Under a cloudy sky shedding occasional raindrops, 39 people from various west-side parishes loaded luggage, cases of water and other supplies into what will be known as Bus #1 for the duration of the 10th National Eucharistic Congress. It’s one of five buses that helped deliver the 250 delegates from the Diocese who are attending the once-in-a-lifetime event in Indianapolis.
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Christy Cabaniss, director of missionary discipleship, says the goal is to have delegates come back to their home parishes prepared to be Eucharistic missionaries with a renewed passion for Christ and a plan to help spread the joy that comes from knowing his true presence in the Eucharist.
“Our goal is to have our delegates be moved by this big church experience and have that translate into their mission work on the ground,” explained Christy. “This is the work of the Holy Spirit that emerged during the whole movement of the Eucharistic Revival to make sure that it keeps going beyond the three-year period.
Christy says the Diocese of Cleveland was very intentional with its plan to send a large number of delegates to Indianapolis and organized a number of events in the past few months to prepare them for the experience.
Bishop Edward Malesic, Auxiliary Bishop Michel Woost, as well as other clergy, pastoral staff and lay members from 58 parishes across the diocese are among the 50,000 attendees at the once-in-a-lifetime gathering. Delegates from individual parishes were selected by their faith communities to attend the Congress, which requires a five-day commitment.
Timothy Caulfield, a 25-year- old from St. Christopher parish in Rocky River, took vacation time from his job as a consultant to attend. “I thought it would be a great opportunity to engage in the Eucharistic Revival as well as be with a bunch of like-minded individuals,” he said as he waited to board his bus.
Timothy and his fellow passengers said they felt the presence of the Holy Spirit as they embarked on their journey. They started the trip by reciting the rosary, partly in Spanish, and approached the final leg of their journey with guitar music and singing. The Cleveland delegates arrived safely and entered Lucas Oil Stadium for the opening revival session – a beautiful sign of the joy to come over the next few days.