Eucharistic revival launches in archdiocese with Corpus Christi procession

In November, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called for a National Eucharistic Revival in every U.S. diocese to renew the Church by rekindling a living relationship with Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. 

The revival launches in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City on June 19 with a two-mile Eucharistic procession to The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help on the Feast of Corpus Christi. The procession will be the first event in a three-year phase that will culminate in a national eucharistic revival event in Indianapolis. It will be the first National Eucharistic Congress in the United States in nearly 50 years.

Father Zachary Boazman will lead archdiocesan efforts.

“The Eucharist is the source and summit of our Catholic faith. The better we understand the Eucharist's role in Christian spirituality, the better we will be able to love Christ present in the Eucharist,” Father Boazman said. 

The revival is intended to be more than a series of events. It aims to be a movement that invites a transformation of hearts and lives of believers.

The first year will get underway at the parish and diocesan levels with initiatives such as eucharistic adoration and processions, the development of parish teams of revival leaders and conferences on the Eucharist.

The following year there will be regional revival events, leading to the eucharistic congress in Indianapolis in 2024. It is expected to draw at least 80,000 people from across the country.

The U.S. bishops approved plans for the revival and the congress this past November during their fall general assembly in Baltimore. Both are being spearheaded by the USCCB’s Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis.

“As Pope Francis reminded us, even in a time of turbulence and crisis, Jesus is present among us in the Eucharist – body and blood, soul and divinity,” Archbishop Coakley said. “The salvation offered in the life, death and resurrection of Christ is nothing less than sharing in the communion of love among the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. There is no greater gift God could give us. The Eucharistic Revival will be a tremendous opportunity for the faithful in our parishes and schools to reconnect and be fulfilled in the one perfect sacrifice of Jesus.”

To learn more about the Eucharistic Revival, visit archokc.org/revival.      

Diane Clay is editor of the Sooner Catholic.