There's plenty of elbow room

By 
  • June 18, 2008

It's taken me about three days to get my bearings here at the Eucharistic City, the new name for the Expo City grounds for the duration of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress here in Quebec City

More than 12,000 pilgrims might seem like a big crowd, but the size of the venue easily accommodates them, though you do have to wait in long lines if you want to get a hot dog or some fries or a slice of pizza.

On one end of the grounds is the Place de la Vie du Monde (Place of the Life of the World). Inside the foyer, volunteers in bright orange blazers help direct people. Some hold signs saying "I can translate" in various languages.

The registration area is huge. It's set up to be orderly, with booths serving certain letters of the alphabet. Adjacent to this area is a display area for various organizations and charities--about 80 altogether.

The Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF), the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, Salt+Light TV, EWTN and Aid to the Church in Need are among these exhibitors.

The Pepsi Coliseum is on the far end of the grounds. I figure it's about a kilometre from one end of the grounds to the other. The plenary sessions — the catechesis, the witnessing sessions and the daily Mass — take place in this converted hockey arena. I figured that because the registration area was so far away from the coliseum the exhibitors wouldn't get much traffic.

Was I ever wrong!

The exhibits don't open until 1 p.m., giving the people staffing them a chance to participate in the plenary sessions and go to Mass. Then they have to make the long trek to the other end, grab one of the box lunches the Congress provides, and be ready for the hordes of people who are flooding the corridors between the booths.

Some of the afternoon workshops are also in the Place de la Vie du Monde, so that brings traffic back that way too.

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