The Archdiocese of Baltimore will conclude its Year of Eucharist with a fitting celebration on the Feast of Corpus Christi June 19 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland. On the same day, the U.S. bishops will launch a three-year National Eucharistic Revival.
Edward Herrera, executive director of the archdiocesan Institute for Evangelization, said the closing celebration of the Year of the Eucharist will continue and perpetuate what has been a unifying blessing for many parishes and parishioners throughout the region.
“We are hoping to have every parish represented at the final celebration,” Herrera said. “It’s a great opportunity to bring us all together around the Eucharist.”
Herrera said it was appropriate that the yearlong celebration is concluding on the same feast day in which it started. It was opened last June by Archbishop William E. Lori as a “concrete way to connect with the Lord and experience his never-ending light.”
The finale will include a Mass, celebrated by Archbishop William E. Lori, at 11 a.m., followed by a eucharistic procession around the campus of the cathedral. Afterward, there will be treats, including a Kona Ice truck, and activities.
Herrera said it has been mission accomplished for the local Year of the Eucharist, which couldn’t have been more timely with the waning of the COVID-19 pandemic and parishioners looking to return to in-person liturgies.
The goal of the Year of the Eucharist was to “deepen the faithful’s understanding of the Eucharist and the Mass,” he said.
“It had the intention of having the faithful focus that Christ is present at Mass,” Herrera said. “He’s present in four ways – the priest celebrant, the faithful gathered, in the liturgy of the Word and in the Eucharist.”
The celebration came at an opportune time after many worshipers were unable to attend Mass in person for more than a year.
“It has rekindled and encouraged a devotion to the Eucharist,” Herrera said. “There have been a lot of ways it has encouraged women, men and families to deepen their commitment to Christ. Anecdotally, we’ve seen a lot of people for whom it has reignited their love for the Eucharist, especially after the pandemic when people were looking to get back to Mass in person.”
The three-year National Eucharistic Revival culminates with the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in 2024. The first year will get underway at the parish and diocesan levels with initiatives such as eucharistic adoration and processions. The following year there will be regional revival events, leading to the Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in 2024.
The U.S. bishops approved plans for the revival and the congress last November during their fall general assembly in Baltimore.
Archbishop Lori described the National Eucharistic Revival as an effort “inspired by the Holy Spirit, in which Catholics all around the United States, in every diocese and parish, will bear witness to the truth, beauty and goodness of the most holy sacrament of the altar.”
Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@CatholicReview.org
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