Monday, June 11, 2012

Remembering the Eucharistic Congress of 1932

Catholic Eucharistic Congresses are gatherings of ecclesiastics and laymen for the purpose of celebrating the Holy Eucharist. The 31st International Eucharistic Congress was held in Dublin, 21-26 June, 1932. It was the premier international Catholic event. The 1932 Congress was hugely significant in terms of asserting the identity of the Irish Free State as a leading Catholic nation. It was the largest public spectacle in twentieth-century Ireland. There was even an act passed by the Government specifically for the event. It was called the Eucharistic Congress (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1932. It was timed to mark the 1500th anniversary of St. Patrick.

Each celebrant was issued with a handbook. (See cover below)


This handbook contained a programme of events throughout the city of Dublin.

Also among our holdings of Archives and Special Collections here at the James Hardiman Library are photographs taken by an unidentified photographer at the Congress, including scenes from religious events, parades and informal photographs of clerics from around the world in Dublin:






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