This weekend, more than 8,000 members of the clergy and laypeople will participate in the first New York State Eucharistic Congress, being held in Auriesville at the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs, from the state’s eight dioceses and one eparchy. More than 40 percent of attendees will travel there from the Archdiocese of New York. The following guide is intended to enrich and smooth the journey and the experience for pilgrims attending the event.

Know before you go. Registration for the conference closed on October 13. Walk-ins are not being accepted. The event is not being livestreamed due to technical considerations, but videos from the Congress may be available online as early as next week. 

Leave early, be patient, use the shuttle. In a conference call with The Good Newsroom, Congress organizers advised those going to Auriesville to leave their point of embarkation early, and to be patient along the way. Once vehicles leave the New York Thruway, the road to Auriesville, NY-5S West, is a two-lane highway, and may fill up quickly.

Also, organizers urged participants to park as far away from the conference site as possible and use available shuttle buses, to increase convenience and reduce congestion.

Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs. The Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs is the site of the 17th Century Mohawk village of Ossernenon where three Jesuit missionaries were killed during the 1640s for their faith. 

The area is also the birthplace of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk/Algonquin maiden known for her purity and charity, born in 1656 and who died in 1680. She is the first Native American saint, canonized in 2012.

Although located within the Diocese of Albany, the Shrine is operated independently.

Schedule. Forty hours of Eucharistic Adoration begin on Friday evening at 6 p.m. The event ends on Sunday morning at 11 a.m. with Bishop Edward Scharfenberger, Bishop of Albany, as principal celebrant. In between, there will be confessions, keynote addresses, live music, and prayer.

Food. Food is available on-site for Friday dinner, Saturday lunch and dinner, and Sunday lunch. Pre-ordering for meals ended Thursday at noon. See available menus here.

Translation. English-Spanish translation will be available during the Congress. Refer to this guide for more information on translation units.

Hashtag. Organizers are using #NYSEC2023 as the Congress hashtag on social media.

Everything else. Refer to the Congress website for all other information.

The prayer for the success of the Congress is here.