THOUSANDS ATTENDED THE second day of the International Eucharistic Congress at the RDS in Dublin today where the topic of ecumenism or Christian unity dominated.

The congress, which runs until Sunday, was dominated by the theme of the day, entitled: ‘Exploring and Celebrating Our Communion through Baptism’.

The 50th congress also heard from the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, who delivered an address on the church in the modern world. He told pilgrims that the church had to find new ways to present itself in Irish society today.

“To do that the Church must re-discover its own sense of communion and sense of common purpose, overcoming its internal divisions in a spirit of love of the Church and in a dialogue of charity,” he told attendees in the RDS Concert Hall.

“My hope is that this Congress may be a signpost as to how our Communion with Christ in the Eucharist can generate a new understanding of our communion with each other in a modern world which is today very different to that of the 1960s and in a future which will be even more different and challenging.”

Here are some pictures from the day’s events as the sun shone on Dublin: