NEC Baltimore travelers enthused about growing closer to Eucharist

INDIANAPOLIS – Thuy Strong expects her family of seven’s trip to Indianapolis for the National Eucharist Congress to be a “once-in-a-lifetime experience” and well worth forgoing a typical summer vacation.

Approximately 150 travelers from the Archdiocese of Baltimore arrived in Indianapolis July 17 to participate in the National Eucharistic Congress, looking to revel in the shared joy of the culmination of a three-year faith journey.

They joined an estimated 50,000 gathering for the event, arriving on buses that left the Baltimore area at 5 a.m. July 17 and will return July 21. 

For the Strong family from Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ellicott City, the trip is an opportunity to deepen and share their Catholic faith.

“This event is a chance to be in the midst of thousands of other Catholics, listen to some world-renowned speakers and be inspired by others,” said Strong, an optometrist who spent more than $5,000 making the trip with her husband, Gregory, and five children ages 16 or younger.

“It’s important in our vocation as parents to bring our children up knowing about Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist, and it’s worthy of a sacrifice of a family vacation,” she said.

Strong said she hopes to pass along her faith to her kids the same way her parents did, noting that her parents try to make a Marian pilgrimage each year.

Her faith in the Eucharist, and devotion to eucharistic processions deepened after attending a procession in 2012 at St. Agnes in Catonsville. She saw the “simple beauty” in the procession and has since helped organize an annual one on the feast of Corpus Christi at her home parish.

“I hope my kids get something out of it that intrigues them,” Strong said. “Then perhaps when they are older, they’ll look back on it, research it and think about it a little more.”

The NEC caps the National Eucharistic Revival, the U.S. bishops’ three-year initiative launched in 2022 to inspire greater understanding of and love for Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist. Revival sessions will bring together participants at Lucas Oil Stadium during the congress’ first four evenings, with a morning revival session planned for the congress’ final day ahead of its closing Mass.

Leading up to the National Eucharistic Congress, four groups of pilgrims from the north south, east and west of the country walked with the Eucharist to Indianapolis. The eastern group, which followed the “St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Route,” made its way through Maryland in early June with stops in Westminster, Emmitsburg and Baltimore. The pilgrims entered Lucas Oil Stadium July 17 to cheers and applause as thousands of excited participants opened the National Eucharistic Revival.

For seminarian Martin Jauquet, who is assisting this summer at Holy Family parish in Middletown, the journey to participate in the NEC has a two-fold purpose.

The parishioner of Our Lady of Victory in Arbutus is entering his third year of seminary at Mount St. Mary’s and he wants to deepen his faith in the Eucharist. He also wants to earn some practical advice on how to pass that faith in the Eucharist on to others when he becomes a priest.

“I want to learn better how to share that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist,” said the Western Tech and University of Maryland graduate. “It was a deep faith in the Eucharist and attending adoration that drew me to want to become a priest; so when I first heard about this event, I was super excited.

“It will be great to be with other American Catholics who share that love for the Eucharist,” said Jauquet, who traveled to Indianapolis with seven other seminarians in a 12-passenger van. “I’m looking forward to receiving good formation on the Eucharist and then learning how I can pass that on to others in the future.”

Strong also hopes the NEC pilgrimage helps her pass on her faith.

“I hope to have a rejuvenation in the Eucharist and a renewed spirit in order to more fully live out my faith and to catechize others, evangelize. I do that already by volunteering in my parish, but being in the presence of this event will inspire more desire and teach me to be more eloquent about passing on my faith.”

Kevin J. Parks contributed to this story from Indianapolis. Gerry Jackson reported from Baltimore.

Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@CatholicReview.org

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