Archdiocese of St. Louis to join dioceses across U.S. in launching revival in June
The feast of Corpus Christi, Sunday, June 19, will mark the beginning of a three-year Eucharistic Revival in the Archdiocese of St. Louis and in dioceses across the United States.
The revival will include opportunities to nurture the belief and devotion to the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski said in a video message about the revival.
The revival “is a beautiful invitation to grow in our living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist; to experience His love and mercy; and to share that love and mercy with the world,” he said.
The U.S. bishops are calling for a three-year grassroots revival of devotion and belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. They believe that God wants to see a movement of Catholics across the United States, healed, converted, formed and unified by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist — and sent out in mission “for the life of the world.”
The mission of the national revival effort is to renew the Church by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. The four main pillars of the movement are healing, conversion, formation and unity.
The revival will culminate with a National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21, 2024, in Indianapolis. It will be the first time in 45 years that a Eucharistic Congress has been held in the United States. In 1976, the United States hosted the 41st International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia, with keynote speakers Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (soon to be elected Pope John Paul II) and Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
In the Archdiocese of St. Louis, parishes have been invited to ring their bells in unity at 3 p.m. on June 19, following a Holy Hour the week of June 13 to prepare for the revival. Parishes also have been asked to host an hour of adoration Thursday, June 16, to pray for the success of the revival.
“The Eucharist: Mystery of Presence, Sacrifice and Communion,” a yearlong series of monthly presentations on the Eucharist by Lawrence Feingold, kicked off June 2 at the Cardinal Rigali Center in Shrewsbury. Each monthly presentation will be held on different dates at several locations throughout the archdiocese and will be available in English and Spanish. Feingold is an associate professor of theology and philosophy at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary and the author of several books related to the Eucharist. For dates and locations, see https://allthingsnew.archstl.org/ Eucharistic-Revival-Events.
The following are a sampling of parishes that will host Corpus Christi processions June 19, or other dates as noted
• Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, June 19 at noon, with Archbishop Rozanski presiding;
• Ascension in Chesterfield, June 19 following the 5:30 p.m. Mass;
• Parishes of the North County Deanery, beginning at Sacred Heart in Florissant June 19 at 7 p.m.;
• Assumption in south St. Louis County, June 19 following the 6 p.m. Mass;
• Holy Infant in Ballwin, June 18 following the 4 p.m. Mass;
• St. Ambrose in St. Louis, June 19 following the 11 a.m. Mass;
• St. Francis Borgia and Our Lady of Lourdes in Washington, June 19 after 11 a.m. Mass at St. Francis Borgia, processing to Our Lady of Lourdes;
• St. Ignatius in Concord Hill (Marthasville), June 19 at 9 a.m.;
• St. Joseph in Manchester, June 19, 1 p.m. Holy Hour in the Parish Center and 1 p.m. Spanish-language Mass. All are invited afterward to the courtyard for a Corpus Christi procession;
• St. Mary Magdalen in St. Louis, June 19 following the 9:30 a.m. Mass.
For more information on the national Eucharistic Revival, visit eucharisticrevival.org. For information on the Eucharistic Revival in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, see allthingsnew.archstl.org/eucharistic-revival.
