2016 International Eucharistic Congress was the 51st edition of the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) which took place from January 24–31, 2016 in

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas Regions of the P ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. A convention center, the

International Eucharistic Congress Pavilion The IEC Convention Center of Cebu or the IC3 Convention Center (formerly the International Eucharistic Congress Pavilion) is a convention center within the grounds of the 23 Minore Park development along Pope John Paul II Avenue in Barangay Luz, ...

, was constructed for this occasion.

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

sent Cardinal

Charles Maung Bo Charles Maung Bo ( my, ချားလ်မောင်ဘို, ; born 29 October 1948) is a Burmese Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Yangon since 7 June 2003. He was created a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2015. Early life an ...

of Myanmar as his papal legate and presider at the opening Mass on January 24. This was the second time that the Philippines hosted the International Eucharistic Congress, with the first one held in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

on February 3–7, 1937.

Preparations

The Cebu City Traffic Office ran traffic dry-runs days before the event to ensure that the traffic situation during the event would be manageable. Several roads were closed and others open to public vehicles only. Catholic Schools and selected public schools in Cebu, including universities, suspended classes during the IEC week. The

Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police ( fil, Pambansang Pulisya ng Pilipinas, acronymed as PNP) is the armed national police force in the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Current ...

's Regional Office 7 ensured safety and security for the event and its ad hoc task group on the IEC and

Sinulog The Sinulog-Santo Niño Festival is an annual cultural and religious festival held on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City and is the centre of the Santo Niño Catholic celebrations in the Philippines. The festival is considered to be the fi ...

requested additional support from

Camp Crame Camp General Rafael T. Crame () is the national headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP) located along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Quezon City. It is situated across EDSA from Camp Aguinaldo, the national headquarters of ...

, including the Explosives Ordnance Division and bomb-sniffing dog squad of the

Philippine military The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The P ...

Marketing

Mobile app

The IEC2016 Guide was developed by InnoPub Media as the official

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

for the event which included information for the event such as schedules, speakers, basic theological text, news and updates, and linked to the official livestream feed of the event. It also included information on tourism sites within

Metro Cebu Metropolitan Cebu, or simply Metro Cebu, ( ceb, Kaulohang Sugbo; fil, Kalakhang Cebu), is the main urban center of the province of Cebu in the Philippines. Metro Cebu is located along the central eastern portion of the island including the ne ...

, particularly religious heritage sites such as churches.

Logo

The logo used for the 2016 International Eucharistic Congress was derived from a logo design competition. The winning design was made by Jayson Jaluag, a 19-year-old fine arts student from Mandaue. The Sun signifies the hope of glory and a new beginning. It also emphasizes the host country whose flag has the sun as one of its primary elements. The seven rays of the sun represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. Re ...

and

bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

signify the sacredness of the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

. The "IHS"

monogram A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series o ...

which stands for (Iesus Hominum Salvator) symbolize the

Holy Name of Jesus In Catholicism, the veneration of the Holy Name of Jesus (also ''Most Holy Name of Jesus'', it, Santissimo Nome di Gesù) developed as a separate type of devotion in the early modern period, in parallel to that of the '' Sacred Heart''. The ...

and represents the host city of Cebu whose former name was Villa del Santissimo Nombre de Jesus. The missionary nature of the Catholic Church is symbolized by the stylized boat. The three people on the boat in different colors portrays the principles which influence the faith of Filipinos: green for

hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

, blue for

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

itself, and red for

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

. The boat's aqua blue color represents the Christian pilgrimage to Heaven.

Theme

The theme for event revolved around hope and was derived from a Biblical verse: "Christ in you, our hope and glory" (

Col. Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

1:27).

Venues

The International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) Pavilion (renamed as IC3 Convention Center after the event), built by Duros Development Corporation, served the primary venue of the Congress.

Events

Theological Symposium

From January 20–22, a

symposium In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον ''symposion'' or ''symposio'', from συμπίνειν ''sympinein'', "to drink together") was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was acc ...

was held at the

Cebu Doctors' University Cebu Doctors' University, also referred to by its acronym CDU and colloquially Cebu Doc, is a private nonsectarian coeducational higher education institution located in Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines. It was founded in 1973 at Cebu City as Cebu ...

Mandaue Mandaue (), officially the City of Mandaue ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Mandaue; fil, Lungsod ng Mandaue), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 364,116 ...

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

where the

among other topics were discussed. Members of the clergy and theologians attended the symposium. 1,800 people attended on the first day. Among the speakers and workshop facilitators that led the event were: * Fr.

