Pope Francis has appointed Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle, pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, as his special envoy to the National Eucharistic Congress which will be held in Indianapolis in the United States, on July 17 to 21.

The Vatican made the announcement on Saturday, May 18.

The Filipino cardinal will celebrate the closing mass of the 10th National Eucharistic 

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)  said Tagle’s appointment is “a gift to the Eucharistic Congress. His deep passion for apostolic mission rooted in the Eucharist is sure to have an inspirational impact for everyone attending the Congress,” said a USCCB report .

Archbishop Broglio cited Cardinal Tagle’s familiarity with the US as he earned a doctorate in theology at the Catholic University of America in 1991.

A Catholic News Agency post said the gathering “will be the first National Eucharistic Congress in over half a century and a pivotal event in the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, leading into the final year of the revival — the Year of Missionary Sending.”

“The congress will give the public witness to the Church’s core identity rooted in the Eucharist, and we pray that it will inspire a renewed sense of mission as we live out the gifts of unity and charity, May it be the catalyst for a continued deepening of our faith in the Real Presence,”added Archbishop Broglio.

The Catholic News Agency said this weekend marks the beginning of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimages, consisting of four different routes beginning on opposite sides of the country and meeting in Indianapolis for the Congress in July. Collectively the four pilgrimage routes will traverse 6,500 miles, 27 states, and 65 dioceses while carrying Christ in the Eucharis.