Auxiliary Bishop Richard Umbers of Sydney, Australia, was so impressed by the US National Eucharistic Revival that he wishes to use it as a model for other Catholic revivals around the world. He is next going to the International Eucharistic Congress in Quito, where he will bring what he learned in the US and hopes to learn more.
The recently concluded National Eucharistic Congress in the US was attended by some 50,000 Catholics, who hailed from all 50 states and 17 countries. It was the 10th iteration of the National Eucharistic Congress, which had not been gathered since the WWII era. A monumental showing of faith, the event was preceded by years of preparation in the Eucharistic Revival and months of Eucharistic processions upon the Eucharistic Pilgrimage routes.
[If you missed coverage of the Congress, start here for an overview.]
According to Catholic Weekly, on the final day of the Congress, Bishop Umbers was invited to speak to the press as a representative. The bishop began by hailing the years-long efforts of the Catholic volunteers who raised awareness of the National Eucharistic Revival and made the cross-country trek to Indianapolis:
“We are very interested in learning all the aspects of the journey to this national congress … We’ve been following this revival, and it has captured our imagination,” Bishop Umbers commented.
Bishop Umbers recalled the grandeur of the 5-day National Eucharistic Congress, which saw daily Masses in 43 languages celebrated by some 200 bishops and 1,500 priests. He noted that the presence of so many priests was inspiring and should be seen more:
“We talk about real presence, but for that we need to be present, and present in the liturgy…. it has been an amazing experience that we can all gather so many people.”
He went on to discuss how the pandemic has hurt the Church in Australia, which is still rallying the faithful back to the pews. He explained that the Catholic Church is among the largest providers of education, healthcare, and social services in Australia, but government intervention has made it harder to operate these services in conjunction with the faith. An example of this would be the recent government takeover of Calvary Public Hospital.
While Australia faces many of the same hurdles as the US in terms of government policy working against the Church, the bishop sees this as the impetus for young Catholics to go counter to the culture and make their faithful witness public.
“The world is so connected. The kinds of challenges you’re facing here in the United States are very similar to the ones we are facing in Australia. Even culturally with the intellectual battles taking place, identifying yourself as a Christian or a Catholic in everyday life is to take it on the chin.” Bishop Umbers concluded “This is one reason why more Catholics are going out on the street and saying we believe in Jesus.”
