During the 2024 International Eucharistic Congress in Quito, Ecuador, around 65,000 hosts are being consecrated during Masses, and they are made in a particularly significant place: the former home of Ecuador’s first saint, St. Mariana of Jesus. After her death, this home was converted into the Old Carmelite Monastery of San José, also known as El Carmen Alto, located in Quito’s historic district. The saint lived here from 1618 to 1645 and had a deep devotion to St. Teresa of Jesus, the Carmelite reformer. St. Mariana had expressed her wish for her home to become a Carmelite monastery, which it did shortly after her passing. Today, it is home to 21 nuns, who have been making the hosts for the congress.

In recent weeks, the nuns have prepared 133 packages of 500 small hosts each and 130 packages of 25 medium-sized hosts, along with large-sized hosts for the Congress. The prioress, Mother Verónica of the Holy Face, explained that making the hosts is a way of “bringing Jesus into our lives and the hearts of the people.”

The process of making the hosts involves mixing wheat flour and water to form dough, which is then shaped into sheets by a machine. The edges are trimmed manually, and the sheets are moistened and dried to prevent lumps. These sheets are then cut into small and medium-sized hosts using different machines. The cutting process alone can take up to three hours. The nuns carefully inspect the hosts, selecting only the perfect ones, while those that are misshapen or broken are sold to the public.

Typically, the monastery produces 28,000 hosts per batch, with 70 packages of 400 hosts each. The sales of these hosts support the nuns financially. Despite the additional workload for the International Eucharistic Congress, the nuns still maintain a balance between their daily tasks. In the mornings, they prepare meals, and in the afternoons, they dedicate time to making the hosts and to their own studies.

Mother Verónica emphasized the spiritual significance of the Eucharist, saying that all the monasteries in Ecuador make hosts to help people receive Jesus, who is "our food." She expressed concern that many do not fully appreciate the value of the Eucharist, which has led to confusion and distance from God. She recalled how saints like St. Mariana de Jesus sustained themselves solely on the Eucharist, with St. Mariana reportedly eating nothing else in her final months.

The prioress lamented the decline in devotion, noting that churches and tabernacles are often empty, while digital distractions dominate people’s attention. She emphasized that Jesus remains present in the Blessed Sacrament, waiting for people to come to him, just as Martha once called Mary to see the Master. She hopes that through their contemplative life and dedication to making the hosts, the nuns can help people reconnect with Christ in the Eucharist and find spiritual strength.