The archdiocesan VIII Congress of Emmaus 2023 is scheduled for Saturday, September 23, at St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, an annual membership gathering to be led by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph A. Espaillat.   

The organizing group is called the Brotherhood of Emmaus of the Archdiocese of New York (Hermandad de Emaús del Arquidiócesis de Nueva York). Attendees must be members, meaning they have participated in a previous three-day member retreat.   

The day-long, Spanish-language retreat is set to start at 8 a.m. It will include music, confessions, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and a 5 p.m. closing Mass. Emmaus is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke as the village where Jesus appeared to two disciples after His crucifixion and resurrection, Luke 24:13, “Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus.”          

St. Elizabeth Church in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan is the lead parish of the Emmaus Movement in the Archdiocese of New York; the pastor is Father Ambiorix Rodriguez, spiritual director of the archdiocesan Emmaus chapter. The movement’s mission is to help the faithful and parishes with “renewal in the spirit of the New Evangelization.”  

“This is an annual event that unites many people from parishes throughout the Archdiocese of New York,” Gleidy Morel, coordinator of the archdiocesan Brotherhood of Emmaus, told The Good Newsroom in a Sept. 21 phone interview. “It is a day when we as Emmaus brothers and sisters share and help one another in living our faith, in our spiritual growth.” She said about 800 members will attend Saturday’s gathering.

The retreat organizers ask for a $40 donation; lunch and refreshments will be included. Emmaus membership is open to men and women 21 years and older. For information about joining the New York archdiocesan Brotherhood of Emmaus call St. Elizabeth Church, (212) 568-8803.