Local Families Join Universal Church Family at Eucharistic Congress

Dr. Brian Pedraza, director of The Dominus Project and associate professor of theology at FranU, said, “It was an honor to walk with nine families (44 people) from the diocese, sponsored by The Dominus Project, who would not have been able to make the journey on their own.  

“They encouraged each other in the hard times. We had a saying, ‘POPE,’ which means ‘Part Of the Pilgrimage Experience,’ whenever we encountered difficulties and celebrated together in the good times. Their faith, especially that of their children, inspires me, and I can't wait to see what fruit the Lord grows from this experience over the long haul.” 

This was particularly true for Johnny and Caroline Mondello and their children William, 18, Andrew, 15, Madeline, 13, Brianna, 7, and Ethan, 2. They had a nice flight to Indianapolis, the kids were “doing great” and things were going smoothly until they arrived at the Airbnb they booked. It was in an unsafe neighborhood and uninhabitable. 

Top Right Photo: Eucharistic adoration was one of the highlights for local families attending the Eucharistic Congress. Photo provided by Danielle Cazenave
Above Photo: There were ample opportunities for families to be involved in service. One of them was packing food to feed the hungry. Participating in this project were the Mondello family, from left, (front) Brianna, and William, Johnny (in back) Madeline, Caroline, holding Ethan, and Andrew. Photo provided by Caroline Mondello

The last straw was when they were going to leave and could not lock the door and the owner told them, ‘Yeah, that happens sometimes.’” 

The family immediately packed everything back up in their rented van and headed to the Congress. With no affordable places to stay, they were looking at being homeless. 

That is until they called Jennifer Usher, project coordinator for the Dominus Project. 

“She assured me that we were going to have a place to stay,” said Caroline. 

And they did through the help of Father Andrew Merrick, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Prairieville and director of seminarians for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, and the seminarians. The seminarians gave up their room for the family to have a place to stay and supplied them with their breakfast vouchers.  

Among the families attending the Eucharistic Congress were the Daniel and Lisa King family: front row, from left, Mollie, Ruth, Emmeline, Eleanor; middle row, Lisa, with Agatha in the carrier, Samuel, Daniel, and back row, Ava. Photo provided by Lisa King

A Holiday Inn employee worked out the housing arrangements for all and gave up her own staff benefits. 

“There was one miracle after another. Father Andrew and the seminarians met me in a dark parking lot at 11 p.m., and they hugged me and helped my family move into our room,” said Caroline. 

“Physically we felt like God put us in the middle of this and said, ‘This is where I want you to be,’” stated Caroline. 

Other families attending the congress conveyed that any sacrifices they made were worth it to attend the historical event for the church and nation. 

The Cazenave family enjoyed the Cultivate family track of the congress. They are from left, Beau, Lainey, Danielle, and Adeline. Photo provided by Danielle Cazenave

“There were plays, we got to hear from Father Leo (Patalinghug, award winning cook and radio and TV host), who was so good with the kids – very entertaining,” Danielle said. “There was lots of music and dancing. Another great thing for my girls was the catechesis of The Good Shepherd. It was a Montessori–type area and the girls learned how to set up an altar and play with the vestments and different pieces of the Mass that we don’t get to touch as a congregation.”

“The second most memorable moment is when Jonathan Roumie read from the Scripture of John. The way he read it was really powerful, and it really hit home what the eucharist is all about,” said Beau. 

While the family had been reading the Bible before the Congress, Adaline and Lainey want to be more involved in church. 

Lots of hands-on activities provided fun while teaching catechetical lessons. Pictured is Adeline Cazenave with various pieces of the Mass. Photo provided by Danielle Cazenave

Intermingling with religious and laity inspired Lisa and Daniel King, whose children are Ava Elise, 14, Emmeline Margaret, 11, Molly Elizabeth, 9, Eleanor Rose, 7,  Samuel Richard, 5, Ruth Delaney, 21 months, and Agatha Clare, six months. Their experiences at the congress far outweighed the sacrifices they made, which included long flight delays home due to the recent global technology outage. 

Lisa said she would attend the Congress again “in a heartbeat.” The family hopes to attend the next Eucharistic Congress in 2033. 

The King Family were delighted by the sites and sounds of the Eucharistic Congress. Photo provided by Lisa King

“We met people from most of the states, Australia, Canada, Cameron, France, Mexico, and more,” said Lisa. “Our church is truly universal which makes it so much more special. We even had opportunities to go to Byzantine and Eastern Orthodox Masses. We sang hymns in Spanish and French and of course Latin. At the closing Mass on Sunday, Cardinal Tagle said, ‘Good morning to you’ in 11 different languages.” 

Daniel said, “To me one of the most meaningful parts of the congress was being able to expose our children to so many religious in one place. As a father of seven, six of which are girls, it is a mission of mine to have our children know that it’s ok to be called to religious life.”  

Daniel added, “To see that these are normal everyday people who were open to God’s call and the joy that they have with each other truly makes my heart happy, and I pray that our kids will be open to discernment as well. There is such a need for kids to be exposed to religious life at a young age. Especially girls, who may not get to see a sister or nun at their parish.”

The Mondello Family joined thousands of attendees attending the Congress. Photo provided by Caroline Mondello