Welcome to the Eucharistic Revival
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I give is my flesh for the life of the world.” -John 6:51
What is the Eucharistic Revival?
Our world is hurting; yet, amid our fallen world, Christ is present. Jesus radically tells us in John 6:41 that “the bread that I give is my flesh for the life of the world.” The Revival is a grassroots effort to bring this radical, life-giving promise to the world, inspiring a “movement of Catholics across the United States who are healed, converted, formed, and unified by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist.”
We are now in the “Diocesan Year” of equipping and empowering leaders in the church. During this time, we invite you to join us in Diocesan Year events and explore education and formation resources, all while deepening your personal devotion to the Eucharist. On Corpus Christi Sunday in June of 2023, we will enter into a “Parish Year,” fostering “Eucharistic devotion at the parish level, strengthening our liturgical life through faithful celebration of the Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, missions, resources, preaching, and organic movements of the Holy Spirit.” This will lead into in the first National Eucharistic Congress in the United States in almost fifty years from July 17-21, 2024 in Indianapolis, which will be followed by a year of going out on mission “for the life of the world.”
Go on pilgrimage – right here in our diocese!
Join us for a self-guided pilgrimage to sites of special Eucharistic significance in our Diocese, including those with 24-hour adoration chapels, Eucharistic art, and Eucharistic patron saints. Each month, there will be a new designated pilgrimage location announced on this page. Download your pilgrimage passport and fill it in yourself each time you visit a site (e.g., just handwrite the date of your visit). Visit six sites or more during the Diocesan Year and receive a free gift from either of two Catholic bookstores in our diocese – Divine Mercy Gifts in South Bend or Good Shepherd Books & Gifts in Fort Wayne.
November Pilgrimage Site: St. Mary Parish, Huntington
Located at 903 N Jefferson St, Huntington, IN 46750
St. Mary Parish features a remarkable Eucharistic image – a stained glass window depicting St. John the apostle giving the Eucharist to the Blessed Mother. It is one of just a few known examples of this scene in stained glass. It is a beautiful image of Mary’s humility and love. Even though she was the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, carried Him in her womb, and gave birth to Him, she humbly awaits to receive Jesus Sacramentally in the Eucharist. Jesus ordained John and the other apostles as priests, at the Last Supper. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, John would have celebrated Mass and Mary would have received Holy Communion from him. When we receive the Eucharist at Holy Communion, we too become living Tabernacles, Holy Temples of the Lord, just like Mary when she carried Christ in her womb.
The church is open to pilgrims from daily from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Weekend Masses are Saturday 4 p.m. and Sunday 7:30 a.m. and 10:00 am. Daily Masses are 8 a.m. Mon-Fri. Confessions begin 30 minutes prior to the Saturday and daily Masses. Adoration is Fridays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Our Response to the Gift of the Eucharist
Eucharistic Reflection | Nov 2022
In the fourth Common Preface of the Roman Missal, the priest prays the following: For, although you have no need of our praise, yet our thanksgiving is itself your gift, since our praises add nothing to your greatness but profit us for salvation. . . . These words speak of the grace of God, the gift freely given, which inspires us to give thanks and worship him, works our transformation into the likeness of Christ, helps us to seek pardon and to receive it when we fall into sin, and impels us to go forth and bear witness to Christ in the world.
Eucharistic Revival Events
In the Diocesan Year of June 2022 – June 2023, we focus on regional Eucharistic events and on equipping leaders in the church to share Christ’s love with the faithful. Join us.
Eucharistic Formation Days (Jan + Feb, 2023)
Relic Tour of Saints with Eucharistic Devotion (Feb 2023)
Revive! City-Wide Mission Night (April 12)
Sacred Concerts (April 2023)
Evangelization Trainings (May 2023)
Parish and Community Events
Find parish and community events for the Eucharistic Revival on the diocesan events calendar.
Become equipped to confidently and peacefully share your Catholic faith in the Eucharistic Lord with anyone by attending one-day evangelization training offered by the St. Paul Evangelization Institute. The program includes a light breakfast and lunch.
- Saturday, May 6, 2023 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Fort Wayne
- Saturday, May 13, 2023 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at St. Pius X Parish, Granger
- $20 per person/couple, waivable for financial need.
More information and registration to come.
Sponsored by the Diocesan Eucharistic Revival Team with support from our host parishes.
Offer beautiful worship to our Lord with classical sacred music centered on devotion to the Holy Eucharist, with polyphony and harmony.
- Sunday, April 2 at 3 p.m. at St. Peter Parish, Fort Wayne led by Heartland Sings. An optional, freewill donation for Catholic Charities will be taken at this concert.
- Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 7 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, led by music director Mike Dulac.
- Sunday, April 23, 2023 at 2 p.m. at St. Pius X Parish in Granger, led by music director Jeremy Hoy, featuring the Notre Dame Liturgical choir and the St. Pius X choir
Sponsored by the Diocesan Eucharistic Revival Team and the Office of Worship, with support from our host parishes.
Experience a radically unique and powerful Catholic event. Join us for a regional night of transformation featuring the Damascus Worship Collective and inspirational preaching from international revivalists. You and your family will encounter a Eucharistic God who is living and active through an evening of praise, testimony, and adoration.
Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at Bishop Dwenger High School in Fort Wayne .
