August 24, 2023 // Diocese

Formations Scheduled Locally for Parish Leaders of the National Eucharistic Revival

Lisa Kochanowski

Assistant Editor/Reporter

Wars and military conflict, increased poverty, climate change, high crime rates, and human rights violations plague our society. In an effort to find peace and understanding through a deeper devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops launched the National Eucharistic Revival in the summer of 2022 – a three-year period of discernment, encounter, and grassroots response at the diocesan, parish, and individual levels. The goal is to unite Catholics, inspire them, and help lead them into an intimate relationship with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

The feast of Corpus Christi on June 19, 2022, launched widespread Eucharistic processions and adoration, including an impressive turnout for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend’s procession in Warsaw. These monumental moments were followed by the Year of Diocesan Revival from June 19, 2022, until Sunday, June 11, 2023, inviting bishops, priests, and diocesan staff a chance to plan Eucharistic events and outreach efforts with many executing their events throughout the year.

We are now in the Year of Parish Revival, which began June 11 and will continue until July 17, 2024. This next phase will foster Eucharistic devotion at the parish level. Each parish and parish school in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend has developed its own plan for the parish year that best meets the needs of its community.

Father Carlos C. Velasquez, pastor of St. Brigid Parish in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, New York, holds a monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament during a Eucharistic procession in Brooklyn on May 7. More than 1,500 pilgrims from seven parishes participated in the procession, which traveled over three miles and lasted four hours. The event coincided with the U.S. church’s ongoing National Eucharistic Revival. (OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

According to Chris Langford, Eucharistic Revival Point Person for the diocese, many parishes are hosting a 40 Hours devotion, the practice of continuous prayer before the Blessed Sacrament with three successive evenings of Eucharistic preaching. A full schedule of 40 Hour devotions can be found at diocesefwsb.org/eucharist.

“Many parishes in our diocese will be offering the ‘Jesus and the Eucharist’ small group study this fall or spring,” Langford told Today’s Catholic. “A recent Pew study found that a shocking number of Catholics simply don’t know what the Church teaches about the Eucharist. This study is an invitation to change that! The small groups will gather regularly to have their faith nourished by kerygmatic (the Good News of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection for our salvation) Eucharistic teaching and to support one another in their faith. This intimate style of learning will enable parishioners to form tighter connections and grow together in the safety of a group they know.”

To assist parish priests and administrators with fostering community outreach, point people within each parish were selected to serve as the parish’s primary contact with the diocese for the revival. These men and women who have been chosen will also serve as the parish’s point of reference for the pastor, parish ministries, and regional apostolates regarding the Eucharistic Revival, as well as coordinate with the pastor and parish leadership team to identify new and existing parish initiatives that can support this process and make events known to their parish communities.

Langford said that parish point persons were appointed by the pastor, based on characteristics such as familiarity with parish organization, ministries, and processes, as well as having the desire to renew the Church by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus in the most Holy Eucharist. Having responded to the call to live as a missionary disciple, pastors have chosen people who they think are capable of galvanizing parishioners into action with the joy and zeal of missionary discipleship, to lead collaboratively with charity, patience, humility, empathy, and authenticity, and who are prayerful, organized, and who have displayed the ability to prudently discern and engage others.

Two evenings of formation for parish point persons and anyone else helping with the Revival in their parishes are scheduled. The first event will be held on Thursday, August 31, at St. Therese Little Flower parish in South Bend. The second will be held on Thursday, September 7, at 6:30 p.m. in the lower level of the church at St. Jude Parish in Fort Wayne.

“This event, created by the National Revival Team, is an evening of formation, retreat, and encouragement for all those generous souls who will engage their parishes this year,” Langford said. “Bishop Rhoades is asking all parish point persons and all those who will be assisting them to attend one of these evenings. The evening will include information regarding the National Revival Team’s Parish Playbook and how to implement it, along with other important resources. The national speaker will be Jason Shanks of Our Sunday Visitor, who is also a member of the National Eucharistic Revival team.”

Anyone interested in contributing to the Eucharistic Revival in their parish is encouraged to reach out to their pastor and parish staff, especially their parish’s point person. Upon completion of the Year of Parish Revival, the Church will begin the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage from May 17, 2024, through July 16, 2024, where people will process with our Eucharistic Lord more than 6,500 miles, through cities, along highways, and past rural towns, to the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. After the congress, the Church will begin the Year of Going Out on Mission from July 21, 2024, until Pentecost 2025.

“Our hope for the parish year is that every parishioner will deepen their understanding and devotion to our Lord in the Holy Eucharist and will become equipped and inspired to spread the Good News of Jesus and his Church with the world, including their friends, co-workers, neighbors, family, and especially those on the margin,” Langford said. “We also encourage all the faithful to look forward to the National Eucharistic Congress, which will occur in Indianapolis in July of 2024, immediately following the conclusion of the parish year.”

Discount passes to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis are available on the diocesan website.