Cebu hosts the Int’l Eucharistic Congress

CEBU, Philippines – It was almost a year ago when Cebu played host to at least 15,000 delegates for the biggest religious event in the country in 2016 - the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC).

Delegates from all over the world converged here from January 24 - 31 and Monsignor Joseph Tan, spokesman of the Cebu Archdiocese, said everyone, regardless of religious denomination, was welcome to the IEC.

Fr. Mike Garcia, executive secretary of the CBCP committee on IEC, also said that while the congress became a "meaningful occasion" in the preparations for the 500th anniversary of the evangelization of the Philippines, Cebu getting picked to host the event was independent from the preparations themselves.

It was in Cebu that the seeds of Christianity in the Far East were first planted in 1521. It is also in Cebu that the most enduring image of Christianity's earliest roots in the country, the Santo Niño de Cebu, can be found.

The 450th anniversary of the discovery of the image was celebrated later in April.

The IEC was preceded by the 112th Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines from January 23 to 24. It was the first time that the bi-annual gathering of bishops who compose the Church's highest governing body was held outside Luzon since the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines was established in 1945.

Pavilion

A three-story pavilion built on a 2.5-hectare property inside the Seminario Mayor de San Carlos compound in Barangay Mabolo, was the main venue of the congress.

At least P500 billion was spent to build the structure, which can accommodate up to 12,000 people.

The building has a lower ground jet fan-ventilated parking area with 200 slots; a 1,540-horsepower multi-split airconditioning system; more than 1,700 lighting fixtures; 27 closed circuit television cameras; and 1,000 sprinkler heads, among others.

Rafaelito and Fe Barino, owners of Duros Development Corp., shouldered the expenses in building the pavilion.

Fe says they shared their resources without hesitation because "God made everything possible."

Highlights

The 51st congress opened with a Mass at the Plaza Independencia. The Pontifical Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Maung Bo of Sri Lanka on behalf of Pope Francis who was not able to attend the IEC.

During the opening Mass, Bo said, "This calls for a commitment to a world of justice. The Eucharist calls for a third world war against poverty, a third world war against a world that produces more weapons while more than half a billion don't have enough food."

Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara said the cardinal was not talking about armed conflict but the urgency for a fight to alleviate the lives of the disadvantaged.

"It was a cry deep within for us to make sure we will live out our own mission and vocation," he said.

Bo's homily focused on the Eucharist as the source and call of mission, and underscored Eucharistic celebrations leading to Eucharistic commitments, such as mission, Eucharist and the poor, and the Eucharist as celebration of unity and reconciliation.

On January 30, 2016 or nearly eight decades after he received his first communion in Manila at the age of six in 1937, Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal presided over a mass at the Cebu City Sports Center where around 5,000 children also received first their communion.

The day after the historic Mass communion and despite the erratic weather, IEC delegates gathered at the South Road Properties for the closing ceremony or the Statio Orbis.

Church officials could only hope the delegates understood and imbibed the real objectives of the congress: promote awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in life and mission; to help improve our understanding and celebration of Eucharist liturgy; and to draw attention to the social dimension of the Eucharist.

Bo himself hoped the delegates would propagate the core message of the Eucharist, as well as learn to discern the ecumenical importance of the Eucharist.

For his part, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle says, "I believe that many of the delegates sent here have been told that they will be expected to be missionaries. To echo talks, to share their significant experiences to others."

Technology

Technology played a key role in the success of the IEC. The Masses and testimonials at the IEC Pavilion, for one, were streamed live online, thus reaching those who could not participate physically in the event.

Msgr. Joseph Tan, spokesperson of the Cebu Archdiocese, said information dissemination and exchanges online were key in reaching more participants.

Social media primarily became a platform to engage with photos, videos, and real-time updates from the field but it also became an instrument for tapping manpower.

For instance, the grand choir, composed of 2,607 singers from 75 different parishes and school choirs in Cebu, during the Statio Orbis was formed through social media.

Jay-arr Librando, composer of the IEC hymn "Christ in Us, Our Hope of Glory," says he never expected the choir to go beyond their target members of 2,500.

During the closing ceremony, the choir was accompanied by the 50-member UST Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Msgr. Rudy Villanueva with Fr. Benedicto Tao, Fr. John Burgos, Dennis Gregory Sugarol, and Librando.

Remembrance

In January, Bo blessed the "Eukaristiya-Garden of Thanksgiving," a perpetual sanctuary for prayer and reflection and one of the significant sites that the Catholic faithful can visit during the Holy Week.

The garden features life-size sculptures of Jesus Christ that concretizes the 14 Stations of the Cross commemorating the Paschal Mystery, from Christ's agony in the garden to His crucifixion.

The garden is the third symbolic landmark inside the Archbishop Residence's Compound other than the decade-old Cebu Archdiocesan Shrine of Saint Pedro Calungsod and the 10-foot high statue of newly-declared Saint John Paul II.

As a fitting remembrance to the EIC, the Cebu Archdiocese will also build the "Abtanan sa Kaluoy" to shelter marginalized individuals reflective of the spirit and aim of the event.

Cebu Archbishop José Palma told The FREEMAN on November 22 that they have applied to the conference of Italian bishops, however, they are still waiting for the approval of the grant.

Recently, the church also communicated with a Korean religious congregation, Kkottongnae Brothers and Sisters of Jesus, for assistance in the project. The Sisters and Brothers dedicate themselves in the service of the poorest of the poor.

"Very soon, they will come and they will be here to consult and become a prime support group in our programs," Palma says.

On June 2016, the Cebu archdiocese launched the IEC Committee on Environmental Concerns. The committee's flagship program is the Parish Community-based Pocket Forest Program.

Several Cebu-based entities signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Cebu archdiocese, assuring their commitment to support projects that would protect the environment.

The public and private sector collaboration includes the Cebu Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office; Metropolitan Cebu Water District; Cebu Uniting for Sustainable Water; and the University of San Jose-Recoletos.

The community-based program is a three-phase program with an initial budget of P900,000 from the funds of the 51st IEC.

The program aims to plant 13,500 trees to make up for the 260 trees cut down to make way for the construction of the IEC Pavilion in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.

For every tree that was cut down, 50 trees should be planted in return. The seedlings will be disseminated and planted in pocket forests or neighboring planting sites of parishes all over the Archdiocese of Cebu.

On July 14, 2015, the Archdiocese unveiled the cover of the IEC program and pilgrim guidebook and post-congress commemorative book. The program book is a 300-page compendium on the seven-day congress would serve as official congress documents. The 240-page congress book, on the other hand, is a photographic and documentary record of the IEC. — /JMO (FREEMAN)