By Charles Igwe
The Vatican announced that Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, as his special envoy for the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in Quito, Ecuador, scheduled for September 8–15.
Cardinal Farrell, born on September 2, 1947, was ordained a priest of the Legionaries of Christ on December 24, 1978. He later joined the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., where he became an auxiliary bishop in December 2001 and was consecrated on February 11, 2002. Appointed bishop of Dallas in 2007, he served there until 2016 when he was named prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life. Pope Francis elevated him to the College of Cardinals on November 19, 2016. Since 2019, Farrell has also served as the camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, managing the temporal affairs of the Holy See during a papal interregnum.
The IEC, themed “Fraternity to Heal the World,” was presented at a Vatican press conference, where Archbishop Alfredo Espinoza of Quito highlighted its significance, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of Ecuador’s consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Espinoza emphasized the congress’s goal to serve as a voice of hope and brotherhood from Latin America to the global Church.
Father Juan Carlos Garzón, secretary-general of the IEC, discussed the congress’s foundational document, underscoring the urgency of fraternity inspired by the Eucharist. The event will cover topics such as “Wounded World, Fraternity Redeemed in Christ,” “Eucharist and Transformation of the World,” “For a Synodal Church,” and “Eucharist: Psalm of Fraternity.”