Asked how the Church can deepen understanding of the Eucharist in a national, three-year Eucharistic Revival culminating in a National Eucharistic Congress, Bishop Andrew Cozzens referred to Jesus saying a lighted lamp does not belong under a bushel basket.

“Set it up on a hill so that people can see it and be attracted to it,” Bishop Cozzens said. “And I think that’s what we want to do with our teaching on the Eucharist.”

Bishop Cozzens, auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis and bishop-designate of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, described the Eucharistic Revival, set to begin next June, and the Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in 2024, at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Fall General Assembly in Baltimore. Leading the effort as chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, Bishop Cozzens said he sensed the Holy Spirit “was really moving” among the bishops, especially on the topic of the Eucharist.

Joe Ruff, news editor of The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the archdiocese, and Maria Wiering, its editor-in-chief, interviewed Bishop Cozzens and Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis on the fourth and final day of the USCCB assembly in Baltimore Nov. 18. The half-hour interview was broadcast live on the archdiocese’s Facebook page.

Bishop Cozzens said the assembled bishops showed unity and excitement about the revival.

“It seems to me it’s actually a real work of the Holy Spirit,” Bishop Cozzens said, “and you could sense it throughout the week and in the conversations … and the gratitude and the excitement of the bishops who feel like there’s a pastoral need that we’re fulfilling.”

During the assembly, the bishops voted to draft a formal statement on the meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the Church. Archbishop Hebda said it represents the common understanding of the bishops as they restate long-held Church teaching.

The document provides a blueprint that will help throughout the Eucharistic Revival, and specifically for programs like the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and small groups in parishes, the archbishop said.

“I think it’s going to be really helpful for people who want to go deeper in their faith and to be reminded of why the Eucharist and the eucharistic sacrifice is the source and summit of all Christian life,” he said. “I just love the way that it reflects that excitement that the bishops have about being able once again to promote, in some new ways, our love for the Eucharist.”

Archbishop Hebda said that as the faithful participate in the revival and the Eucharistic Congress, the Holy Spirit will draw people who need to have that experience. He hopes it brings unity “with that effort throughout the world” in a way “in which we’re able to really energize the faithful … and points to further deepening of our love for the Eucharist and our love for the Church.”

The first year of the three-year revival will have a diocesan focus that could include eucharistic processions, adoration and prayer, Bishop Cozzens said. The second year will focus on parishes, with catechetical resources being prepared that will help train leaders in parishes to share the meaning and depth of the Eucharist, he said.
“Those leaders will help us really reach out to the people who are … minimally connected to the Church,” Bishop Cozzens said. They may call themselves Catholic, they may sometimes attend Mass, he said, but they don’t yet understand the gift of the Eucharist. Talking with people who are not Catholic or not even Christian could be part of the outreach as well, he said.
Parishes might set up small group opportunities, parish eucharistic days and days of eucharistic service, with parishioners bringing the Eucharist to the homebound and inviting young people to that kind of service, Bishop Cozzens said.

The revival culminates in a National Eucharistic Congress hosted by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis July 17-21, 2024. During the interview, Bishop Cozzens envisioned a pilgrimage of sorts to Indianapolis that could involve processing a monstrance to various regions and provinces in the U.S., with Catholics gathered at events with their bishops. He gave the example of a potential prayer event for racial healing in the Twin Cities, an event in a Southern state focused on migrants, or an event at a prison where people could pray for healing and forgiveness.

The last National Eucharistic Congress in the U.S. occurred in 1976, drawing more than 1 million people, Bishop Cozzens said.

“I do think these big events, the Holy Spirit works through them, and I think it will have a big impact on our country,” Bishop Cozzens said. He said several bishops at the USCCB told him, “We’re coming.”

“I think it’s going to be an exciting thing,” Bishop Cozzens said. He expects 80,000 to 100,000 people to attend, although some people suggested it could draw twice that, he said.

“You wonder if there could be a future pope and future saints there as well,” said Archbishop Hebda, “that it would be something that would nurture that love for the Church and the love for her Eucharist. It really is exciting.”

Bishop Cozzens sees a World Youth Day-style event with an opening Mass in a stadium and events throughout the week — something for high school students, young adults, people from various cultures — in a festive atmosphere “that happens with people using the arts and talents to honor the Eucharist,” he said, with catechetical talks, keynote addresses, time of prayer and adoration and a large closing Mass.

Plans also are tentative, said Archbishop Hebda, and open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Bishops he spoke with about the Eucharistic Congress mentioned how the revival is being driven by the Holy Spirit, “and we shouldn’t be surprised if there were some surprises in the way in which the Holy Spirit leads us,” he said.

The archbishop said he has thought a bit about the symbolism of the Mississippi River’s headwaters in Minnesota — how something that starts small becomes something so mighty.

“This could be a real moment for us to come together and build something that’s going to be mighty in our response to Christ’s call,” he said.