Prior to the event, the New Orleans Council of Catholic Women collected donations to construct a monstrance.

[3][4] Pope Pius XI opened the Congress with a six-minute address over radio, stating that while he wept at the evils caused by the wickedness of men spurning and rejecting the gospel, he saw "a promise of better things for the universal church" in the "daily increases of ardent devotion of the august sacrament of the altar.

"[5][6] The opening Pontifical High Mass—attended by 50,000 people, including 60 bishops—was celebrated by Cardinal Mundelein while a blimp floated overhead.

[8] James Farley, United States Postmaster General, read remarks from U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt, who said, "I doubt if there is any problem in the world today—social, political, or economic—that would not find happy solution if approached in the spirit of the Sermon on the Mount.

[8] Archbishop John Joseph Mitty of San Francisco preached that the salvation of the world depends on the Blessed Sacrament.