EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS IS THE "HEART" OF THE JUBILEE

VATICAN CITY, JUN 18, 2000 (VIS) - Speaking to 50,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square this morning to recite the Angelus, Pope John Paul reflected on the International Eucharistic Congress, which he opens this evening with vespers in the square, and said "we have reached the heart of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000."

"Within the period of a week," he added, "we celebrate two solemnities - the Most Holy Trinity and Corpus Domini - in which the nature of this Holy Year, which is both trinitarian and Eucharistic, is fully manifested. Prepared by a three-year period of reflection on Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Father, the Jubilee's objective is to give thanks and praise to the divine Trinity, from which all comes and to which all returns, in the world and in history."

The Holy Father remarked that "the 'way', the 'door' of access to the mystery of God's love is only one: Jesus, who was born, died and arose to give life to every man. Before dying on the cross, a victim of expiation for our sins, He left the Church the memorial of His redemptive sacrifice: the sacrament of the Eucharist."

John Paul II then highlighted several events of the week-long Eucharistic congress, whose theme is "Jesus Christ, One Savior of the World, Bread for a New Life": the meeting on "The Eucharist and the Face of Christ", the Jubilee of Italian catechists, the procession on the June 22 feast of Corpus Domini from St. John Lateran Basilica to that of St. Mary Major and the closing of the congress on Sunday evening, June 25 with the "statio orbis" in St. Peter's Square.

After reciting the angelus, the Pope greeted the faithful in St. Peter's Square in several languages.

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