With more than 1,100 priests, 600 deacons and seminarians, more than 1,200 religious brothers and sisters, and some 60,000 laypeople, all of the Church’s life was represented in Indianapolis at the 10th National Eucharistic Congress (NEC).

Over the course of the congress, the clergy used 12 cases of wine, 400 charcoals for incense, a gallon of incense, 30 cases of water to purify vessels and 750 ciboria (the vessels that hold consecrated Hosts) — and 200,000 Hosts were consecrated throughout the NEC, according to Father Christopher Sullivan, master of ceremonies.

The first NEC in 83 years in the United States is now in the rearview mirror, and countless attendees, organizers, virtual participants and curious onlookers are now processing the massive event, analyzing what happened and looking ahead to the future.

Inside and outside Lucas Oil Stadium, as captured by EWTN coverage, there were stunning spectacles of Eucharistic procession, with the massive crowds silently adoring Our Lord, and talks on brilliant and moving topics by such luminaries as Father Mike Schmitz, Bishop Robert Barron, Sister Josephine Garrett, astronaut Mike Hopkins, Scott Hahn, Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, Jackie Angel, the Sisters of Life, Edward Sri, Katie Prejean McGrady and many, many more — including Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie’s reading of the Bread of Life discourse. (Launch the EWTN YouTube playlist to catch the moving moments that you missed.)

A large percentage of the American episcopate was represented, with more than 200 bishops in attendance from all over the nation. Cardinal Luis Tagle, pro-prefect of the Section of First Evangelization of the Dicastery for Evangelization, served as the Holy Father’s official delegate and presided at the closing Mass. He brought with him the Holy Father’s apostolic blessing, as well as his wishes that the congress ignite a fire of Eucharistic devotion in this country. 

And there were plenty of youth among the crowd.

High schooler Daniel Aguilar told EWTN News’ Mark Irons that soon-to-be St. Carlo Acutis is a role model for his Eucharistic faith: “Like Carlo Acutis said, it’s my ‘highway to heaven.’”

Cecilia Hale, who came with her youth group from Holy Spirit parish in Huntsville, Alabama, is grateful for the gift of the Eucharist, too. “Being at adoration feels right. Being at Mass feels right,” she told Irons.

Attendees of all ages were edified in their love for the Eucharist over the five days.

“I was touched by the experience of gathering for Eucharistic adoration in an NFL stadium, where 60,000 people went from singing and swaying with musician Matt Maher to falling to our knees in silent adoration of Our Lord,” Ken Hallenius, communications specialist at the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame, who traveled and prayed with students from the Notre Dame Master of Divinity program, told the Register. “It’s something I could never dream of on my own: a cavernous stadium of 60,000 people focused on a beautiful, blindingly bright monstrance containing the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and God. And you could hear a pin drop in that space as we prayed in silent adoration.” 

Hallenius said he was moved by many different aspects of the congress. “What impressed me was the sheer diversity of the profoundly joyful, peaceful gathering,” he said. “Walking through the stadium and convention center over the four days, I saw families with young children, parish groups from coast to coast, ethnic groups displaying their rich, inculturated Catholicism, well-known speakers and evangelists that I’ve watched on TV and heard on radio, and countless bishops, priests and religious — and all of them with smiles on their faces.”

Following the closing liturgy on Sunday morning, Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, the chairman of the board for the National Eucharistic Congress, Inc., announced that the bishops of the United States are planning another National Eucharistic Congress in 2033, the Jubilee of Redemption (2,000 years after the traditional date of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, in A.D. 33) — and possibly sooner. 

“I’m excited that there will be another congress in 2033,” Hallenius said. “We need these periodic moments of renewal and refreshment on our pilgrim journey. It’s a spiritual shot in the arm to gather with our brothers and sisters from near and far, to be reminded that we are not alone, that we are members of the Body of Christ spread throughout the world.”

And the Eucharistic extravaganza of this year is not over. From Sept. 8 to 15, the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress will be held in Quito, Ecuador, and will be broadcast on EWTN.

Joe Heschmeyer is a staff apologist at Catholic Answers and the author of numerous articles and several books of apologetics. He was the speaker at one of the afternoon “Breakout Sessions” on July 19. His talk was titled “Master Key: Seven Mysteries of the Faith Unlocked by the Eucharist,” related to his book The Eucharist Is Really Jesus: How Christ’s Body and Blood Are the Key to Everything We Believe. 

“It was an incredible honor to be selected to give one of the breakout talks,” Heschmeyer told the Register. “Being able to share about Eucharistic theology, a topic near and dear to my heart, in front of a room of Catholics wanting to grow in their faith and love of the Lord was a blessing.”

With all of the promotion in the lead-up to the Congress, he wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Knowing how difficult such events are to execute, he said, “The whole event felt remarkably well-organized: Things seemed to be on schedule, and the organizers were able to host a lot of different things at once, for audiences ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand, all the way up to literally tens of thousands for the main stage.” 

Heschmeyer, who was previously a litigator in Washington and a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and now lives in the Kansas City area with his wife and children, likened the experience to being at “Catholic Disneyland.”

“To see the Church as the ecclesial Body of Christ show up in such a strong and energetic way to celebrate and worship the Eucharistic Body of Christ was a profound experience.”

Heschmeyer pointed out that Benedict XVI, when he was a cardinal, wrote that “the Eucharist is the creative force and source of communion among members of the Church, precisely because it unites each one of them with Christ himself.” 

“I think that was the experience of most of the people who went,” Heschmeyer said. “It was a profound encounter with Jesus Christ himself, resulting in a palpable sense of communion with everyone present.”

He likened the event to what we read in Hebrews 10:24-25, where we are encouraged to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” In other words, Heschmeyer explained, “It’s one thing (and a very good one!) to worship God in private; but there’s something irreplaceable about the Church coming together and being led by Jesus Christ to stir one another up to deeper love and to good works.”