Some 5,600 delegates, including about 1,000 foreigners, have registered for the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) that will be held in Cebu City on Jan. 24 to 31, 2016.
The number is only about a third of the Cebu Archdiocese’s target of 15,000 delegates, but Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Villarojo is not worried.
“If you base it on Dublin, (where the last IEC was held), the registration, at this point in time, was 19 percent of their target. But in the case of Cebu, our registration is already 30 percent of the target,” he told Cebu Daily News.
Villarojo said he’s expecting more delegates to register by the end of the year.
“We’re expecting the registrations to be coming in around November and December when people have extra resources,” he said.
Delegates may register online at iec2016.ph or fill up the forms at the IEC Secretariat Office at St. John XXIII in Mabolo, Cebu City.
Registration fee is P8,000 for those who want to take part in the week-long congress or P4,000 for four days.
Among the speakers are Timothy Cardinal Dolan of New York, Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, Fr. Francis Maloney, Fr. Robert Baron, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio
Cardinal Tagle, Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Cardinal Quevedo, and Filipina lay speaker Dr. Josefina Manabat.
Registration will last until Jan. 20, or four days before the start of the IEC.
Fr. Carmelo Diola of Dilaab Foundation Inc. will travel to the U.S. within the week to promote the IEC and invite more delegates to attend the international gathering in Cebu City.
On Friday, Oct. 16, a Eucharistic celebration will be held at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral to mark the 100-day countdown for the international gathering.
Villarojo said the Pavilion is now 95 percent complete and will be turned over to the archdiocese when Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma arrives from Rome next month.
The Pavilion, estimated to cost P550 million, is located inside the archdiocesan seminary compound in barangay Mabolo. It is being constructed by Duros Development Construction.