
Eucharistic Congress Ipswich 2026: Principal Mass for the Ipswich Deanery
About this event
Principal Mass — The Corn Exchange
The week culminates in a major diocesan gathering at the Ipswich Corn Exchange — the closing Mass celebrated by Bishop Peter Collins and Bishop Alan Hopes concelebrating, bringing the whole community together for a shared act of thanksgiving. This will be the principal Mass for the town that Sunday.
Parishioners are warmly encouraged to attend this central celebration rather than their usual Sunday Mass. Seating is limited — advance booking is essential.
In the Diocese’s Jubilee Year — fifty years — this Congress is an act of thanksgiving and a moment of renewal. It belongs not to one parish, but to the whole town of Ipswich.
Schedule
11.00am
Holy Mass
This is not simply one event among many — it is the Mass for the whole town of Ipswich that Sunday. Catholics in the Ipswich Deanery are encouraged to attend in place of their normal parish Mass. The Mass will be celebrated by the Bishop at the Ipswich Corn Exchange and will bring the whole deanery community together for a shared act of worship and thanksgiving. Seating is limited — early booking is essential.
12.30pm
Lunch
Parishioners are encouraged to bring their own lunch or visit one of the many proprietors in the town centre.
1.30pm
Keynote one
Fr Toby Lees OP
Fr Toby Lees is assistant priest at Our Lady of the Rosary and St Dominic’s, London, and Priest Director of Radio Maria England.
2.00pm
Praise
2.20pm
Eucharistic Procession
We’ll be processing through the town of Ipswich with the Blessed Sacrament, to Lady Lane where the shrine of Our Lady of Grace once stood, joined by our pupils from our Catholic Schools.
2.50pm
Benediction
3.00pm
Break
3.30pm
Divine Mercy Chaplet
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a powerful Catholic prayer given to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska in 1935. It implores God’s mercy for the world through the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
3:45pm
Keynote two
Fr Alex Pumphrey MIC
Fr Alex Pumphrey MIC is a Marian priest based in London and a speaker on the Eucharist, conversion and Divine Mercy.
4.15pm
Praise & Worship, Adoration and Rosary