Timothy Radcliffe Timothy Peter Joseph Radcliffe, OP (born 22 August 1945) is an English Roman Catholic priest and Dominican friar who served as master of the Order of Preachers from 1992 to 2001. He is the only member of the English Province to hold that off ...

(United Kingdom) discussed the virtue of

. He spoke of a "crisis of hope" caused by the rise of terrorism. He described hope as "not just intellectual curiosity" but also as "

existential Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...

". * Fr. Francis Moloney (Australia), a Salesian priest, author and editor, discussed the passage from the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

, “He loved them to the end”, and gave a narrative on the Eucharist's institution. * Fr. Mark Francis (United States), President of

Catholic Theological Union Catholic Theological Union (CTU) is a private Roman Catholic graduate school of theology in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the largest Catholic graduate schools of theology in the English speaking world and trains men and women for lay and ordai ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, discussed the topic of

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

and

inculturation In Christianity, inculturation is the adaptation of Christian teachings and practices to cultures. This is a term that is generally used by Catholics, whereas Protestantism, Protestants, especially associated with the World Council of Churches, p ...

. *

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

Piero Marini Piero Marini (born 13 January 1942) is a Roman Catholic archbishop who is president of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses. For twenty years he served as Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, in charge of the ...

(Italy), president of the

Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses The Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses is part of the Roman Curia of the Roman Catholic Church. It was erected in 1879 by Pope Leo XIII. Its statutes were last updated by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. Aims The purpose o ...

and a papal master of ceremonies for 20 years, spoke in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

on ''La storia del nuovo "Ordo Missae"'' (The history of the new

Order of Mass Order of Mass is an outline of a Mass celebration, describing how and in what order liturgical texts and rituals are employed to constitute a Mass. The expression Order of Mass is particularly tied to the Roman Rite where the sections under that ...

). * Fr.

Thomas Rosica Thomas Michael Rosica, C.S.B., (born March 3, 1959) in Rochester, New York, is a Roman Catholic priest and a Basilian Father. He is an author, speaker, and commentator. He was formerly Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Salt and Light Catholi ...

(Canada), columnist for a Catholic media network, spoke on the topic, “

Evangelizing In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are in ...

the secular world”. * Dr. Josefina Manabat (Philippines), the sole woman speaker and dean of the graduate school of San Beda College, Manila, discussed “

Catechesis Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

on the Sunday Eucharist”.

Congress proper

;January 24 The Congress started on January 24 with a

Solemn Mass Solemn Mass ( la, missa solemnis) is the full ceremonial form of a Mass, predominantly associated with the Tridentine Mass where it is celebrated by a priest with a deacon and a subdeacon,"The essence of high Mass is not the music but the deacon ...

in the Plaza Independencia led by Cardinal Charles Maung Bo. The Police Regional Office 7 estimates that the Mass was attended by at least 350,000 people. ;January 26 Cardinal Bo along with other church officials visited the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center. Bo was joined by Cebu Archbishop

José S. Palma José Serofia Palma O.P. (born 19 March 1950) is a Filipino prelate and a professed member of the Dominican Order who is currently serving as the Archbishop of Cebu since 15 October 2010. He had previously served as Archbishop of Palo in L ...

and the papal legate's protocol officer Fr. Jan Limchua. They witnessed the

CPDRC Dancing Inmates CPDRC Dancing Inmates or the CPDRC dancers is a collective of prison inmates in Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), a maximum security prison in Cebu, in Cebu Province, Philippines where the prisoners perform dance routin ...

performing the theme of the Congress and interacted with the inmates after the performance. ;January 28 Don Bosco Youth Center (DBYC) in Barangay Pasil, Cebu City, was visited by Cardinal Bo, himself a

Salesians of Don Bosco The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in the late 19th century by Italian priest Saint John Bosco to help poor children du ...

. The DBYC performed a traditional

dance for the visiting cardinal. Bo had visited a slum area prior to his visit to the youth center. At his speech before students of the youth center, he urged the youth to pursue their vocations, never give up, and never blame others, themselves, or their situations as an excuse to remain idle. ;January 29 In the morning at the IEC Pavilion, Cardinals

John Onaiyekan John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan (born 29 January 1944) is a Nigerian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Abuja from 1994 to 2019 and was made a cardinal in 2012. He has served as president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, ...

of Nigeria and

Oswald Gracias Oswald Gracias (born 24 December 1944) is an Indian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed Latin Church Archbishop of Bombay by Pope Benedict XVI on 14 October 2006 and was raised to the cardinalate in 2007. In 2008, he beca ...

