Cebu gearing up for IEC 2016 grand finale

Cardinal Charles Bo Myanmar is expected to see the largest gathering of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) when he celebrates the concluding open-air Mass on Sunday at the South Road Properties in the central Philippine city of Cebu.  More than 1.5 million people are expected for the so-called Statio Orbis Mass, along with more than 15,000 cardinals, bishops, priests, the religious and official delegates from at least 75 nations around the world who attended the Jan 24-31 event.    Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara of Pasig, who heads the IEC’s communications committee, hinted they could be surprised by an unexpected closing message by Pope Francis.  Anticipating a mammoth of crowd, the SRP area will be opened to the public as early in the morning.  At least 200 parking lots for buses ferrying parishioners along a 1.4-kilometer stretch is in place, besides another 100 roadside slots.

Saturday, the penultimate day of the IEC was a memorable day for  5,000 children who received First Holy Communion during Mass at the Cebu City Sports Complex.  Organizers claim the Cebu gathering will go down in the history of the IEC, in which the Church mounted a massive, multiplatform media coverage, involving 15 organizations and 250 personnel.  “It’s actually a lot of firsts, in broadcast, print, radio and social media,” said Msgr. Pedro Quitorio III, director of the CBCP Media Office and head of broadcast and media accreditation for the 51st IEC. It’s the first time for an IEC to have a global satellite broadcast, with 12 hours of live and canned programming including remote sites in Cebu. Stories were also uploaded round the clock on the Filipino bishops' news website and shared on its official Facebook and Twitter accounts.  ‎(Source: CBCP)‎