The 81-year-old Slovak cardinal is president of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses and a retired prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The Vatican press office announced his appointment Saturday.
The congress is being organized by the Catholic University of Murcia with the theme «The Eucharist: Heart of Christian Life and Source of the Evangelizing Mission of the Church.»
Cardinals and bishops will attend the congress, as well as representatives of the new ecclesial realities and movements.
The first event of its kind promoted by a university, its organizers hope «it might open a new avenue in the Church for the holding of such congresses.»
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope, visited the Catholic University of Murcia in November 2002, for the International Christology Congress organized by that institution.
During that visit, Cardinal Ratzinger expressed his appreciation for the evangelizing work carried out by the university, which was founded in 1997 by José Luis Mendoza, a member of the Neocatechumenal Way and father of 14.
