The National Eucharistic Revival seeks to enkinde a living relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist
Since it launched two years ago, the national Eucharistic Revival has sought to renew the Church by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
The pinnacle event of the revival is the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, which will take place in Indianapolis in July. Tens of thousands of Catholics planning to attend will experience large-scale liturgies, dynamic speakers and opportunities for quiet prayer and faith-sharing, with six different “impact session” tracks tailored to their peer groups or faith journey.
Leaders hope attendees of the July 17-21 event become “a leaven for the Church in the United States as eucharistic missionaries going back to their parishes, but also sort of a gathering of people who are standing in the breach, or in proxy, for the entire Church across the United States, inviting that new Pentecost, and that new sending (of) healing and life to the full,” said Tim Glemkowski, CEO of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., in a meeting with media.
About 650 people from the Archdiocese of St. Louis are expected to attend the congress, said Jane Guenther, director of the archdiocesan Catholic Renewal Center and coordinator of the Eucharistic Revival in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Those attending include seminarians, clergy and religious and lay Catholics.
The national Eucharistic Revival is a three-year initiative of the U.S. bishops to inspire a deeper love for Jesus in the Eucharist. The first year was focused on renewal at the diocesan level; the second year has been centered on parish revival, with concrete steps to answer the four invitations based on the pillars of the revival: reinvigorate worship, create moments of personal encounter, engage in robust formation, and send Catholics forth as missionaries.
The congress is not the end of the Eucharistic Revival, Guenther said. At the end of the event, participants will be sent out on mission to share the gift of the eucharistic Lord, commencing the third and final year of the revival, which lasts through Pentecost of 2025.
Catholic leaders have described the National Eucharistic Congress as potentially transformational for the Catholic Church in the United States.
“I believe this event and the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage leading up to it will have a generational impact on our country,” wrote Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, and chairman of the board of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., in a commentary.
The congress will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, and the adjacent Indianapolis Convention Center. The congress distinguishes itself from other Catholic conferences because it “invites the entire Church to come to pray together for revival,” said Joel Stepanek, the National Eucharistic Congress’ vice president of programming and administration.
“We’re going to gather with those there to pray for the Holy Spirit to fall on us, to pray for revival in the Church in the United States, to pray for healing in our own lives so we might be eucharistic missionaries, and we’ll do that through powerful experiences of prayer and with the encouragement of a wonderful keynote speakers,” Stepanek said.
The congress’ theme is centered on Luke 24, which describes Jesus meeting two disciples on the road to Emmaus following His death and resurrection. The disciples did not recognize Him at first but listened to Him explain Scripture, only to later realize their companion was Jesus during their evening meal “in the breaking of the bread.” They raced back to Jerusalem to tell others what they had seen.
To learn more about the National Eucharistic Congress, visit www.eucharisticcongress.org. To learn more about the three-year Eucharistic Revival, visit www.eucharisticrevival.org.
Review staff writer Jennifer Brinker contributed some information for this story.
