Sydney expecting Pope Leo in 2028
News
Pope Leo XIV will visit Sydney in the spring of 2028 to preside over the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC).
On the day after the Pope’s installation in May last year, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese invited him to visit Sydney for the IEC. Since Pope Leo is the head of a foreign government, the Holy See, diplomatic protocol is such that the Australian government extend to him a formal invitation and he respond to that invitation.
However, in the strongest indication yet that the Pope will be coming to Sydney, Pope Leo indicated his intention to visit for the IEC.
The CEO of Eucharist28, Bishop Richard Umbers, told a February 9 press conference at St Mary’s Cathedral: “Archbishop Anthony Fisher was in Rome speaking to Pope Leo. He said to him, Look, we’re counting down the days for you to come to the International Eucharistic Congress which will be held here in 2028 and the Pope said, ‘Well, it’s still a way off, but I’ll be there’.”
The year 2028 will mark the 100th anniversary of Australia’s first international Eucharistic congress – in Melbourne in 1928. Melbourne also hosted the quadrennial event in 1973. That one was attended by two saints – Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, now St John Paul II, and Mother Teresa, now St Teresa of Calcutta.
With the massive event still two-and-a-half years away, many logistical issues still need to be resolved. But Bishop Umbers sketched out the IEC’s main features.
“The congress itself will be run for a week. There’ll be an opening Mass.
“And then one would expect, if the Pope is able to make it, which we really hope he does, in the latter part of that week he will be involved in a very, very long and large, Eucharistic procession, which will be very exciting.
“And then there will be a final Mass. As we’ve seen with previous papal visits, it also brings people all over the world.”
Bishop Umbers was reluctant to forecast attendance at the final Mass. But he said, “given that there are 5 million Catholics in Australia, we expect hundreds of thousands to attend the Mass and to be at the conference and many to come from overseas”.
A visit in 2028 will be the fifth time that a reigning Pope has visited Australia. Pope St Paul VI was the first, in 1970. Pope St John Paul II visited twice – in 1986 and in 1995, when he beatified Mother Mary MacKillop. Benedict XVI came to Sydney for World Youth Day in 2008. All of them said Mass at Randwick Racecourse. In 2008, 400,000 attended the Mass, the largest crowd in Australia’s history.
Of course, the most important metrics are the spiritual ones, Bishop Umbers emphasised. “We hope that Eucharist28 will invigorate people in their faith, to appreciate the presence of Jesus among us, and through spiritual conversion, return to their parish renewed and on fire with love for the Lord.”
In practical terms, this hopefully means a substantial uptick in Sunday Mass attendance.
“All Catholics are invited to Sunday Mass,” Bishop Umbers told The Catholic Weekly, and we would love to see more. We would love to see everyone in church. All are welcome!”
The presence of Pope Leo XIV should make the event even more attractive. “It will be a tremendous boost to the faith of the faithful and to seekers,” said Bishop Umbers, “because the opportunity it presents to hear directly from the successor of Peter will move hearts with the help of the Holy Spirit.”
As Fr Robert Prevost, the pope visited Australia several times. “He knows that it is a place where there are many Catholics from communities that represent the whole world,” said Bishop Umbers. “And this will be an opportunity to speak to the world of the saving message of Jesus Christ.”
While dates are yet to be announced, there has been some suggestion that Eucharist28 could coincide with the Rugby League Grand Final.
– Michael Cook, The Catholic Weekly
