If future generations of U.S. Catholics look back on the year 2024 as a moment of significant renewal for American Catholicism, there will likely be one big reason why.

This past year saw an explosion of Eucharistic devotion and unity, as the Blessed Sacrament crisscrossed the country on four separate pilgrimage routes before 60,000 Catholics gathered in Indianapolis for Eucharistic worship, inspiration and communion.

The pilgrimage and congress concluded the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, which was initiated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2022 to rekindle Eucharistic faith in the hearts of Catholics across America.

“This was truly a grassroots response of the people of God,” said Tim Glemkowski, who was CEO of the organization that ran the National Eucharistic Congress and is now head of the nonprofit Amazing Parish. “As a witness to the breadth and unity of the Church, it served as a powerful reminder that God is with his Church today in dramatic ways.”

In fact, the Eucharistic Revival is the Register’s 2024 story of the year not only because of its historical significance and potentially transformative impact, but in part because some expected it to fail. The initiative was criticized by the likes of Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, for being built on an overly “passive” Eucharistic theology, while others criticized it for relying too much on more conservative speakers. Others thought factors like the significant price tag for the National Eucharistic Congress would dampen attendance and excitement.

But that’s not how things turned out. The revival, and the culminating congress in particular, has already been compared to World Youth Day (WYD) 1993. That event, which was held in Denver, was a significant wellspring of Catholic vitality in America for decades to come.

And now, Like WYD 30 years ago, many are hoping that the Eucharistic fire started this past year through the revival will lead to an outpouring of fervor and missionary zeal across the country.

‘Eucharistic Revival’ Generation

If that’s to take place, it will likely require the buy-in of America’s clergy, men who have devoted their lives to offering the Eucharist — and a group that Glemkowski said found the revival particularly “impactful and up-building.”

More than 2,000 priests, seminarians, bishops and cardinals participated in the National Eucharistic Congress, which took place July 17-21 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and was broadcast on EWTN. The event even included a dedicated track for clergy, while seminarians who participated remarked that they were awestruck by joining together with so many other faith-filled Catholics from across the country.

Glemkowski shared that he’s heard at least one priest mention how he thinks this generation of seminarians will be known as the “Eucharistic Revival” priests, similar to how previous generations have been connected to inspiring popes who reigned during their formative years.

Of course, the Indianapolis congress was also life-giving for the tens of thousands of laypeople who were moved by inspiring speakers like Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie and Sister Josephine Garrett, put Eucharistic love into action by serving the local poor, and joined in stadium-wide adoration of the Blessed Sacrament contained in a 4-foot-tall monstrance.

Sara Perla, of Washington, D.C., described the Congress as “a glimpse of heaven,” defined by unity, charity and worship. A longtime Church worker currently with a think tank at The Catholic University of America, Perla said that the three-day event felt like a “big reunion” where the Eucharistic context allowed old friends to get together and truly connect.

“The faithful were truly happy to be together,” she said of the experience.

Processing Through America

While the Congress served as a concentrated experience of Eucharistic fervor, the revival’s most far-reaching impact likely came in the form of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage.

The pilgrimage’s four routes, which started in the north, south, east and west and were named for regional saints, traversed 27 states and 65 dioceses. From Pentecost Sunday, the routes covered 6,500 miles on their way to Indianapolis.

Along the way, the Eucharist processed through seemingly every imaginable American landscape, from the headwaters of the Mississippi River to the busy streets of Manhattan, Nebraska farm towns to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, providing visual inspiration even to those who weren’t able to take part directly.

An estimated 250,000 Catholics participated along the way, joining in local processions, special Masses and Eucharistic adoration services, and charitable projects. The processions were marked by powerful moments of piety, Catholic communion, and more than a few stories of impressions being made upon curious onlookers.

Msgr. Roger Landry, a Columbia University-based priest who served as the chaplain of pilgrims on the Elizabeth Ann Seton route from the east, described the experience as “the great highlight of my life.”

“To have the privilege to spend two months carrying the Eucharistic Jesus across the country, adoring him, speaking to and of him, giving him to so many in Holy Communion, and trying to help people come to know, love and adore and serve him, too, was enthralling,” said the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, priest, whom Pope Francis named a monsignor in December. “It was life-changing and filled me with great hope for the Church in the future.”

Father Paul Hedman, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, participated in the Source and Summit Procession in Minnesota’s capital city. More than 7,000 local Catholics joined in, making the procession the single-most-well-attended pilgrimage event.

The young priest said he was edified by not only the size of the procession, but the diversity of its members, “all coming together to worship Jesus.”

“It’s encouraged me to want to push for more events similar to that, both within my own parish and also ones that bring parishes and dioceses together,” said Father Hedman.

The Next Impact

The National Eucharistic Revival’s big year also coincided with another major Catholic initiative: the culmination of the Synod on Synodality. But while some commentators saw the two events as opposed to each other, and an indication of a disconnect between the Vatican and the U.S. Church, that’s not how the revival was seen in Rome.

Pope Francis praised the effort in a letter that was read during the congress, while papal nuncio to the U.S. Cardinal Christophe Pierre gave a speech in November that highlighted how both the Eucharistic Revival and synodality can foster missionary zeal and evangelization if they are rooted in the heart of Christ.

To that end, U.S. Catholics are now encouraged to embrace the “missionary” phase of the revival, including initiatives like “Walk With One,” which aims to foster evangelization through personal accompaniment.

Glemkowski noted that Eucharistic fervor will continue to be sustained with future pilgrimages and congresses, but also underscored the importance of small, personal commitments, like worshipping the Lord “in the dark quiet of 6:30 a.m. Masses.”

He said the success of the National Eucharistic Revival was a story of this kind of dependence upon God — and so will be whatever kind of rejuvenation of American Catholicism that comes from it.

“We hoped to see a movement whose fruit would outpace or own meager efforts, all accomplished by his power and not our own. I am waiting with anticipation to watch God keep going.”