Bishop Richard Umbers will represent the Australian Catholic bishops at the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress to be held in Budapest, Hungary, in September 2020.
The announcement was made following the Plenary Meeting of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference held late last year in North Sydney.
The Congress will bring together faithful from all around the world to pray before the Blessed Sacrament—the source and summit of the Catholic faith.
“We are all called to a daily conversion that begins by looking to Jesus,” Bishop Umbers said. “If He is the centre of our lives it makes sense that we should spend time with Him, as did the first disciples.”
“Adoration is a prolongation of the Christmas miracle,” he continued. “As we gaze upon the Emmanuel – God with us – we can call to mind His entire life as recorded for us by Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.”
“We need to respond to the challenges of our time with prayer … If our gatherings were preceded by extended periods of silent prayer in church the Spirit of Christ would find more docile instruments with which to work.”
International Eucharistic Congresses have been held since 1881 in different cities around the world to promote, celebrate and bear witness to the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
The Congresses, which in recent times have been held every four years, are attended by clergy, religious and laity from around the world and feature Masses, Eucharistic Adoration and presentations from notable speakers. The week-long event usually concludes with a Papal Mass.
The most recent Congress was held in Cebu City in the Philippines in 2016.