Rev. James D. Conley, D.D., S.T.L. | Diocese of Lincoln website

After completing the Lincoln Diocese’s Eucharistic Passport Pilgrimage, Laura Becerra viewed the National Eucharistic Congress as the culmination of her journey. Having attended similar congresses in Mexico, she was pleased to find that multiple parts of this Congress were offered in Spanish.

“My mother wants us to love God more,” Emily said. Smiling, Laura nodded in agreement.

Blake Gigax whistled as he walked to the bus on Saturday morning for the fourth day of the Congress, despite feeling homesick for his hometown of Hayes Center, population 225.

Words failed to express the extraordinary experience of participating in Mass and Eucharistic adoration with tens of thousands of other faithful Catholics.

“Sometimes in Hayes Center, you can feel like you’re the only Catholic in the world,” he said. “But here….”

When Pat Heineman heard about the National Eucharistic Congress (NEC), she was eager to participate. “There’s nothing more special to me than the Holy Eucharist,” she said. Years ago, Pat attended a retreat on the Eucharist and returned so inspired that she successfully lobbied for monthly Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at her home parish. She was one of the first 10 finishers of the Lincoln Diocese’s Eucharistic Passport Pilgrimage.

Shortly before the NEC opening session, she said, “I hope it changes all of us and that we bring it home to everybody else.”

William Thorn came to be part of a historic moment. Noting that it had been more than eight decades since the last Congress, he said, “This one is important. It is both historic in time and historic in the situation in the Church today with so many people not believing in the Real Presence.”

By Saturday afternoon, he was enthusiastic about what comes next.

“The whole notion of revival is to fan the flames among people who will go back to their parishes and to their families and tell the story of what they experienced.”

Ashton Kotus speculated she was among the last people to sign up but attending had always been on her mind. “I just had a really rough school year,” admitted Kotus, a sixth-grade teacher. “I was looking for something to shake me back up and make me focus on Jesus again instead of the stress of life.”

By Friday, she had powerful experiences. “I think it will just keep coming. It’ll just be slow waves,” she said. “It feels more life-changing when it’s slow.”