Eucharistic Congress

A fleet of fishing smacks from the little Dutch town of Volendam went out to meet an ocean liner and to escort it into the harbor of Amsterdam On board the liner was His Eminence Cardinal Willem Van Rossum, once a humble priest among the fishermen.

Arrived at Amsterdam, the Cardinal acting as Legate (Plenipotentiary Representative of Pius XI), opened the 27th Eucharistic Congress of the Holy Catholic Church. Although Holland is predominantly Protestant, Amsterdam is largely Catholic and greeted with enthusiasm prelates from the world over.

The central theme of the Conference was the "Holy Eucharist and Atone- ment" and special attention was given to the "spiritual advantages of frequent communion in combating materialism." The American section, headed by Bishop J. Henry Tihen of Denver, received with delight.the decision to hold the next Congress in Chicago, in 1925. The newly-created Cardinal George Mundelein, from his famed red-brick residence, immediately designated the Sunday preceding the next Congress as general Communion Sunday in the archdiocese of Chicago.