“To not go would be a shame!” said Bre Barsic, a Holy Spirit parishioner from Lakes of the Four Seasons who is preparing with her husband, Joe Barsic, to lead a group of four teenagers from the Winfield parish’s youth group to this summer’s National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.
The couple revived the Holy Spirit Youth Group just last October, attracting up to 15 young people in grades 5-12 to twice monthly meetings on Sunday afternoons. When they learned that Marian University in the capital city was hosting teenagers for the run of the congress, July 17-21, they signed up.
“They are going to house and feed us, and provide transportation each day to and from downtown Indy,” explained Barsic. “Just the opportunity to be with other teens all week will be valuable, and I believe there will be some leadership training.”
The youth group will be attending one of five event tracks, Awaken, which is geared strictly toward high school youth, with large-group sessions in the morning and small breakout sessions each afternoon. Evenings will be devoted to large-scale revival sessions in Lucas Oil Stadium for all attendees.
Also enthusiastic about attending the entire Congress is Noreen Bickel, director of Parish Mission at St. Thomas More in Munster. “What a wonderful opportunity,” said Bickel, who found an Airbnb just a mile from the Congress. “We are in walking distance and it will be four, jam-packed days.
Bickel said she is looking forward to sessions led by Father Mike Schmitz, famous for his Bible in a Year podcast, and Dr. Edward Sri, a Colorado-based theologian, author and speaker. “Dr. Sri is from the Munster area, so I want to take advantage of the chance to see him,” said Bickel. “I like to continue to learn more about my faith and get closer to Jesus. They have done such a wonderful job of putting together the top Catholic speakers, all the bishops – and Jesus will be there!”
Currently guiding a seven-part U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) Eucharistic Revival video series that has drawn up to 100 parishioners for weekly discussion sessions at St. Thomas More, Bickel said she “couldn’t imagine missing a national Congress on the Eucharist that is taking place just three hours away in Indianapolis.”
One of the first to register his family for the Congress last August, Joe Cascone took advantage of family ticket pricing and secured hotel space in walking distance to the stadium and adjacent Indianapolis Convention Center for himself, his wife Gina and son Frankie, 16.
“I wanted my son to experience the faith with thousands of other young Catholics, in relation to the Eucharist,” said Cascone. “The nation is coming to Indy, and it is only three hours away!”
Cascone has personal memories of the impact large Catholic gatherings can have on a young person. “I attended World Youth Day in Denver in 1993 when I was 24, and felt a calling to work full-time in the Church, which happened by that December,” he noted. “As a youth minister, I led a group to WYD in Paris, France in 1997, and also attended in Rome in 2000 and Toronto in 2002.
“In Denver, I’ll never forget hearing Pope John Paul II calling us to make the Eucharist the source and summit of our lives, and how those thousands of young people felt energized,” Cascone said.
“The Congress this year is a revival, not just a Congress, to bring Catholics to life; I’ve heard Bishop (Robert) Barron talk about how many Catholics don’t believe the Eucharist is really the Body and Blood of Christ,” added Cascone.
The entire Cascone family will prepare for their trip to Indianapolis by walking for three days with the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage as it spans the Diocese of Gary on July 1-5. “I’m excited for the pilgrimage procession through Northwest Indiana, from Whiting east to LaPorte, and can’t wait to participate. Some people may not be able to get to the Congress, but they can experience that energy here in our own diocese.”
Cascone, who also participates each first Saturday of the month from 8-10 a.m. in the Militia of the Immaculata at the Carmelite Shrine in Munster as a Knight of the Immaculata, is encouraging fellow parishioners at St. Joseph to “plan their family vacations and identify ourselves” by designing T-shirts that name their parish on the front and display the Eucharistic host and a chalice on the back.
“I encourage (attendees) to come back to their parish and work with their pastors and parish councils to evangelize fellow parishioners about the Real Presence. I think people are going to be encouraged to bring back a reverence for the Eucharist, like genuflecting when they enter (the) church and reverencing incense and holy water,’ Cascone explained.
“Let’s have the courage to be Catholic,” agreed Barsic who, with her husband, will be chaperoning four teenage boys – her son Odin, Hyatt, Johnny and Vincent – at the Congress.
‘This is such a big event, with awesome speakers like Father Mike Schmitz, Dr. Edward Sri and Sister Miriam Heidland.” Barsic noted. “We have an affordable way to take kids to something they probably won’t experience again in their lifetime. Just being around so many other Catholic kids will be worthwhile. How could we not participate?”
The 10th National Eucharistic Congress is the first in 83 years, with the most recent national congress held in St. Paul, Minn., in 1941. The first U.S. Eucharistic Congress was held in 1895 in Washington, and subsequent congresses have been hosted in St. Louis, New York, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Omaha, Cleveland and New Orleans.
The U.S. also hosted two International Eucharistic Congresses, in 1926 in Chicago and 1976 in Philadelphia. Quito, Ecuador, is hosting the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress in September.
For more information on how to register for the Congress, visit dcgary.org/2024Revival.
Caption: Joe, Frankie and Gina Cascone celebrate Frankie's eighth-grade graduation two years ago. The Dyer family is headed to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis this summer and encouraging other parishioners at St. Joseph to join them for the five-day event. "The nation is coming to Indy ... to bring us more alive in our faith," said Joe Cascone. (Provided photo)