«Lo spettacolo religioso più impressionante che il mondo abbia mai visto». Visioni della cultura di massa americana in un documento per Pio XI

The essay presents and analyzes the “Report of the 28th International Eucharistic Congress held in Chicago from June 20 to 24, 1926,” a 199-page typescript written by papal legate Giovanni Bonzano and addressed to Pius XI. The source offers a detailed account of the 28th International Eucharistic Congress, reconstructing ceremonies, liturgies, and organizational arrangements for Eucharistic devotion in a US metropolis. The case of Chicago is particularly significant because of the minority position of Catholicism in a rapidly changing society. The report also extends to a description of urban modernity in New York and Chicago, highlighting technologies, mass communication, and organizational models. Bonzano highlights the potential offered by radio, print, and amplification for the spread of worship and the expansion of Catholicism. The document also provides a subjective and admiring view of the “American model,” shared by the pontiff himself. In the words of Pius XI, the congress appears to be a global success, due to mass participation and the manifestation of the universality of the Church. At the same time, the event testifies to the ability of religion to integrate with the scientific and organizational innovations of modernity. On a historiographical level, the source sheds light on the relationship between Catholic culture and American society in the interwar period.