SCRANTON – After gathering together hundreds, if not thousands, of faithful parishioners last year during Lent for a series of Holy Hours, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, is hoping for an even bigger showing this year!
Bishop Bambera plans to once again visit each of the 12 deaneries in the Diocese of Scranton to celebrate a Holy Hour this Lent.
Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which takes place this year on Wednesday, Feb. 14, and lasts for 40 days.
In conjunction with the National Eucharistic Revival that has been taking place in our country since Corpus Christi Sunday in 2022, each Holy Hour will feature exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Vespers, and a homily on the Most Holy Eucharist.
The Holy Hours this Lent will begin at Holy Family Parish in the Kingston deanery on Thursday, Feb. 15, and will end at Saint Teresa of Calcutta Parish in the Scranton deanery on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
A three-year initiative of the U.S. bishops, the National Eucharistic Revival is nearing its midpoint. The first year focused on diocesan revival, inviting bishops, priests and diocesan leaders to deepen their relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist. The Year of Parish Revival began in June 2023, with emphasis on reaching Catholics in the pews.
The coming calendar year will include the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage that begins in mid-May and the National Eucharistic Congress in July, two large-scale efforts that lead into the revival’s final year, the Year of Going Out on Mission, which ends on Pentecost 2025.
Revival leaders hope the 10th National Eucharistic Congress – the first national congress in 83 years – which will take place in Indianapolis July 17-21, 2024, can help cultivate a Eucharistic life in the tens of thousands of Catholics expected to attend.
Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minn., chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc. and chairman of the USCCB Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, said Revival leaders had a private audience with Pope Francis last June.
“He spoke very powerfully of both our National Eucharistic Revival and our congress,” Bishop Cozzens said. “It was really an incredible moment for us!”
Every parishioner in the Diocese of Scranton is encouraged to make attending a Holy Hour a priority this Lent. The faithful do not have to attend the Holy Hour in their specific deanery if it does not fit into their schedule.
The full listing of 2024 Lenten Holy Hours is available in the graphic above as well as on the Diocese of Scranton website.