EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 77, 22 June 1927, Page 16

EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS

A WONDERFUL SPECTACLE Religious manifestations of any kind never fail to create a deep impression upon beholders. The picture of the Eucharistic Congress at Soldiers’ Field, Chicago, in 1925 —a spectacle of the greatest of all modern manifestations —is indeed no exception. It is a magnificent spectacle, and its interest should not be confined alone to members -pf the church concerned. At the Town Hall last evening the initial screening in Auckland was followed with close attention by a large audience. It is the official cinema record of the great Congress, and as an historical record the work has been magnificently carried out by the Fox Film Company. People from 27 countries' of the world, it is. said, followed the procession which took place at the little town of Mundelein, 40 miles from Chicago, and which is named after Cardinal Mundelein, Archbishop of Chicago, and sponsor of the Congress. All the art and devices of modern picture photography have been utilised to record the 400,000 worshippers that daily thronged the Soldiers’ Field —the great outdoor cathedral. The beautiful rites are shown in their entirety in the vast sanctuary, and on the stately altar flanked by the 12 thrones of the princes of the church. Close-ups have been taken of the sacrifice of the Mass, and the preachers of sermons, while one of the most inspiring scenes shows the vast assemblage at night holding thousands of lighted candles as they renew their baptismal vows. Wonderfully impressive are the scenes in Mundelein when a heavy thunderstorm falls on the Eucharistic procession over a three-mile route, as hundreds of thousands kneel in the mud, unmindful of the warring elements. Despite the weather the procession continued at great cost to the priceless robes of the prelates. As it reached the altar for the final ceremony, the solemn benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament by Car-, dinal Bonzano, the papal delegate, the storm passed away as quickly as it came, and the sun shone forth in a cloudless sky. Another feature of the picture is the entire trip of the papal legatfc, Cardinal Bonzano, from the time he left Rome until he gave his final benediction to the million souls at Mundelein. The other 11 cardinals of America and foreign lands who attended, and other church dignitaries, are also shown. The formal opening of the congress at the Cathedral of the Holy Name, and in which only bishops and clergy participated, was also shown in detail, the cathedral, perhaps for the first time in the history of the church, being specially equipped with the lighting effects necessary for the photographing of the service. The picture takes in the congress from every possible angle, and from the multiplicity of the scenes taken it is undoubtedly possible for the screen spectator to see more of the proceedings than if among the millions that attended. The picture will be screened again this evening, when another large attendance is expected.