On the occasion of the Celebrations of the Eucharist, the Inalpi Arena was transformed into a large stepped church. On the central platform, right under the golden cross that remained hanging from the ceiling throughout the gathering, the altar was set up, and the cathedra and lectern were aligned with it.
Don Paolo Tomatis, head of liturgical pastoral care for the diocese of Turin and coordinator of the Torino2024 team, and Brother Luca Gazzoni, from the diocese of Cuneo-Fossano, took care of setting up the liturgical space as Masters of Celebrations, assisted by some team members: Antimo and Renata Quarta. “If we had placed the presbytery on the stage, the people further away would not have seen anything. Instead, this solution allowed us to bring the liturgical space as close as possible to the participants, and it was also very well received, as I received many compliments,” said Brother Luca.
The Celebrations of the Eucharist held during the week were prepared by various team members from some Super Regions (French-speaking Africa, the United States, Portugal, Spain). Several priests took turns at the altar, and their images were projected on giant screens to be visible to everyone. Each of them celebrated the Eucharist in their own language. The diversity of languages did not pose a problem for the participants, who were able to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the celebration.
Given the large number of people, the distribution of Communion was entrusted not only to the ordinary priests but also to the Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist: a group of team members who received a special mandate to distribute Communion during this week. To avoid confusion during the celebration, priests and Extraordinary Ministers reached the participants in the stands so they would not have to move from their seats.
Accompanying the celebrations was a choir that sang Italian liturgical songs and also some songs in the different languages of the gathering to make the moment even more inclusive. “The most evident sign of the joy of the celebrations is indeed the singing, where the entire multilingual assembly sings and prays,” concluded Brother Luca.
