53rd International Eucharistic Congress

2024 International Eucharistic Congress

The 53rd. International Eucharistic Logo
English name	International Eucharistic Congress
Date	September 8–15, 2024
Venue	Centro de Convenciones Bicentenario
Location	Quito, Ecuador
Theme	Fraternidad para sanar el mundo". "Ustedes son todos hermanos" (Mt 23,8).
Cause	An International Eucharistic Congress aims to make known, loved and served better Our Lord Jesus Christ in his Eucharistic Mystery, the center of life and the mission to heal the wounds of the world.
Organised by	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quito Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses
Website	www.iec2024.ec

The LIII International Eucharistic Congress 2024 was the Eucharistic congress that took place from September 8 to 15, 2024 in Quito, Ecuador.

Was the first time that the Ecuadorian capital hosts the ecumenical event and the sixth time that it takes place in the American continent, after the various congresses in some cities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Colombia and after the held in the capital of Hungary, Budapest in 2021.

After the visit made by Pope Francis in 2015, during the period of the then president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, the pope was enthusiastic about the warmth shown by the Andean country, for which in a meeting held in Rome, he determined that Quito is chosen for the ecumenical congress, to give greater projection to the Catholic religion in a region that has once again been divided in the religious sphere due to the constant sieges of leftist-leaning politicians that have left the region weak.^[1]

In one of the Masses held on Thursday, September 9, 2020, at the Eucharistic Congress in Hungary; The Archbishop of Quito, Alfredo José Espinoza Mateus, announced that Quito will host the event that will coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.^[2]

On September 8-15, 2024, will held in the Centro de Convenciones Bicentenario.^[3] and the Parque Bicentenario de Quito will be the place of the opening and closing Masses of the Congress.^[4]

The official logo and the winning anthem that will be used in the 53rd edition of the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) to be held in Quito, were presented at the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference (CEE) this May 10, 2023.

The authorship of the Congress logo was Publio Escobar. According to him, his creation represents “brotherhood to heal the world.”

For its part, the winning anthem was Around your table by composers Marco Antonio Espín and the musical religious group Solideo. These are Catholic artists dedicated to evangelizing through "new and unpublished contemporary music."^[5]

The “Gospel,” symbol of the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress, blessed and signed by Pope Francis, will tour Ecuador starting in September 2024. It is a liturgical book that contains the gospels for each Sunday of the year and solemn holidays.

It is an artistic work made by Santiago Guartambel, whose talent in goldsmithing has given a strong meaning to this unique piece. In this interview, the artist shares details about the creative process and the meanings behind his work.

The artist explains that his work consisted of representing the Sacred Heart of Jesus as an iconic symbol of Ecuador, the same one that is captured on the main cover of the Gospel. Elements that represent the cultural diversity of the country were incorporated, through ethnicities, such as:

On the front cover, the representation of the Heart of Jesus is gold-plated, and the mantle is fire-enamelled. On the back cover there is a shuar symbolizing the East; an indigenous person representing the Sierra; an Afro-Ecuadorian, representing the Coast. In this composition, there is generally a baby, a young man and an old man at the same time.^[7]

The design uses in its symbology: a cross, an open heart, a host and 0º (zero latitude), referring to Quito as the middle of the world.

On May 21, 2024, the 53rd. International Eucharistic Congress was choicen to EWTN, as the official broadcaster for to be carried the ecumenical event broadcasts in all languages around the world, including audiovisual media and through social networks, as Facebook, X, Instagram and WhatsApp.^[8]

It was announced that, with this communication, the organizational and spiritual preparation of the next International Eucharistic Congress (IEC2024) begins, in which the National Delegates appointed by the Episcopal Conferences of the different countries also participate. Remembering that the International Eucharistic Congresses are not relics of the past that are difficult to integrate into today's world, but rather, much like the other great public events of the Church, they are committed to generating historical processes of growth of Christian communities around values that bear witness to the presence of God in the history of humanity and reflect more clearly the role of the Eucharist in ecclesial life and praxis.^[9]

Father Juan Carlos Garzón, general secretary of the International Eucharistic Congress of Quito 2024, pointed out that this event, which will take place from September 8 to 15 in that city, will be an opportunity to heal “a wounded Ecuador.”^[10]

Among those preparations for the ecumenical event, on May 20, 2024, Pope Francis appoints Cardinal Kevin Farrell as special envoy to the LIII International Eucharistic Congress^[11] and on August 24, 2024, the Cardinnal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo was appointed by Pope Francis as the Pontifical Legate for the Internacional Eucharistic Congress to be held in Quito, Ecuador.^[12]

In a meeting held on July 17, the details of logistics in mobilization, places of concentration of people, security, health and cleaning and the operations that will be deployed for the successful development of the 53rd Eucharistic Congress that will be held from the 4th to the 15th were refined. September 2024.

The meeting was chaired by Fernanda Racines, deputy mayor, and she learned about the logistical issue that the Archdiocese will move and the agreements that must be reached with the municipality and the operations that will be carried out with all municipal agencies.^[13]