Last Updated: Friday - 09/24/2010
Week of June 9, 2008
Pilgrims welcomed to Eucharistic Congress
By BARB FRAZE
Catholic News Service
Toronto
Cardinal Marc Ouellet said he hopes pilgrims to the 49th International Eucharistic Congress will be prepared "to receive and to give."
The cardinal told Catholic News Service his message to pilgrims arriving in Quebec City for the June 15-22 event was: "Open your hearts. Open your arms. We welcome you wholeheartedly.
"We need you; we need your testimony of faith," he said. "We need your openness to communicate to the people surrounding the event."
Ouellet told CNS that many of the events at the congress will be held in public areas of Quebec, where people who choose not to attend the congress will be able to watch.
The congress' opening ceremony includes a performance by Gen Verde, a multi-artistic group featuring women of 13 different nationalities, as well as a Mass at the coliseum in ExpoCite, the exhibition complex where most of the congress events and the plenary sessions will be held.
The week closes with a Mass on the Plains of Abraham, the site of a decisive battle in 1759 between British and French troops that led to the fall of Quebec. Pope Benedict will give the homily live from Rome via satellite.
A new media portal for the Archdiocese of Quebec - www.ecdq.tv - will broadcast many of the events live in French, English and Spanish.
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