Lenten campaign 2026
This content is free of charge, as are all our articles.
Support us with a donation and enable us to continue to reach millions of readers.
Bishop Andrew Cozzens reflected on the successes of the Eucharistic Revival and described what he thinks should happen as the process moves into the next phases.
Speaking to Aleteia, Cozzens, the bishop of Crookston, Minnesota, and the chair of the board of the National Eucharistic Congress, praised the Eucharistic Revival's impact on how Catholics share their faith with others.
The first National Eucharistic Congress in decades was held in 2024 in Indianapolis, as part of a three-year project called the "Eucharistic Revival." The Eucharistic Revival began in 2022, and included events on the local and national level. The year 2025 was considered the "Year of Mission," and encouraged people to evangelize on the grassroots and local level.
The next National Eucharistic Congress will be held in 2029.
An impact report published in January 2026 found that those who participated in at least one of the National Eucharistic Revival events were "50% more likely to reach out and share their faith afterwards."
"So one of the things that was really beautiful about the revival was this bringing together and strengthening of the Catholic Church," Bishop Cozzens said.
The Holy Spirit is at work strengthening the faith of young people, he added.
"We are experiencing revival, and I don't think it was only the work of the [Eucharistic] Revival," he said. College campuses have "record numbers of people coming to join the Catholic Church right now."
"I think that's what we're seeing among young people, is a connection to the Holy Spirit, which the Revival is a part of," said Bishop Cozzens.
When compiling the report, the bishop said he was "really struck by" the number of priests who said that the Eucharistic Revival encouraged them to grow in their ministry, and helped them to grow in a more personal way with the Eucharist. This, he said, was not an intended goal of the Eucharistic Revival, but was something he was glad to see, regardless.
The Eucharistic Revival, said Bishop Cozzens, was "just the beginning," and moving forward, there will be additional emphasis placed on reaching those who are in the peripheries of the Church.
"I'd like to continue to see this missionary conversion of the Catholic Church in the United States, that every Catholic could come to see themselves as a missionary," he said. "Evangelization has a Eucharistic heart."
This mentality, he believes, is going to "have an impact over the generations."
"We got some critiques all along that we were too focused on adoration and worship, and not enough focus on outreach, but I think the study actually showed that when people got more engaged in narration of worship, they got more engaged in outreach," said Bishop Cozzens.
"What happens is, you encounter Jesus, and your heart becomes on fire and then you want to spread it."
![[LIVE from Indy]: The energy in this room could change the country](https://wp.en.aleteia.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/Day-2_Josh-Applegate_29.jpg?resize=300,150&q=75)