of India spoke on the Eucharist. At the meet attended by 15,000 people, Onaiyekan criticized discrimination in the Church which he called a form of "

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

" and he urged that the IEC should be open to people regardless of social standing. He also criticized the government of Saudi Arabia and

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

for the practice of

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

, the former for using it for

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

and the latter for using it against Christians in disrespect for the sacredness of the symbol of the cross. He noted the violent response to the alleged disrespect of the Quran, while urging people to respect the religious symbols of people of other faiths. He also criticized the satirical French magazine

Charlie Hebdo ''Charlie Hebdo'' (; meaning ''Charlie Weekly'') is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. Stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication has been described as Anti-racism, anti-racist, sceptica ...

. Onaiyekan said that despite all this, "the cross still remains the symbol of the victory of the Lord Jesus,” The second Mass of the IEC was held at 4:00 pm local time. A grand procession was held after the Mass with a custom-made, gold-plated brass monstrance on a float accompanying devotees. ;January 30 As one of the highlights of the Congress, Cebu Archbishop Emeritus

Ricardo Vidal Ricardo Tito Jamin Vidal ( la, Ricardus Titus Vidal; es, Ricardo Tito Vidal y Jamín; (February 6, 1931 - October 18, 2017) was a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church. Made a cardinal in 1985, he was Archbishop of Cebu from 1982 to 2010. ...

administered first communion to 5,000 children, some of them street children. ;January 31 The Congress concluded with the ''Statio Orbis'' or closing Mass. It was expected that millions were to attend the event. Pope Francis announced the next International Eucharistic Congress would be held in 2020 in

Budapest, Hungary Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population of ...

Media coverage

The 2016 edition marked the first time that the congress had a global satellite broadcast. It was planned that the coverage of the event would be similar to that of

Pope Francis's visit to the Philippines Pope Francis made a pastoral and state visit to the Philippines from January 15 to 19, 2015. He was the third pontiff to visit the Philippines and the first in the 21st century and 3rd millennium, after Paul VI in 1970 and John Paul II in 1981 and ...

in January 2015. The IEC Channel featured 12 hours of programming which covered all major events of the IEC, live and tape-delay broadcasts. RTVM was responsible for running the control room. The People's Television Network was responsible for the outdoor coverage. The Cebu IEC produced the first daily print of the CBCP Monitor covering the proceedings and other relevant stories about the Eucharistic Congress. CBCP News and Areopagus Communications produced handled the special coverage. With assistance from the Supreme Office of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

, the main satellite uplink was provided by Apstar Global which enabled the broadcasting of the IEC to as far as Italy and the United States.

PLDT PLDT, Inc., formerly known as the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company ( fil, Kompanya ng Teleponong Pangmalayuan ng Pilipinas), is a Philippine telecommunications, internet and digital service holdings company. It is one of the country's ...

provided a bandwidth of 1 GB to the TOC.

Cignal TV Cignal TV, Inc. (formerly known as GV Broadcasting System), also known by its legal trading name Mediascape Inc., is a Filipino media and telecommunications firm in the Philippines. A wholly owned subsidiary of the media conglomerate MediaQue ...

broadcast the IEC in two of its channels; standard definition on Channel 99 and high definition for Channel 199.

TV Maria TV Maria is a national Catholic television channel broadcasting from Manila, Philippines. Owned by TV Maria Foundation Philippines (a non-profit, non-stock organization under the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines and the Roman C ...

and the

Cebu Catholic Television Network Cebu Catholic Television Network (CCTN) is a broadcast television channel owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu and Fil-Products Group of Companies in the Philippines. The station's studios are located at the CCTN Broadcast Center, Car ...

also broadcast the IEC. The EWTN Global Catholic Network which had a reach of 144 countries,

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

of Italy, and

Centro Televisivo Vaticano Vatican Media, formerly Centro Televisivo Vaticano, is the Holy See's national broadcaster based in Vatican City which first aired in 1983. History of the channel Created in 1983 by Pope John Paul II, Vatican Media is, since November 1996, an in ...

covered the event, as well as Radyo Veritas in Luzon and DYRF for Visayas and Mindanao, besides the stations of the

Catholic Media Network Catholic Media Network, also known as CMN, is a Catholic radio network in the Philippines. CMN serves as the broadcasting arm of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, the governing body of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:International Eucharistic Congress, 2016 2016 in the Philippines 2016 in Christianity Holy See–Philippines relations Catholic Church in the Philippines Eucharistic congresses 21st-century Catholicism History of Cebu