The mission of the National Eucharistic Revival is to renew the Church by enkindling a living relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. This revival movement is in answer to a call by the Holy Spirit, and all the fruits belong to him.
The revival is an unprecedented movement of Catholics across the United States—healed, converted, formed, and unified by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist—sent out on mission “for the life of the world.”
The Eucharistic Revival is not a step-by-step plan or a series of meetings. Rather, the revival is a grassroots call and a challenge for every Catholic across the United States to rekindle the fire of love and devotion for the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
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Married for twenty years, father of five, and convert, Jason serves as the President of the National Eucharistic Congress. Previously the President of the Our Sunday Visitor Institute, Jason Shanks is a sought-after speaker, thought leader, and strategic mind. With degrees in the new evangelization and business, he has helped found and reinvigorate Catholic initiatives for more than two decades. In 2020, Jason was intubated for six weeks due to Covid, and through the prayers of many was miraculously healed. In 2021, he and his wife, Melissa were named Catholics of the Year for their witness to faith in a time of suffering.
Prior to joining the National Eucharistic Congress team, Kris served as a Director of Youth Ministry at the parish level and more recently as the Vice President of Vagabond Missions. Kris has also been privileged to travel around the country, sharing the Gospel with teens and adults at retreats, camps, conferences, and parish missions. Over the years, he has contributed to various evangelical and catechetical writing projects and publications. In 2020, Kris published his first book, Hope Always: An Anchor for Life’s Storms. He is a graduate of Franciscan University, where he also serves as an adjunct professor of Catechetics. Kris lives in Steubenville, Ohio, with his wife, Grace, and their five children.
A native of Denver, Bishop Cozzens is the youngest of three children. He graduated from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where he experienced a deepening of the faith through the Catholic charismatic renewal. During a period of discernment after college, Bishop Cozzens served as a traveling missionary to young people around the country with Twin Cities-based NET Ministries. He then joined the Companions of Christ in Saint Paul and worked for Saint Paul’s Outreach leading college Bible study groups.
After his year of discernment he was accepted into the Saint Paul Seminary. Four years later, in 1997, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. He served as parochial vicar at the Cathedral of Saint Paul and then Faribault Catholic Community (now Divine Mercy) before being sent to Rome for doctoral studies. Upon his return to Minnesota, Bishop Cozzens began service as an instructor at the Saint Paul Seminary.
On October 11, 2013, Pope Francis appointed him as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Bishop Cozzens’ ordination to the Episcopacy took place December 9, 2013. On October 18, 2021, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Cozzens as Bishop of Crookston.
Joel Stepanek has been actively and passionately involved in ministry for over 15 years. What began as a simple internship in a parish youth ministry office evolved into an incredible adventure that led him on numerous middle school lock-ins, high school retreats, and parish missions. Joel has traveled across the world speaking to groups of all sizes, ages, and vocations. In his new position, he is privileged to mobilize Catholics in the United States on mission through a renewed encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist. Joel and his wife, Colleen, reside in Phoenix, AZ, with their three young children.
