“The Lord asks us to be accessible to the most vulnerable,” Flores said, later criticizing those who blame poor people for their poverty and urging his listeners to imitate Christ’s style of humility, poverty and accessibility.
Sister Lourdes Melendez, a Franciscan Missionary Sister of the Immaculate Conception who was attending the Congress with the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, told RNS in Spanish that her community works with low-income people, as well as migrants in Tijuana.
Melendez called the Congress “a very marvelous encounter with our Lord,” explaining that, while it can be hard to have that encounter in simple things, she saw him through the silence in the stadium and through the poor.
Soila Noguez came to the Congress from Houston with her daughter, saying she hoped her daughter’s faith would grow and they both would find healing, peace and tranquility.
“Sometimes I see in my church that sometimes Catholics themselves form little groups, and we separate, and I think we should be more united,” Noguez told RNS in Spanish. “Here, everyone from the whole nation is coming.”
Colette St. Cloud, who hails from Georgia and does religious education for children, said a major challenge to unity in the church is a failure to make space for the younger generation. When she works with kids, she emphasizes God’s love, acceptance and closeness.
St. Cloud, whose husband is becoming a deacon, said, “What we need to do as Catholics is a little less judging and a little bit more loving.”
This article originally appeared here.
 had traveled from all 50 U.S. states and 17 countries to join the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, the first since the ninth National Eucharistic Congress in 1941.){kind=link}