March 29, 2024

Need for volunteers who speak various languages to welcome and help others during National Eucharistic Congress

(En Espanol)
 

National Eucharistic Congress logoCriterion staff report

The Church is universal, a truth displayed even within one country. For instance, the Church in the United States is filled with those who might speak English but not as their primary language.

Such Catholics will be among those who come to Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress (NEC) on July 17-21.

“We need a lot of volunteers, period,” says Ken Ogorek, executive director of the archdiocesan Secretariat for Evangelizing Catechesis. “But we definitely need volunteers who speak various languages who can be that welcoming, smiling face to help and guide people who communicate more easily in their native language, be it Spanish, Burmese, French, Tagalog and so on.”

He explains that, while the NEC is a national effort of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and is led by a national planning team, “most who come will experience it as an Indianapolis event or an Archdiocese of Indianapolis event.

“To all who come to the National Eucharistic Congress, what they experience will reflect on the local Church in their minds. So we want to put our best foot forward in showing our famous Hoosier hospitality in many languages. A smile is the same in every language, but to hear a welcome and receive guidance in your native language will go a long way.”

While efforts are underway to seek volunteers directly within various groups in the archdiocese, English speakers of various languages are also invited to volunteer—if not you, then perhaps share this information with someone you know who might be interested in helping.

Volunteers must be age 18 and older.

To express an interest in volunteering, an online form is available at eucharisticcongress.org/volunteer. It takes about a minute to complete.

Volunteers must complete the archdiocese’s online safe environment training, which is available 24/7.

To participate in the National Eucharistic Congress events and sessions, volunteers must register separately. To register for a day, weekend or five-day pass, go to eucharisticcongress.org/register. †

Local site Links: