Jesus really wanted a Eucharistic Revival in the U.S. From initial discernment processes and planning meetings throughout various local, regional, and national initiatives during the 3-year Revival, the Lord seemed to say over and over again, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you…” (Lk 22:15). Desiderio desideravi, indeed!
The bishops of the U.S. began their discussion about a potential Eucharistic Revival prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The planning process commenced via video conferences with partners and collaborators during the second half of the pandemic, and then the Revival began on Corpus Christi 2022. The reasons for initiating a three-year national Eucharistic Revival were in many ways obvious—declining Mass attendance, increasing religious disaffiliation, and dwindling belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist—but the response has been extraordinary and has exceeded expectations.
This bishop-led and grassroots-fueled initiative was grounded on the conviction that the truth, beauty, and goodness of the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist could still touch the hearts of contemporary Catholics. The bishops’ teaching document for the Revival delivered a simple yet profound vision: The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church called Catholics to ponder the gift of Jesus’ presence, sacrifice, and communion—as well as our response.
For the past three years, there has also been an overriding sense that the Revival was less an initiative and more a response to the Holy Spirit. After all, “to revive” is to bring something back to life, and only God can accomplish this work. Only God can draw his people into a deeper and richer experience of Life itself. Jesus longs to draw closer to his people, and he deeply desires that his Church would simply bring people to him.
“The Bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (Jn 6:51)
From very early on, these words from the Bread of Life discourse provided the foundation upon which the Revival was built. The mission of the Revival, “To renew the Church by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist,” emerged from prayerful reflection on Jesus’ self-emptying and sacrificial gift in the Eucharist. Flowing from this, the vision statement for the Revival quickly emerged: “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 focus on the Revival as a movement was significant because it needed to be distinguished from just another program; it needed to be understood as God’s movement in and through his body, the Church. While countless diocesan and parish events marked the first two years of the Revival, the “milestone moments” from the 2024 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and 10th National Eucharistic Congress confirmed just how much Jesus wanted to revive the Church in the U.S. The joy and the peace which marked these events surpassed all understanding, and books remain to be written about the long-term impact of these historic events.
As Tim Glemkowski, one of the heroes of the Revival and Congress, put it succinctly in his address to 50,000 in-person attendees and to hundreds of thousands livestreaming across the country and around the world: “This isn’t something we did for him; the reality is that this is something he did for us, that he wanted for us, that he wanted for his Church.”
The Year of Mission and Beyond
From the very beginning, the Congress and the Pilgrimage were meant to bear fruit during the Revival’s closing Year of Mission. If the bishops and countless collaborators during the 3-year Revival could ask for one lasting legacy, it might be as simple as the “Walk with One” campaign. Flowing from our Eucharistic encounters with the Lord at each celebration of the Holy Mass, what if Catholics across the country prayerfully accompanied one friend or neighbor to take a step toward Jesus and his Church? The Holy Spirit knows where each person is and what each person needs, and this simple process of evangelical discernment invites the synodal Church to listen and respond to one person at a time—bringing people to Jesus and Jesus to his people.
Missionary discipleship rooted in the Eucharist is concrete and is designed to reach out to those who are living without the light of Christ. Flowing from the mystery of the Eucharist and inviting people back to the Lord’s Eucharistic sacrifice, presence, and communion, the Church is the bearer of good news that a weary world longs to hear. “God has visited his people” (Lk 7:16): Deo gratias!
