Cebu City will host the next International Eucharistic Congress in 2016. Pope Benedict XVI made the announcement at the end of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, Ireland. "I would like to invite you to join me in praying for God's blessing upon the next International Eucharistic Congress, which will take place in 2016 in the city of Cebu," Pope Benedict XVI said in a message delivered from Rome. "To the people of the Philippines I send warm greetings and an assurance of my closeness in prayer during the period of preparation for this great ecclesial gathering," the pontiff added. The last time the Philippines hosted the Congress was in 1937 in Manila during the time of Pope Pius XI.