ROME, NOV. 29, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI will attend the closing day of a Eucharistic congress to be celebrated by the Church in Italy, scheduled for next September in Ancona.
The theme of this 25th Eucharistic Congress is «Lord, to Whom Shall We Go? The Eucharist for Daily Life.»
The Pope’s plan to attend was announced by Archbishop Edoardo Menichelli of Ancona-Osimo, during the Eucharistic celebration for the First Sunday of Advent.
«Brothers and sisters, the beginning of the new liturgical year is enriched, on this First Sunday of Advent, by the announcement of the Eucharistic Congress, whose closing celebration will be presided over by the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, an event which will involve the entire Church in Italy,» he said.
«The time that separates us from the Eucharistic Congress must be made a salutary time for Christians, namely, to verify if one truly believes in Christ the Lord; to cultivate effective hope freeing oneself from the dangerous nodes of sin; to love this humanity making it rediscover the wonder of the good,» the archbishop added.
He called the faithful to live Advent as a time to «interpret the important questions of existence, inserting them in the dimension of the mystery where life, death, the cross, toil, joy, love find blessed explanations; to support, as new men of Cyrene, the slow and frail steps of the poor, of the weak, of the last.»
As Christians we are also called to «undo the ties of a pleasure-seeking egoism, which admits to the banquet the few rich men without being concerned about the many Lazaruses; to deliver from injustices and the licentious scandals that deface the dignity of man, son of God,» he added.
To this end, Archbishop Menichelli proposed, «the congress intends to receive the cry and the confusion of contemporary society, the unrest, the loneliness of our weary generation and offer — by witnessing to him — Christ as the Way, Truth and Life.»
He added, «We also hope that the National Eucharistic Congress will be an open door for every man and woman of good will who, though far from the mystery of God, can know that God loves them and calls them to his banquet of love: God, revealed in Christ is not the God of fear but of mercy.»
The Eucharistic Congress of Ancona will be held from Saturday, Sept. 3 to Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011, and will gather the delegations of 225 dioceses, prelatures and abbeys of Italy.
The event will bring together at least 250,000 faithful from the whole of Italy. Also present for the occasion will be 500 young people who will be guests of families of the area.
