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‘You are not alone,’ Catholics told at start of Eucharistic Congress in Budapest

"Do not be afraid: God is not dead, the Eucharist overcomes every loneliness, every distance, every indifference"

“You are not alone in a hostile universe, you are not alone before the marvelous mystery of life, you are not alone with your thirst for freedom and eternity.”

This was the message of Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, at the start of the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest on September 6.

In his homily that was read during Mass celebrated at the Heroes’ Square in Budapest, the prelate said that wherever one is “you are not invisible.”




“God looks at you with love; you are not an orphan, God is your Father; you are worth the blood of Jesus, Redeemer of the world, and Bread of eternal life,” he said.

“Do not be afraid: God is not dead, the Eucharist overcomes every loneliness, every distance, every indifference,” said the cardinal during the first day of the international gathering.

This year’s International Eucharistic Congress kicked off Sunday with an opening Mass with a 1,000-strong choir and First Communions in the center of Budapest.

The congress, a celebration of the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist with participants from across the world, is held this year despite the global health crisis brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

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The tradition began in France in 1881 and has grown into an international Catholic event, alternating host countries nearly every four years for the past 140 years.

In his homily, Cardinal Bagnasco said that from Budapest “the voice of the Shepherds … seeks to knock – humbly and joyfully – on the hearts of the peoples of Europe, and to go beyond, to the remotest points of the earth.”

He described it as a “weak” voice, “but (it) echoes through the centuries and is marked by the blood of martyrs.”

He said the voice is “like a sail unfurled by the breath of the Spirit” and speaks a great truth to the men and women of today, adding that the same voice calls the Church not to remain silent, but to “put the splendor of the risen Christ on the face of everyone.”

Addressing the young people who attended the gathering, the cardinal said: “Remember the Church needs you, your youth, your enthusiasms, and you need Jesus.”

“Everything grows old quickly, only God is always young, and the Church is the true youth of the world because she preserves the sacrament of the Body of Christ,” he said.

Cardinal Bagnasco also addressed priests, calling them “sentinels of the morning, living presence of the Mother and Teacher Church.”

He said the Church’s gratitude goes to them because they are “heralds of God’s love, prophets of the Spirit in a marketplace of material values, heirs of a living Tradition and heralds of the future in a lost world.”

“The Church does not assure you of tranquility, but repeats to you with Christ, ‘Do not be afraid,’” he said.

On September 12, Pope Francis is scheduled to preside over the “Statio Orbis,” or closing Mass, of the congress.

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