The National Eucharistic Revival has entered its pilgrimage phase. According to the official timeline, the pilgrimage culminates in July 2024 at the Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis followed by a year of mission that extends to Pentecost 2025.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston in Minnesota, the chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, delivered a presentation announcing the plans for the Eucharistic Revival in June 2021 at the USCCB’s Virtual Plenary Assembly. In his address, Cozzens explained how the idea for the Revival originated, saying, “Even before the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically affected our worship, Bishop Robert Barron had proposed to the bishop chairs of about 10 committees the possibility of doing a three-year Eucharistic Revival in the United States, imitating the Encuentro process.”

Bishop Barron’s proposal appears to have been prompted by a 2019 Pew survey reporting that only 31% of Catholics in the US believe in the Church’s doctrine of the real presence (that bread and wine become the body and blood of Our Lord in the Eucharist). Many of the US bishops have cited the Pew survey in their explanations of why they believe the Revival is necessary.

The Pew survey has not been without its critics, however. Some have questioned the wording of the survey question, arguing that the theological phrasing was imprecise. For example, Timothy Brunk, an associate professor of theology at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, told the National Catholic Reporter, “It’s very difficult to determine from this survey how much of the disappointing results are a function of the phrasing of the question and how much is a function of what people really do or do not understand about transubstantiation and Real Presence.”

A more recent study released in last month by The Center for Applied Research In the Apostolate (CARA), however, found that “64% of respondents provided responses that indicate they believe in the Real Presence.” It also revealed that, “Among all respondents stating a belief in the Real presence, 95% of weekly Mass attenders believe in the Real Presence. Eighty percent of those who attend less than weekly but at least once a month believe as well.”

It should be noted also that the Pew number is based on “self-identified” Catholics, regardless of church attendance or parish affiliation. Not only do the CARA results strongly indicate that not only do most Catholics believe in the real presence, but those in the pews overwhelmingly believe in the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist.

Some US Catholics have questioned the timing of the Eucharistic Revival, which was announced more than a year after Pope Francis announced another major initiative, the global Synod on Synodality, with its theme, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission.” The purpose of the Synod is to embody the Second Vatican Council’s intention for the Church to carry out its calling as the People of God with the participation of the laity and episcopal collegiality.

The Synod has received a mixed reaction among U.S. Catholics. Many have embraced it, but others feel apprehension concerning what the Synod might change. Some influential organizations, bishops, and cardinals have treated it with apathy, fear, and suspicion.

Throughout the Synod’s stages, people around the world have gathered to listen prayerfully to the Holy Spirit and one another in order to discern the state of the Church and identify its priorities. In the US, however, the response to the Synod has been more muted. And the bishops’ decision to launch their own multiyear project — which has overlapped with the pope’s worldwide initiative — has suggested to many Catholics that the US Church is not taking the Synod seriously and that the USCCB is not in line with the priorities of Pope Francis.

Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, shares these concerns. He has argued that the Revival seems to be an attempt to compete with the Synod and even to obstruct the implementation of the Second Vatican Council. In July, he wrote in Commonweal, “Plans for a mega-event featuring plenty of pre-conciliar piety and theology have replaced the focus on the Synod for a Synodal Church in the USCCB.” Others have expressed similar misgivings.

Competing Endeavors?

There is one fundamental aspect that differentiates the US Eucharistic Revival and the Global synodal process. The Revival is a top-down episcopal-directed venture, whereas the Synod is an inclusive discernment process that aspires to discern where the Holy Spirit is leading the Church.

In an address to the USCCB last June, Bishop Cozzens described the Revival as a “bishop-led evangelistic movement,” and said to his fellow bishops, “This is our Congress. 90 percent of us voted in favor of this Congress, and it’s a generational moment for us.” Synodality, though, is an inclusive manner of “being Church.” By contrast, the Synod is intended to be a process of discernment that began in local communities and parishes where all were invited to participate and share their thoughts, concerns, and questions with Church leadership. As the official handbook for the first phase of the synod (Listening and Discernment in Local Churches) says, the Synod is a spiritual process that “is oriented towards discernment” (2.2). We are reminded that “all the baptised are the subject of the sensus fidelium, the living voice of the People of God” (2.2), and that “all the baptised are specifically called to take part in the Synodal Process” (2.1).

Commenting on the CARA study, Bishop Cozzens said, “It’s still not good news.” He lamented that there are “people who say they believe in the Eucharist, but they don’t go to Mass. In that sense, they obviously haven’t had a real encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist.” He added that the study “might actually show us we have more low-hanging fruit than we thought we did.”

