Thousands of people lined the streets of Indianapolis July 20 for a 1-mile Eucharistic procession from the Indiana Convention Center to the Indiana War Memorial, taking the National Eucharistic Congress to the streets in the most public display of devotion and unity of the five-day conference. 

Catholics young and old lined the streets to watch Jesus pass by and join in the procession as it passed. Priests, bishops, seminarians, religious brothers and sisters, and many families with children made the walk, as well as a large group of children who recently made their first Communion. 

The Eucharist, housed in a papally blessed golden monstrance, traveled in a special trailer accompanied by Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, and Archbishop Charles Thompson of Indianapolis. 

Those lining the streets kneeled as the Eucharist passed by. Spontaneous hymns broke out as the marchers processed. 

Day 4 of the National Eucharistic Congress was the last full day of this historic event, the first of its kind to take place in the U.S. since World War II. An estimated 50,000-60,000 people descended on Indianapolis beginning on Wednesday for liturgies, talks, Eucharistic adoration and fellowship with other Catholics. The fruit of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ multiyear project of Eucharistic Revival, the Congress aims to galvanize Catholics in their faith and love for the Eucharist as preparation for a special nationwide “Year of Mission." 

When the monstrance reached the Indiana War Memorial, Bishop Cozzens, who has spearheaded the Eucharistic Revival, prayed before Christ. Attendees who had walked with the procession flooded the large grassy mall in front of the monument, dropping to their knees. 

“We thank you for the many graces you have poured out upon us. Jesus, pour them out across our whole land, across our whole world. Jesus, we know the procession we made today, it‘s a symbol, a sign of our earthly pilgrimage, and it is not over. And this procession, perhaps the largest in our country in decades, and it was still too small. Millions of people in our own cities, in our own dioceses who don’t yet know you,” Bishop Cozzens prayed. 

“So many do not know you. So many have not heard of your love. We know that you want all people, all nations, to join in this procession. We know you want all people to follow you. And Jesus, we will walk with them. Jesus, bring them to us. We want to walk them towards you, Jesus.”

Saturday night inlcuded talks by radio host Drew Mariani, podcast host Gloria Purvis, actor Jonathan Roumie and Bishop Robert Barron, along with music by musician Matt Maher, culminating with adoration.

The congress will come to a close tomorrow, Sunday, with a Mass in the morning celebrated by Cardinal Luis Tagle, the pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, who was appointed by Pope Francis to serve as the papal envoy for the event.