OSV pledges $1 million to support the national Eucharistic revival

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BISHOP ANDREW H. COZZENS
Bishop-designate Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, carries a monstrance holding the Eucharist during a procession June 19 called "Catholic Father's Day." Bishop Cozzens is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis. (CNS photo/Dave Hrbacek, The Catholic Spirit)

As the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops gathers in Baltimore today, its members are scheduled to be presented with updates regarding the ongoing plans for the national Eucharistic revival — a multiyear initiative beginning in 2022 that aims to renew and strengthen devotion to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist among American Catholics.

Today, OSV is announcing that it has pledged a four-year, $1 million grant in support of the Eucharistic revival.

OSV Publisher Scott P. Richert, who serves along with Jason Shanks, OSV Institute for Catholic Innovation president, on the executive committee of the Eucharistic revival, notes that OSV’s donation and participation in this important initiative reflects the apostolate’s commitment, since its founding, to bring all people to Christ and his Church.

“When people come to experience the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, they can no longer keep the Good News to themselves,” Richert said. “The revival of the Catholic Church in the United States will begin with millions of Catholics in prayer, both public and private, before the Eucharistic presence of Our Lord.”

In addition to the $1 million donation, Richert said that OSV is creating catechetical and devotional materials for the revival to help Catholics better understand the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist and experience Christ’s presence on the altar of every Catholic Church.

“On behalf of OSV and its board of directors, and in appreciation of the board chair, the Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades [bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana], who has fostered a love of the Eucharist both locally and nationally, we are humbled and thrilled to fund this important work,” Shanks said in a statement. “As the source and summit of our faith, the Eucharist remains central to our mission to champion the Catholic Church and pursue innovative ideas for the New Evangelization.”

This four-year initiative will have multiple phases, including Year 1 — Diocesan Renewal; Year 2 — Parish Renewal; Year 3 — National Eucharistic Congress; and Year 4 — Ongoing Revival. A website and additional resources in preparation for the revival are scheduled to launch in the winter of 2022.

“This is a once in a generation opportunity to impact the faith life of this country,” said Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens, bishop-designate of Crookston, Minnesota, and chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, which is coordinating the national revival. “This is a movement of Catholics across the United States, healed, converted, formed and unified by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist — and sent out on mission for the life of the world.”

The bishops in Baltimore are scheduled to vote this afternoon on whether or not they should move forward with the national Eucharistic Congress, currently scheduled for 2024.

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