While on a pilgrimage to Rome in the spring of 2023, Father Tony Cecil’s cell phone was stolen. Roaming in Rome without a phone to distract him, he said, his encounter with beauty took him by surprise.
“It was the best trip I’ve ever been on,” he said in a recent interview.
Father Cecil, pastor of St. Raphael Church, went on the pilgrimage as a participant in the Eucharistic Culture Project, a program of the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Center for Church Life. His participation was part of the Archdiocese of Louisville’s response to the National Eucharistic Revival.
He was one of 21 members of the program’s inaugural cohort — five of whom were priests. Each member was tasked with developing a project to “foster a eucharistic culture in parishes, schools, and dioceses,” according to the institute’s website, mcgrath.nd.edu.
His experience on pilgrimage paved the way for his proposal: He set out to provide eucharistic formation to his parish staff through a local pilgrimage, he said.
At the core of the Eucharistic Culture Project is a belief in the transformative power of the Eucharist, said Father Cecil.
“When people encountered Jesus in the Gospel, they were changed,” he said.
That’s what should happen when we encounter the Eucharist, he said, adding, “Our encounters with Jesus in the Eucharist spill over into every aspect of our lives, our culture.”
He decided that he needed to facilitate this transformation for his parish staff.
Father Cecil said he learned through the program that a priest’s primary mission field is his staff.
“No priest can pastor a parish by themselves,” he noted.
Yet some parish staff members don’t have formation in theology or previous experience in parish ministry, he noted. They may not have access to further education or a formational pilgrimage abroad.
Father Cecil said he felt “woken up” to the reality that he could engage his parish staff in formation for ministry.
He began developing his project with the question, “How do I build a eucharistic culture on my staff so they can join me on mission to our parish?
He completed the project this summer, but hasn’t implemented it yet.
Blending formation, transformation in the Eucharist, local church history and pilgrimage experiences, the project has three parts.
— First is the formation of the parish priest, in which the priest identifies his “desire for his ministry at his parish” and reflects on his relationship with his parish staff.
— The second part is making a local pilgrimage with the parish staff. At each pilgrimage site, the parish staff would reflect on a “eucharistic theme” connected to the site’s history. Sites include St. Thomas Church in Bardstown, Ky., the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Ky., the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown, Ky. and the Cathedral of the Assumption. The local pilgrimage would conclude at the group’s parish.
— Thirdly, the priest would lead his parish staff in a monthly day of formation, reflecting on the eucharistic themes that emerged at the pilgrimage sites. It would include adoration and shared meals, he said.
Father Cecil said the project can be adapted for different parishes and dioceses.
Projects completed by other members of his cohort included: “A Eucharistic Spirituality of Infertility,” “Inmates Serving as Eucharistic Missionaries,” “A Eucharistic Camino through the Shrines of Pittsburgh,” “New Eucharistic Music” and more.
