The first Hispanic Eucharistic Encounter, Archdiocese of New York, is set for Saturday, June 27, at Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine in Fultonville (Montgomery County).

The all-day family event, with the theme “Un solo Pan, un solo Pueblo” (One Bread, One People), will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 6 p.m. The subtheme will be “Jesús Eucaristía, corazón de nuestra fe,” (Eucharist Jesus, heart of our faith).

Activities will include Mass, talks on the Eucharist, praise and worship music, and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The event schedule and other details continue to be ironed out. Montgomery County is part of the Diocese of Albany. The archdiocesan Adult Discipleship and Marriage Formation is leading the sponsorship. Event ministries will include Bronx-based Corazón Puro, the archdiocese Movimiento Matrimonial Catolico, archdiocesan Cursillo groups, local chapters of Lazos de Amor Mariano, founded in Colombia, and Manhattan-based Emaús at St. Elizabeth Church in Washington Heights, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last week.

Father Higgins highlights the power of the Eucharist

“I see this Hispanic Eucharistic Encounter as decisively important because it represents the unity of some of the most powerful groups and movements in the Church in the Archdiocese of New York around the Eucharist,” Father John Higgins, pastor of Holy Cross in the Bronx, told The Good Newsroom.

“The representative groups that will gather at this Encounter do incredible work, but often quite independently of each other. This will be our chance to come together with the express rubric of ‘Un solo Pan, un solo Pueblo,'” he said.

Father Higgins, who is fluent in Spanish, added, “As the spiritual director of the Cursillo Movement of the Archdiocese in the Spanish language, I hope that all of our participants will feel the transforming power of the Eucharist, especially as we unite together before our Eucharistic Lord in adoration.”

Father Fredy Patiño, director of the archdiocese Hispanic Catholic Charismatic Center in the Bronx, said, “It will be moving to witness that wealth of faces, languages, stories, and expressions of faith, all gathered around the same altar, united by their love for Christ, His Church, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a living image of the universality of the Church and the beauty of our Hispanic community. We hope it will be a day full of grace, spiritual renewal, and profound blessings.”

Clergy leaders guide the encounter

The clergy leaders of the encounter will be Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Espaillat, Father Higgins, Father Jose Felix Ortega, pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Bronx, and Father Ambiorix Rodriguez, pastor of St. Elizabeth in Manhattan. They will be assisted by other priests, nuns, and lay ministers.

The event will be conducted in Spanish, with some English.

The National Shrine of the North American Martyrs, also known as the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs, is dedicated to three Jesuit missionaries who were martyred at the Mohawk Indian village of Ossernenon during the 1640s.

Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine is located at 136 Shrine Road, Fultonville (within the hamlet Auriesville). For more information, please visit the shrine’s website.