The 37th International Eucharistic Congress that was held from 31 July to 7 August 1960 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, West Germany, was the 37th edition of the International Eucharistic Congress of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

History

The site of the 37th International Eucharistic Congress was chosen by Pope Pius XII, who had previously served in Munich as a

papal nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

. Approximately 430 bishops and 28 cardinals attended at the congress, including Cardinal

Richard Cushing Richard James Cushing (August 24, 1895 – November 2, 1970) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Boston from 1944 to 1970 and was made a cardinal in 1958. Cushing's main role was as fundraiser and builde ...

of Boston, Cardinal

Francis Spellman Francis Joseph Spellman (May 4, 1889 – December 2, 1967) was an American bishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church. From 1939 until his death in 1967, he served as the sixth Archbishop of New York; he had previously served as an auxiliar ...

of New York, and Cardinal

Albert Gregory Meyer Albert Gregory Meyer (March 9, 1903 – April 9, 1965) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois from 1958 until his death in 1965, and was appointed a cardinal in 1 ...

of Chicago from the United States.

Events

Opening mass

The opening mass of the congress was celebrated on 31 July 1960 on the

Odeonsplatz The Odeonsplatz is a large square in central Munich which was developed in the early 19th century by Leo von Klenze and is at the southern end of the Ludwigstraße, developed at the same time. The square is named for the former concert hall, t ...

. About 80,000 people attended the mass. Cardinal Joseph Wendel adopted elements of the Liturgic Movement by celebrating the mass not with its back to the people (like in the Tridentinian Rite) but celebrating it looking toward the people and by reading the Gospel not in Latin but in German.

Church of atonement near the Dachau

During the congress, the foundation stone for a "church of atonement" near the former

Dachau concentration camp Dachau () was the first concentration camp built by Nazi Germany, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents which consisted of: communists, social democrats, and other dissidents. It is ...

was laid.

Mass on the Theresienwiese

The congress was closed by celebrating a Statio Orbis Mass on the

Theresienwiese Theresienwiese is an open space in the Munich borough of Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt. It serves as the official ground of the Munich Oktoberfest. A space of , it is bordered in the west by the Ruhmeshalle and the Bavaria statue, symboli ...

, a large square in Munich on which also the

Oktoberfest The Oktoberfest (; bar, Wiesn, Oktobafest) is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival. It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid- or la ...

takes place every year.

Fimcap

In the course of the 1960 Eucharistic Congress, Catholic youth organizations from different countries met in Munich and held a first delegate conference that prepared the foundation of the

Fimcap The FIMCAP, which is short for Fédération Internationale des Mouvements Catholiques d’Action Paroissiale (French for "International Federation of Catholic Parochial Youth Movements"), is an umbrella organization for Catholic youth organizat ...

(International Federation of Catholic Parochial Youth Movements).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:International Eucharistic Congress, 1960 1960 in Germany Catholic Church in Germany Eucharistic congresses 20th-century Catholicism History of Munich Fimcap 1960 conferences