International Eucharistic Congress was held in Cologne in 1909.

The 21st International Eucharistic Congress was held in Montreal in 1910.

The 22nd International Eucharistic Congress was held in Madrid in 1911.

The 23rd International Eucharistic Congress was held in Vienna in September 1912.

The 24th International Eucharistic Congress was held in Malta in April 1913.

The 25th International Eucharistic Congress was held in Lourdes, 22–25 July 1914.

The 26th International Eucharistic Congress was held in Rome, 24–29 May 1922.

The 27th International Eucharistic Congress was held in Amsterdam, 22–27 June 1924.