The 28th International Eucharistic Congress was held in Chicago, Illinois, United States from June 20 to 24, 1926. The event, held by the Catholic Church, was a eucharistic congress, which is a large scale gathering of Catholics that focuses on the Eucharist and other items of Catholic faith. The event was organized by Cardinal George Mundelein, the Archbishop of Chicago, and was the first International Eucharistic Congress held in the United States and the second held in North America. Cardinal Giovanni Bonzano served as the papal legate for the event. The event attracted a large number of people to the city, with most sources claiming at least several hundred thousand attendees. Large events were held throughout the area, at locations including Soldier Field, Holy Name Cathedral, and the Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary. Some sources claim that approximately 1 million people attended the closing day Mass held at the seminary in nearby Mundelein, Illinois.
The congress is considered a major event in the history of Chicago, with some historians comparing the size of the event to the city's world's fairs. It is also regarded as an important occurrence in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States, as it demonstrated the size and power of the church in the historically Protestant United States.
Eucharistic congresses are largescale events held by the Catholic Church that focus on the Eucharist and involve discussions on Catholic theology and the importance of the sacrament. The events include liturgies and discussions regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. International Eucharistic Congresses have been held by the church since 1881. The first was held in France that year, and by 1926 there had been 27 congresses. All but one (Montreal in 1910) had been held in either Europe or Asia. In 1924, Cardinal George Mundelein asked Pope Pius XI to declare Chicago the host city for the next International Eucharistic Congress. In February the following year, Mundelein announced that the Pope had approved the proposition. At the July 1924 Eucharistic Congress in Amsterdam, the choice of Chicago for the 1925 was made official. With this, Chicago served as the first city in the United States to host a congress. The selection was also seen as a sign of the growing importance of Chicago, which, according to a 2019 article published by the University of Saint Mary of the Lake, was still considered "mission territory" until 1908. Mundelein also hoped that holding the congress in Chicago would demonstrate the strength of the Catholic Church in the city, where much of the political power was held by Protestant elites. At the time, Chicago was home to slightly over 3 million people, of whom 880,000 were Catholic, prompting historian Thomas Doherty to refer to the city as "the nation's most Catholic city."
In March 1925, Bishop Thomas Louis Heylen, the president of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses traveled to the city to scout locations for the event and discuss transportation issues with railroad and steamship companies. That same year, Catholic American film censor Joseph Breen was appointed the publicity director for the congress. In January 1926, the South Park Commission agreed to allow the use of Soldier Field for several large masses during the event. At the time, the north end of the stadium was still partially under construction, with the planned formal opening of the stadium to be that year's Army–Navy Game in November. Modifications were made to the stadium to suit the needs of the congress, such as the construction of a sanctuary standing 30 feet (9.1 m) above the field measuring 214 feet (65 m) wide and 224 feet (68 m) long. This sanctuary would hold an altar covered by a golden baldacchino, topped with a Christian cross and supported by four large columns. This design was modeled off of the altar area at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. The north end of the altar consisted of a peristyle with alternating columns topped by either a cross or a bronze eagle, with laurel draped on the structure. A similar peristyle was erected near Chicago City Hall and the County Building. American flags were flown prominently throughout the stadium, which, according to historian Liam T. A. Ford, represented "Cardinal Mundelein's wish to emphasize the loyalty of U.S. Catholics to their country."
In February, the congress was discussed in a bulletin published by the National Catholic Welfare Conference, with dates for the event set for June 20–24 of that year. In the leadup to the event, Catholic officials from around the world began to make preparations for attending. A meeting of all the bishops in Poland occurred in March, where they selected a bishop, a priest, and a professor from the University of Lublin as their primary ambassadors, while in Mexico, church officials planned for what was later described in a 2009 book as their "largest pilgrimage ever to a foreign country". In all, over 900 Catholics from Mexico arrived in Chicago from chartered trains. In April, members of the German delegation had already arrived in the city and began actively planning their events for the congress. Among the venues that were used, the French delegation was to use the 16th Street Armory, the German delegation was assigned the Broadway Armory, and the Italian delegation used the Municipal Pier. The pier also hosted a Catholic art exhibition.
Also starting in early 1926, the Chicago Tribune, which had a history of publishing content with anti-Catholic sentiments, began publishing articles about the upcoming event in an uncharacteristically positive tone, with several articles written by Catholic priests. Various civic groups in the city, including the Chicago Association of Commerce, organized several dozen committees to prepare for the event, while transportation companies also made arrangements. For instance, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad announced that their trains transporting people to the congress would come equipped with a "special missionary mass kit" that contained equipment needed for a priest to perform mass, such as a chalice and vestments. Additional rail lines that serviced travelers to the congress included the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, the Chicago and North Western Railroad, and the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad. As part of the congress, over 3,000 priests were called to attend to confessions, and religious sisters were requested to make over 4.5 million hosts to be used during masses. Also during the congress, the Orchestra Hall movie theater in the city played The Miracle at Lourdes, a 1926 French film that dramatized the story of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Loudspeakers, a relatively recent invention, were used installed for use at major venues such as Soldier Field (on the temporary alter erected there) and Mundelein, Illinois. The system of loudspeakers installed in Mundelein were described as the largest public address system that had ever been built up to that time.
On June 6, a group consisting of 6 cardinals and 60 bishops, serving as the Pope's delegation to the congress, embarked from France to the United States aboard the RMS Aquitania. Cardinal Giovanni Bonzano, the leader of this delegation, was to serve as the papal legate for the congress. The delegation arrived in New York City on June 16 and were received by New York Governor Al Smith and New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker. They departed by train to Chicago from the city's Grand Central Terminal that same day. The delegation's presence caused a crowd of several thousand spectators at the terminal, and several thousand more spectators were present along the 960-mile (1,540 km) route from New York City to Chicago. The delegation reached Chicago the following day, where they were received by Chicago Mayor William Emmett Dever and 35 city aldermen. Large crowds gathered to see the delegation, and while there was police presence to prevent disorder, multiple members of the crowd managed to kiss Bonzano's ecclesiastical ring. Bonzano was escorted by Mundelein to Holy Name Cathedral, where he gave a blessing. Speaking later to the Chicago Tribune, Bonzano had the following to say regarding the city and the importance of the event: