By Fr Julian Green
Parish Priest of Our Lady of Grace Parish

A three-day Eucharistic Congress has taken place in North Staffordshire.

The title “Eucharistic Congress” sounds a bit like a conference for people who are specialists to get together and discuss the Eucharist. But nothing could be further from the truth. 

A Eucharistic Congress is a moment in the life of a local church where the whole Church pauses to reflect, worship and deepen faith in the mystery of the Eucharist, Jesus’ presence with us.

What better time than a Jubilee Year to have a Eucharistic Congress! So, the clergy in North Staffordshire Deanery decided, back in October last year, to organise this Congress for the Deanery in the middle of the Jubilee Year, and His Grace, Archbishop Bernard Longley, agreed. 

The theme of the Congress was “Come to his Eucharistic Heart”.

The Congress began on Thursday evening, 10 July, with a Station Mass, celebrated by the Archbishop and concelebrated by Bishop Timothy Menezes and the priests of the Deanery. All the Catholic schools across the Deanery were invited to send a representation, and parishioners came together too, a total of about 600 people, came together in Sacred Heart church, Tunstall, on this very hot evening to celebrate the gift of the Eucharist. After the Mass, many people stayed behind for a Holy Hour of prayer, and there was an all night vigil in the crypt of the Church.

On Friday (11 July), the schools of the three MACs (Newman, Christ the King and All Saints) and St Joseph’s College, followed a programme of exploring themes related to the Eucharist, in their schools. The staff had got together early in the year to put together the programme, and parish clergy also contributed by celebrating Mass, or leading a time of Adoration.

Schools and the Eucharistic Congress

On Friday evening the focus was on Reconciliation, Healing and Reparation. 

Around 300 people from the Deanery came to the evening Mass at Sacred Heart, celebrated by Canon Paul McNally. After the Mass, Ros Powell, a lay Catholic evangelist and preacher from Stoke, gave a rousing talk and testimony on healing, while the priests were kept busy with confessions. The evening concluded with a powerful Eucharistic healing service, and once again, overnight Eucharistic Adoration in the crypt.

While we might say that the Congress is more than a conference, there was a conference day on Saturday (12 July). We gathered at St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy in Tunstall for a day reflecting on the theme of the Congress. 

We received great keynote talks from Fr Jan Nowotnik on The Eucharist is the source and summit of the life of the Church, Sr Hyacinthe Defos du Rau OP who spoke on Mary Woman of the Eucharist, giving a beautiful meditation on Mary in St John’s Gospel, and Fr Eamonn Mulcahy CSSp, who spoke on The Eucharist and Laudato Si’, drawing out the wider implications of celebrating the Eucharist for the Church and creation. 

There were also practical workshops given by apostolic movements, and small group talks given by Fr Michael Miners on the Eucharist in the Carmelite mystics, and by Fr Marco Egawhary on the Eucharistic Heart in Scripture. 

The day concluded with the Eucharistic Procession starting from St Margaret Ward and finishing at Sacred Heart. The Syro-Malabar community led the procession with their colourful umbrellas and processional crosses. The servers and clergy followed, with Bishop Timothy carrying the Blessed Sacrament at the centre of the Procession. All the participants of the day conference and other parishioners followed on, about 350 people in all.

The Procession must have been quite an awesome sight for passers-by in Tunstall Park as it made its progress towards the Church, where the bell was tolling out its invitation. Once the Procession entered the Church, Bishop Timothy gave Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament to the assembly which had swelled to a number similar to the first evening’s Mass. Afterwards, Bishop Timothy celebrated the concluding Mass of the Congress, a Mass for the Jubilee Year, and preached a homily with a strong and visionary message. 

The Congress has been a joyful and faith-filled moment in the life of the Catholic Church in North Staffordshire. It gave a glimpse, to participants, of what the Church could be if we were to unite in faith and openness to the Lord with hope in our hearts. It certainly felt like we were being called along the pilgrim path of hope this weekend.

Feedback from parishioners has included:

Mary described the Congress as "A feast of spiritual sustenance on the journey home. A shared feast of Eucharistic spirituality on the heavenward journey."

John said: “The Eucharistic Congress provided a great opportunity for the parishes of North Staffordshire to work together and get together. Sacred Heart parish hosted the event and the opening and closing services were full to overflowing. Over 500 people in attendance for both. Fantastic acoustics within the church enhanced the singing and made it feel as if thousands were in attendance praising God. The talks on Saturday were uplifting and the Eucharistic Procession from the school to church was a wonderful ceremony enhanced by the contribution of the Kerala community.”

2025 also marks the 100th anniversary of the City of Stoke-on-Trent and the celebration was honoured by the presence of Councillor Ross Irving, the city's first honorary custodian, who is promoting the city in its centenary year.

Photo Galleries by Mark Lear