CHARLOTTE — Watch a replay of the Eucharistic Procession from the 11th annual Eucharistic Congress.
This year's procession of 9,000 was the largest amount of faithful who took to the streets of uptown Charlotte to follow Jesus, pray the rosary, sing and play music.
Watch the faithful of the Diocese of Charlotte as they processed from St. Peter Church through uptown Charlotte to the Charlotte Convention Center, where the Eucharistic Congress was held Sept. 11-12.
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Get more photos, videos, quotes and pictures from the Eucharistic Congress from our live blog, goeucharist.tumblr.com.
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CHARLOTTE — The theme for the 2016 Eucharistic Congress has been announced: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful," comes from the sixth chapter of St. Luke's book of the Gospel.
The theme, which echoes the Jubilee Year of Mercy called by Pope Francis, will set the tone for the annual gathering of thousands of Catholics at the Charlotte Convention Center next September. The Congress will take place on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 9-10, 2016.
Leading up to the Congress will be the Bishop's Lenten Youth Pilgrimage, which will be held March 19, 2016, at Belmont Abbey College.
The 2016 theme encircles the familiar Eucharistic Congress logo, which consists of a gold disc symbolizing the Eucharist and a red botonnee, or budded, cross (so named because the arms are capped with three-fold points, symbolizing the Trinity, which resemble tree buds). The logo also features the initials "IHS," which is a monogram of the name of Jesus Christ in Greek "Iesous Christos."
The words of the 2016 theme are a powerful reminder of the call to mercy and forgiveness that are the central focus of the Year of Mercy, which begins Dec. 8 and continues until Nov. 20, 2016.
As the theme is being unveiled, the Eucharistic Congress website, www.goeucharist.com, has gone through a makeover during the past few months. The site has been simplified with fewer navigation buttons and a cleaner look.
More than 14,000 people attended the worship, praise and education events of the 2015 Eucharistic Congress. Videos of the 2015 keynote speakers, including Bishop Peter Jugis' homily for the closing Mass and New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan's Holy Hour homily, are also available to view on the website.
— David Hains, diocesan director of communication