On Sunday 10th October, in the city of Gudalajara in Mexico, more than 3,000 Catholics gathered to commemorate the start of the International Eucharist Congress, as well as the beginning of the “Year of the Eucharist”.

The 48th International Eucharist Congress which will last for a week at the Jalisco stadium will gather together Catholic bishops, priests, as well as religious and lay people from different parts of the world, to reflect and study the meeting of the Holy Eucharist.

The ‘Year of the Eucharist” was decided to be held between October 2004 and October 2005 by the Pope, John Paul II.

Incorporated into the year-long celebrations will be the meeting of the Synod of Bishops, where leading Catholic members will gather to worship under the theme ‘The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church’.

The Bishop Paul S. Loverade gave his views on the event to the Catholic Herald, he said:

“The ‘Year of the Eucharist’ has the potential to transform us more fully into "missionaries of the Eucharist" for the new evangelisation. As Our Holy Father has said, "Anyone who encounters Christ in the Eucharist cannot fail to proclaim through his or her life the merciful love the Redeemer" (World Mission Sunday 2). Seek Him in the coming year, and become the missionary of His Presence to a needy world.”

The Eucharist is a sacrament observed in several denominations as well as the Catholic Church. The sacrament, which was instituted at the Last Supper, calls on parishioners to consecrate and consume bread and wine in remembrance of Jesus’ death.