Pope Leo XIV has indicated he intends to travel to Sydney in 2028 to preside over the International Eucharistic Congress, which will mark the 100th anniversary of Australia’s first such gathering.

Pope Leo XIV has indicated he will visit Sydney in the spring of 2028 to preside over the International Eucharistic Congress, Bishop Richard Umbers, CEO of the organizing body, announced Feb. 9.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese invited the pope to visit Sydney for the International Eucharistic Congress on the day after his installation in May 2025. Since Pope Leo is the head of a foreign government, the Holy See, diplomatic protocol requires that the Australian government extend a formal invitation and that he respond to it.

In the strongest indication yet that the pope will come to Sydney, Pope Leo told Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher of his intention to attend the International Eucharistic Congress.

Umbers, CEO of Eucharist28, told a Feb. 9 press conference at St. Mary’s Cathedral: “Archbishop Anthony Fisher was in Rome speaking to Pope Leo. He said to him, ‘Look, we’re counting down the days for you to come to the International Eucharistic Congress, which will be held here in 2028’ and the pope said, ‘Well, it’s still a way off, but I’ll be there.’”

The year 2028 will mark the 100th anniversary of Australia’s first International Eucharistic Congress — in Melbourne in 1928. Melbourne also hosted the quadrennial event in 1973. That congress was attended by two saints — Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, now St. John Paul II, and Mother Teresa, now St. Teresa of Calcutta.

With the massive event still two-and-a-half years away, many logistical issues still need to be resolved. But Umbers sketched out the International Eucharistic Congress’ main features.

“The congress itself will be run for a week. There’ll be an opening Mass,” he said.

“And then one would expect, if the pope is able to make it, which we really hope he does, in the latter part of that week he will be involved in a very, very long and large Eucharistic procession, which will be very exciting.

“And then there will be a final Mass. As we’ve seen with previous papal visits, it also brings people all over the world.”

Umbers was reluctant to forecast attendance at the final Mass. But he said: “Given that there are 5 million Catholics in Australia, we expect hundreds of thousands to attend the Mass and to be at the conference and many to come from overseas.”

A visit in 2028 will be the fifth time that a reigning pope has visited Australia. Pope Paul VI was the first, in 1970. Pope John Paul II visited twice — in 1986 and in 1995, when he beatified Mother Mary MacKillop. Benedict XVI came to Sydney for World Youth Day in 2008. All of them said Mass at Randwick Racecourse. In 2008, 400,000 attended the Mass — the largest crowd in Australia’s history.

Of course, the most important metrics are the spiritual ones, Umbers emphasized.

“We hope that Eucharist28 will invigorate people in their faith, to appreciate the presence of Jesus among us, and through spiritual conversion, return to their parish renewed and on fire with love for the Lord.”

In practical terms, this hopefully means a substantial uptick in Sunday Mass attendance.

“All Catholics are invited to Sunday Mass,” Umbers told The Catholic Weekly, “and we would love to see more. We would love to see everyone in church. All are welcome!”

The presence of Pope Leo XIV should make the event even more attractive. “It will be a tremendous boost to the faith of the faithful and to seekers,” Umbers said, “because the opportunity it presents to hear directly from the successor of Peter will move hearts with the help of the Holy Spirit.”

As Father Robert Prevost, the pope visited Australia several times. “He knows that it is a place where there are many Catholics from communities that represent the whole world,” Umbers said. “And this will be an opportunity to speak to the world of the saving message of Jesus Christ.”

While dates are yet to be announced, there has been some suggestion that Eucharist28 could coincide with the Rugby League Grand Final.

But Umbers is optimistic that this logistical wrinkle can be ironed out. “Sydney is a great international city, and will do everything we can to facilitate attendance at the Mass. A lot of Catholics love their footy — and if the Doggies were to make it into the Grand Final, I could have trouble trying to get some of my priests along to the final Mass,” he quipped.

This story was first published by The Catholic Weekly and has been adapted and reprinted by EWTN News English with permission.