2026 Eucharistic Rosary Congress to be held across archdiocese
During the Eucharistic Rosary Congress from Oct. 7 – 13, thousands of people from across the Archdiocese of Newark will come together before the Blessed Sacrament. Through prayer and adoration, pilgrims will seek to grow closer to God and ask Him for forgiveness, healing, renewal, and grace.
“People will be offering prayers for peace, for their families, the petitions of the archdiocese and on behalf of one another,” said Jennifer Behnke, director of the Archdiocese of Newark’s Office for Evangelization. “It’s a beautiful time for our archdiocese to come together and participate as one big family of the Church.”
The Eucharistic Rosary Congress is a week-long “movement of prayer” during which pilgrims can experience the presence of Jesus at area parishes through Eucharistic Adoration, public recitation of the Holy Rosary, special Masses, processions, lectures and other expressions of faith. Currently, 17 parishes are scheduled to participate.
Many opportunities to join in
Behnke said that each parish will celebrate the congress in its own unique way. “The beauty of the Catholic Church is that it’s a large tent, and everybody is invited to find their place as we learn more about different spiritualities, and we deepen our own knowledge of how we pray,” she said.
St. James Parish in Springfield, for instance, will host a Living Rosary, with a candlelight procession the following night. At St. Michael’s in Union, the rosary will be recited in the square outside the church. Meanwhile, the cloistered nuns at the Dominican Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Summit will be adoring the Eucharist 24/7 for the duration of the congress.
Behnke suggests that those who are curious explore the event website to find “the expression that is easiest for you to connect with.” Ultimately, she said, the most important thing is to “give the Eucharistic Rosary Congress a try.”
A profound and powerful history
In 1862, St. John Bosco experienced a mystical dream in which he saw the Church as a great ship (the Barque of Peter) weathering a violent storm and under attack by a massive enemy fleet. The ship found safety when it was moored between two towering pillars: one topped with a statue of the Virgin Mary and a larger one with a Eucharistic host at its summit. He interpreted this as a sign that devotion to Mary and frequent Holy Communion are the ultimate refuges during times of trial.
The first known Eucharistic congress was organized a quarter century later in Lille, France, by Émilie-Marie Tamisier. Soon thereafter, annual congresses were held in different cities throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. The first National Eucharistic Congress in the US was organized in 1895.
In 1976, America’s bicentennial year, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Dorothy Day, President Gerald Ford and Archbishop Karol Wojtyła of Kraków, Poland were among the participants of the 41st International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia.
In a homily delivered during the congress, the future Pope John Paul II pointed out:
“The Eucharist is the food which satisfies man’s deepest hunger. Created in the image and likeness of God himself (Gen 1:26), man can find the final appeasement of his hunger and fulfilment of his desires in God alone. “Our heart is not quiet until it rests in Thee” (St Augustine, Confessions I, 1).”
As pope, he played a key role in the propagation of Eucharistic congresses, emphasizing their Marian character and encouraging the inclusion of the rosary.
“Inspired by saints like St. John Bosco and St. Pope John Paul II, our desire in organizing this Eucharistic Rosary Congress is to bring the two pillars of our Catholic spirituality into greater focus during the month dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary,” Behnke said.
The public can join the Archdiocese of Newark’s 2026 Eucharistic Rosary Congress at any of its parish locations. To learn more, visit the Eucharistic Rosary Congress website.