Sponsored by the Diocesan Eucharistic Revival Team with support from our host schools.
February 8-14, 2023, you are invited to visit one of many locations across the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend to venerate the first-class relics of Blessed Carlo Acutis and St. Manuel González García, both of whom are renowned for their devotion to the Eucharist.
Relics are a tangible way to grow closer to God through the lives of the saints. The term “relic” refers to physical objects of a saint, such as the bodily remain of a saint or an object associated with that saint. In venerating the relic of a saint, we invite God to continue to work in us through this saint.
Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades invites you to a day of catechesis and theology on the awesome gift and great mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist. He will offer talks on three fundamental aspects of the Eucharistic Mystery: The Eucharist as Sacrifice; the Eucharist as Presence; and the Eucharist as Communion. The day will also feature a Eucharistic Miracles exhibit, expo on informational materials, and more.
The conference is open to all. It is specially designed for those who are high school age and older and who are looking to enter deeper into formation as a leader in the Catholic Church.
- Saturday, January 14, 2023 at St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Fort Wayne. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Saturday, February 11, 2023 at St. Pius X Parish, Granger. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Those who speak Spanish are invited to a Spanish-language day of formation on March 4, 2023 in Elkhart. Se invita a toda la comunidad hispana de la Diócesis de Fort Wayne-South Bend a un día de formacióny oración. 4 marzo 2023 // Elkhart. Más información.
Monthly Saint of the Eucharist
Learn each month about a saint who was particularly noteworthy for his or her devotion or theology of the Eucharist.
St. Margaret Mary lived in France from 1647 to 1690 and is the apostle of devotion to the Sacred Heart. After four years suffering from paralysis, she was miraculously cured through the intercession of our Lady. As a Visitation nun, she was distinguished for obedience, humility, and love of suffering. Among the many visions she received of Christ, were those in which Our Lord told her to promote devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. From early childhood, she was intensely devoted to the Blessed Sacrament, saying “The Lord wants you to honor His life wholly given to us in the Blessed Sacrament. You must be as a burning candle with no other desire than to be consumed in His honor. Surrender yourself to the Mercy of Providence and let Him do with you according to His designs.” Her feast day is Oct 16.
St. Therese of Lisieux (the “Little Flower”) lived from 1873 to 1897, dying at only 24 years of age. She entered the Carmelite order at the age of fifteen and became directress of novices in 1895. Known for her “little way” to holiness, she was canonized in 1925 and is a Doctor of the Church. In her autobiography, St. Therese expresses her joy after receiving Holy Communion: “It was a totally heavenly happiness which words cannot express.” Also, “The best means to reach perfection is through receiving Holy Communion frequently.” And, “Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart.” Her feast day is Oct 1st.
Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, serving Christ throughout the world in the “distressing disguise of the poor”. Their life of service to Christ emanates from their profound devotion to Our Lord in the Eucharist. According to St. Teresa, “when you look at the Crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then; when you look at the Sacred Host, you understand how much Jesus loves you now. The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time that you will spend on earth. Each moment that you spend with Jesus will deepen your union with Him and make your soul everlastingly more glorious and beautiful in heaven and will help bring about everlasting peace on earth.” Her feast day is Sep 5.
St. Alphonsus Ligouri was a bishop, doctor of the church, and the founder of the Redemptorist Congregation. In celebrating Mass, his face was radiant with joy. After the Consecration, he would blush from the intensity of his emotion. He writes, “My most courteous Lord, when you enter my soul in Holy Communion, you unite with and give yourself to me, so that in all truth I can say: My Jesus, now you are all mine.” Regarding Eucharistic adoration, he says, “Pause for a while each day before Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Know that the time you spend in devotion before this most divine Sacrament will be the most fruitful in your life; it will comfort you when you die and in eternity. Give your whole self to the Lord who has given all things to you! Approach the Blessed Sacrament “as the burning bush” in order to catch fire and set others ablaze. St. Alphonsus died in 1787 at the age of 91. His feast day is Aug. 1.
St. Kateri is the first member of a North American tribe to be declared a saint. She was born in 1656 in a village along the Mohawk River in New York. Her father was a Mohawk chief, her mother a Christian Algonquin raised among the French. When St. Kateri embraced the Catholic faith and rejected her tribe’s customs by refusing to marry or take part in pagan ceremonies, she was shunned and punished by her tribe. Yet, she remained steadfast in her love of God. Kateri astounded the Jesuits with her deep spirituality and her devotion to the Eucharist. She took every opportunity to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. Because of her inspiring devotion, many strove to be near her when she received communion. Her feast day is July 14th.
St. Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Dominican friar who lived in the mid-1200s. His feast day is Jan 28. He is famous for his remarkably clear and prodigious teachings on the Eucharist, especially in his Summa Theologica. But Thomas was also the author of many of our best-known and loved Eucharistic hymns, including
- Panis Angelicus (Bread of Angels) sung by Josh Groban
- Adore te Devote (Humbly I adore thee) Gregorian Chant
- O Salutaris hostia (O saving victim) Gregorian Chant
- Pange Lingua Corperis (Now, my tongue, the mystery telling) Gregorian Chant
- Tantum Ergo Sacramentum (Come Adore) sung by Daughters of Mary
Click to download audio file for “St. Thomas Aquinas in a minute.“