Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, who spearheaded the U.S. bishops’ initiative of Eucharistic Revival, adores Christ in the Eucharist with tens of thousands of people in Lucas Oil Stadium. / Credit: Casey Johnson in partnership with the National Eucharistic Congress
CNA Staff, Jul 26, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).
More than 50,000 Catholics filled the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium July 17–21 for the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. Clergy, religious sisters and brothers, young people, the elderly, and families came together for an incredible opportunity to grow closer to Jesus in the Eucharist.
The week was filled with heartfelt moments, laughter, joy, and inspiration as the faithful in attendance experienced the fruits of years of preparation for the congress, which was a major event in the United States Bishops’ Eucharistic Revival.
Here are some of the best photos from the National Eucharistic Congress:
Attendees of the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis enter the Indiana Convention Center, where a sign reads “Revival Starts Here.” Credit: Casey Johnson in partnership with the National Eucharistic Congress
Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, who spearheaded the U.S. bishops’ initiative of Eucharistic Revival, adores Christ in the Eucharist with tens of thousands of people in Lucas Oil Stadium. Credit: Casey Johnson in partnership with the National Eucharistic Congress
Ciboria filled with hosts await the start of Mass at the National Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on July 18, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Children spend time before the Blessed Sacrament during a special time of “family adoration” at St. John the Evangelist Church. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
A woman at the National Eucharistic Congress kneels in prayer. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Attendees kneel and reach for the monstrance as it passes by them during a procession at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. Credit: Jacob Bentzinger in partnership with the National Eucharistic Congress
A religious sister and a laywoman share a moment of joy at the expo hall at the Indiana Convention Center during the National Eucharistic Congress. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Bishops process in to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on July 18, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Religious sisters attend the National Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on July 18, 2024. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
The Eucharist and the crowd for the procession as part of the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Religious sisters pass by on the National Eucharistic Congress procession in Indianapolis. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
The assembled faithful for the Eucharistic procession on the grassy mall in front of the Indiana War Memorial. Credit: Jeffrey BrunoBishop Andrew Cozzens holds the Eucharist over the faithful for benediction while standing on the Indiana War Memorial. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
A young boy high fives a priest during the Eucharistic Procession through downtown Indianapolis. Credit: Jeffrey BrunoMore than 50,000 kneel in adoration of the Eucharist at the National Eucharistic Congress held at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis. Credit: Jeffry Bruno
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Students participating in the CEDE workshop for St. John’s College High School gather for a group photo at the basilica at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in November 2022. / Credit: Photo courtesy of CUA
CNA Staff, Apr 20, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
When Luke Burgis moved to Silicon Valley to start a business, he never expected he would become a seminarian and then go on to launch entrepreneurship programs for Catholic students.
Burgis had attended NYU, worked on Wall Street, started several businesses in Silicon Valley, and moved to Las Vegas before deciding he wanted more meaning in his life. With the encouragement of a friend, he rekindled his Catholic faith. After five years in seminary, he ultimately discerned he would not become a priest, but he still found himself in need of deeper meaning in his work.
So he founded Catholic Entrepreneurship and Design Experience (CEDE, pronounced “seed”) in 2020 to help students across the country connect their working lives with their faith.
Four years later, CEDE is a thriving organization based at Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, D.C., with programs and educational materials across the world. Burgis is the entrepreneur-in-residence and assistant clinical professor of business at CUA. He has developed educational materials shared with Catholic schools and home-school communities in addition to teaching business classes at CUA.
“I didn’t understand how I could actually live out my values and be a Catholic in the business world that I was in, even after I’d had that reconversion experience,” Burgis said when asked what inspired him to found CEDE.
“But I knew that there was some gap that we had to close in Catholic education between the theoretical or the principles of Catholic social teaching and the way that it actually plays out on the ground, if you’re trying to start something,” he explained. “We launched CEDE to try to reintegrate these disciplines.”
This year, Burgis is launching a new project for CEDE — a summer entrepreneurship program for high school students. The 10-week virtual Startup Venture Challenge will teach high schoolers how to start a business.
“CEDE introduces students to basic principles of entrepreneurship within the context of Catholic social teaching and helps them understand that ultimately they are the entrepreneurs of their own lives, whether they ever start a business or not,” Burgis said.
“We’re trying to train young Catholics to think more like an entrepreneur, which means finding creative ways to solve problems or to see solutions where other people only see problems,” he said. “We think that that’s really important for all Catholics, period, and that if we had a more entrepreneurial Church, we would have a more adaptive and creative Church.”
Luke Burgis speaks at a CEDE Workshop in November 2022. Credit: Photo courtesy of CUA
But being a “Catholic entrepreneur” isn’t necessarily about starting a business, Burgis noted.
“Our goal here is not really to create more business owners,” he explained. “Our goal is to help more young Catholics in Catholic schools be equipped and confident to go out into the world, whatever their vocation is.”
Burgis wanted to connect what he learned about business with Catholic teaching.
“[At NYU] I just learned: ‘Here’s what profit is. Profit is good. Pursue it,’” he recalled. “Most of my classmates simply wanted to make as much money as they could.”
“When I left seminary, I realized that there was a real disintegration or gap between what I had learned at my Catholic schools … and what things actually look like in practice when you’re actually out there in the world trying to do things,” he explained.
CEDE’s model of education is about “experiential learning,” “creative problem-solving,” and independence and “differs” from the rules-based form of education many American students are accustomed to, Burgis said.
“That’s much of what being an entrepreneur feels like,” he said of the model. “You’re not given a roadmap, you’re not told what to do, you have to figure things out, and you have to make decisions and take responsibility for those decisions.”
Burgis said it will feel like “a challenge.”
“You’re being challenged, being given this mission,” he said. “We want to empower the students to accomplish that mission by working together and finding creative ways to solve problems on their own without being told how to do it. We actually want to make them a little uncomfortable.”
Students don’t need to have business ideas to join, as the first three weeks will be spent building up an idea. The full schedule involves a discernment stage, launching, testing, and then a resources and community stage.
“We want them to feel what it feels like to have a fire ignited within themselves, to exercise their own creativity, to take ownership of it, to take total responsibility, and to be proud of that, and to be able to serve others through their gifts and talents,” Burgis said.
The program runs from June 10 to Aug. 12 and is fully virtual and amenable to the students’ work schedules. The cost is $250, with scholarships available. Applications are open for teenagers ages 14–18.
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