Closing Ceremony of 1st Eucharist Congress of Roman Catholics Held in Lviv
On June 3 in Lviv, several thousands of Roman Catholics participated in the ceremony of closing of the First Eucharist Congress. The main event, a celebratory mass, was led by Vicar General of Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Angelo Comastri. The liturgy was celebrated in a square on the campus of the Lviv University of Veterinary Medicine because no Lviv church could house so many people.
Cardinal Comastri greeted Lviv resdients and visitors on behalf of the pope on the occasion of the Congress and presented to them an Eucharist cup. He addressed the faithful and clergy in Ukrainian, which was received with admiration.
“The Most Holy Father Benedict XVI is spiritually present here with us in the celebration and is praying that the First Eucharist Congress will leave you with deep impressions,” the cardinal said.
The liturgy was served in concelebration with Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine, Thomas Gullickson, all the higher ranks of clergy of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine led by Metropolitan Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki, foreign bishops and Bishops Yosyf Milian and Hlib Lonchyna of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC).
The Liturgy was attended by 400 priests from all the Ukrainian eparchies and from Poland, Belarus, Italy, Romania and Austria, representatives of the authorities, Consul General of Poland in Lviv.
After the mass, the clergymen and lay people formed a procession and walked along the streets to the main Roman Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin where the closing events and a celebratory concert were held. Auxiliary Bishop Benedict of the Lviv Archeparchy of UGCC and Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University Fr. Dr. Borys Gudziak also participated in the procession.
