In accordance with the national plan, a core team was formed in the St. Cloud Diocese. This team —under the direction of Bishop Donald Kettler and led by co-chairs Father Derek Wiechmann and Kristi Anderson — serves as a consultative body for the revival. It includes a broad range of men and women from various age groups, ideologies, cultures, vocations in life and apostolates.
Four working teams are offshoots of this core team: Prayer and Devotion, Education, Outreach and Event Planning. Teams are still forming, so if you’d like to get involved in one of them email eucharisticrevivalstcloud@gmail.com.
Ultimately, everyone is invited and encouraged to be part of this initiative. Rita Vanderwerf, a core team member who attends St. Mary Parish in Alexandria, aims to help with the Prayer and Devotion team to share her love of the Eucharist with others.
“When I heard the mind-boggling statistic that only about one-third of the Catholic population believes that the Eucharist is really the body and blood of Jesus, I was shocked and saddened,” she said. “I undeniably agree that we, as a Church, are in need of a Eucharistic Revival. Transubstantiation should be a fundamental belief of all Catholics. We all need to be involved in educating and being educated about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.”