Creative, generous, and faithful Catholics have poured themselves into making the Revival successful. Still, I wonder what a survey might reveal about Catholics’ opinions concerning the Revival. Do two-thirds of Catholics believe it is transforming people’s faith in the Real Presence? Is the Revival reaching unbelieving Catholics? Do people really want their bishops to consider them to be “low hanging fruit?”

Eucharistic Synodality

Despite their seemingly incompatible natures, I believe the Revival’s goal of sparking faith in the Eucharist would be aided by the principle of synodality. Consider three practical ways Eucharistic Synodality can promote belief in the Real Presence.

Host Eucharistic Listening Sessions

In 2021, Bishop Cozzens said that his USCCB committee had consulted with dioceses, parish leaders, theologians, and prominent Catholic organizations. The committee may have overlooked one essential group: the Catholics identified in the Pew study who do not believe in the Real Presence.

For bishops to lead effectively, they must know where the flock is. Nothing in the Pew survey explained why two-thirds of Catholics did not believe in the Real Presence or whether a national revival would address the root causes. Cardinal Pierre asked the bishops in 2023, “Have we discovered answers to those questions? Do we know what are the true needs of our people?”

The CARA study demonstrated that asking open-ended questions can reveal people’s true beliefs. Convening synodal listening sessions would allow people to discuss their convictions and doubts about the Eucharist without fear of repercussions.

Since Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis has stressed, “Realities are greater than ideas.” Through prayerful listening, bishops could learn the reality of why some Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence. This would prepare them to lead in closer union with the people of God.

The Revival’s plan involves monthly gatherings where people can take part in traditional practices like Eucharistic Adoration. Imagine Eucharistic listening sessions beginning with Adoration so participants can listen to our Lord together before listening to one another.

This practice could build relationships, develop trust, and attune people to the Holy Spirit. By discerning how to increase faith in the Eucharist, organic solutions would arise that may be more locally effective than a national multimillion-dollar campaign.

Model a Synodal Church 

Since at least 2015, Pope Francis has affirmed, “It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.” The International Theological Commission has published guidelines to help the Church understand synodality. They include “participation of the of the whole People of God,” the collegial “ministry of the bishops,” and “communion between local Churches.”

The Church in the US could set out on the synodal path as trailblazers. The Revival focuses on the Eucharist. However, as currently organized it is not a model that many Churches around the world can reproduce. Most places cannot conduct expensive national events like the Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. Synodality is possible wherever two or three are gathered in our Lord’s name. Orienting a Eucharistic revival towards mission and participation can show the world how synodality can function, with the source and summit of our Catholic faith at the center.

Foster Eucharistic Mission 

Pope Benedict, in Sacramentum Caritatis, wrote, “Missionary outreach is thus an essential part of the eucharistic form of the Christian life.”

The Revival and the Synod both express this passion for mission. Revival organizers have asked Catholics to participate in mission by inviting one person to Mass and to serve the poor. A Eucharistic synod would embody the Council’s vision by finding concrete ways of nurturing participation in liturgical celebrations. Parishes and dioceses could discern how best to serve their communities by listening to the Spirit and one another.

Eucharistic synodality would also provide opportunities for people who believe in the Real Presence to evangelize those who have questions. Pope Francis has envisioned this kind of evangelistic mission: “We will approach some living sources, some witnesses who have rekindled the passion for the Gospel within the Church, so that they may help us rekindle the fire that the Holy Spirit wants to keep burning within us.”

Conclusion and Prayer

The banner on the Eucharistic Revival’s website quotes Revelation 21:5. “Behold, I make all things new.” Eucharistic Congresses, processions, and time-honored expressions of piety are cherished, but they are not new. They can, however, take on a renewed significance through the practice of synodality.

In its year of pilgrimage, the Revival has the capacity to foster the synodal spirit. As people walk together, they may engage in dialogue and share their love for our Lord. This is the heart of Eucharistic synodality. By taking those conversations and love of listening back to parishes and communities, we can generate a grassroots enlivening for our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

Pope Francis has extended his apostolic blessing to the Revival by entrusting it to the maternal intercession of Mary Immaculate. He has also encouraged us to pray the traditional Adsumus Sancte Spiritus prayer for the Synod. Let us pray and entrust ourselves to the Blessed Virgin as we travel the synodal path. Together we can discern a revived faith in Christ the Eucharist.

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Image: Photo by Erika Giraud on Unsplash