It can be tempting to think of 2028 as still a long way off.
But across the Archdiocese, the journey towards the International Eucharistic Congress is already taking shape.
Over recent months, we’ve gathered in some key ways including a retreat, to welcome the relics of St Carlo Acutis, and for our second Archdiocesan Assembly. Different events and different communities, but with a common thread: a desire to rediscover the Eucharist and what it means for the way we live as a Church.
In July, more than 100 people gathered at Sacred Heart Primary School in Pearce for a retreat focused on the Eucharist and preparation for the Congress.
Led by the Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia, the day offered prayer, teaching, reflection and Eucharistic adoration. It was also a chance to step away from the usual busyness of parish and family life and ask some simple but important questions: What are we celebrating when we come to Mass? What does it mean to receive Christ in the Eucharist? And how should that encounter change the way we live?
Those questions continued when the relics of St Carlo Acutis travelled through the Archdiocese, with communities in Canberra, Goulburn and Tumut gathering for Mass and prayer.
Carlo’s witness has a particular resonance for young people. He was a teenager who had a deep love for the Eucharist and a simple conviction that it belonged at the centre of Christian life.
That message seemed to resonate strongly when a large group of high school students gathered with Archbishop Prowse at St Christopher’s Cathedral. After Mass, they heard more about Carlo’s life and faith before Archbishop Prowse led them in a renewal of their Baptismal vows.
Then, at the end of August, over 500 people from across the Archdiocese gathered for our second Archdiocesan Assembly, meeting across seven physical hubs as well as online.
Prayer, listening and conversation were at the heart of the day. Eucharistic renewal emerged as a key theme, alongside a renewed call to mission and outreach.
And perhaps that connection is worth reflecting on.
If the Eucharist is truly at the heart of our life as a Church, then our encounter with Christ at Mass cannot simply end when we walk out the doors. We are sent out into our families, schools, workplaces and communities.
That raises some big questions. How do our parishes pray? How do we form young people and families in faith? How do we create communities where people encounter Christ and are equipped to live as missionary disciples?
We don’t have all the answers yet. But we are already on the way.
The retreat, Carlo’s witness and the conversations of the Assembly are important markers on that journey.
There is plenty still to do before 2028. But there is also plenty to be grateful for.
The journey has already begun.