.- Pope Benedict XVI nominated four clergymen from within the Vatican to the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses on Thursday. The new members will work to celebrate and prepare the 50th International Eucharistic Congress, which will take place in Dublin in 2012.
Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship the Discipline of Sacraments were appointed today. Also named to the committee were two priests: Theologian Fr. Wojciech Giertych of the Papal Household and Fr. Theodore Mascarenhas of the Pontifical Council for Culture.
Organizers in Ireland describe the upcoming Eucharistic Congress as “an international gathering of people which aims to: promote an awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Catholic Church, help improve our understanding and celebration of the liturgy and draw attention to the social dimension of the Eucharist.”
Congresses take place every four years and offer liturgical and cultural events along with lectures and workshops to the faithful. The theme for the 2012 International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) is “The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with one another.”
Four years ago, Quebec City hosted the event, but the last time an IEC took place in Ireland was in 1932. The 2012 Congress will take place from June 10-17.
The event will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Second Vatican Council, which Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin called “a moment of renewal for the Church's teaching and for her understanding of herself as Body of Christ and Body of God” when he announced the context and theme of the IEC in 2009.
