How secular media reported the Eucharistic Congress

For an event as large as the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, of course, Catholic media, including Aleteia, were in full force in Indianapolis. There was also a good representation from secular media, even with competition from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, attention to President Joe Biden’s decision about his future, and other big news stories last week.

The New York Times’ religion reporter Ruth Graham published a major story on Sunday, replete with a lot of photos from the Congress. Graham examined the work of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to restore belief in the Eucharist, leading to the four-day event in Indianapolis. She included a section explaining how the bishops of the country were worried when the Pew Research Center published a survey in 2019 showing how belief among Catholics had plummeted, but mentioned a later survey, conducted by the University of Notre Dame, calling into question some of Pew’s findings.

Graham nicely contrasted the raucous atmosphere that normally fills the Lucas Oil Stadium, home to the Indianapolis Colts, with the near-absolute silence that prevailed when Bishop Andrew Cozzens processed into the arena with the Eucharistic Monstrance on the first night of the Congress.

One interesting aspect of Graham’s report was inclusion of archival footage from a National Eucharistic Congress decades ago, and a photo showing New York Gov. Alfred E. Smith, a Catholic who ran for U.S. president as a Democrat in 1932, on his knees holding a set of rosary beads.

Associated Press also took note of the reverent silence that prevailed in the Lucas Oil Stadium when Catholics were kneeling in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. AP’s Peter Smith mentioned another survey, this one by the Georgetown University-affiliated Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, which in 2022 “used multiple phrasings and found that 64% of Catholics expressed belief in Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist in at least one response, as did virtually all who attended Mass weekly.”

The article, published on Thursday, was picked up by The Washington Post, among others.

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