“We want to encourage every parish to think about increasing Eucharistic adoration as part of the life of this revival,” he said.
The revival would culminate in summer 2024 with a Eucharistic celebration event, held in a major city, that would serve as a pilgrimage site. Cozzens said they are eyeing the Midwest as a location because of its accessibility, as well as some cities in the South; final approval for such an event would come from the body of U.S. bishops in November.
Calling the plan a “once in a generation” opportunity to impact faith life, Cozzens said the plan aims to create “Eucharistic missionaries”— people who go out to spread devotion to the Eucharist to new places, what Pope Francis calls “the margins.”
Cozzens said the bishops plan to reach out to all of the country’s Catholic universities to invite them to participate. He said he suspects some colleges will decline, but he hopes many will take them up on the offer.
"I want to have Eucharistic processions on every campus. And we have campus ministries that are ready to do that across the nation," he said.
Bishop Robert Barron, auxiliary of Los Angeles, asked Bishop Cozzens during the meeting whether he thought the timeline for the project could be sped up, in order to start the revival as soon as possible.
Cozzens responded by noting that many dioceses, such as Atlanta and St. Augustine, are starting “Eucharistic revivals already, and they should continue to do so as soon as they would like to. The bishops’ plan is designed to support, not replace, efforts at Eucharistic revival at the local level”, he said.
The plan for a Eucharistic Revival comes soon after the U.S. bishops on Thursday debated drafting a teaching document on the Eucharist, which would include a subsection on “Eucharistic coherence,” or worthiness to receive Communion.
In a proposed outline of the document, the bishops’ doctrine committee cited the special need for Catholic public officials to uphold Church teaching in public life, but stressed that they are not drafting any national policy of denying Communion.
Jonah McKeown is a staff writer and podcast producer for Catholic News Agency. He holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has worked as a writer, as a producer for public radio, and as a videographer. He is based in St. Louis.