Franciscan friars in New York City are bringing about a Eucharistic revival with a monthly event centered around adoration that has grown into a standing-room-only gathering.
The event, named “Catholic Underground,” attracts young adults, families, and others for adoration, prayer, opportunities for Confession, and music, The Good Newsroom reported. The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal started hosting the event years ago in response to calls from Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis, according to Catholic Underground’s website. The event is hosted every month at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish on the Upper East Side.
Brother François Fontaine, the friar who organizes and oversees Catholic Underground, said that the event is aimed at sharing the friars’ love for the Eucharist by focusing on adoration, according to The Good Newsroom. He said the event creates a place for people to encounter Jesus without distractions and be fully present.
“Our Catholic faith is a faith of the Incarnation,” he added. “God was made man. And as if that was not enough, he made himself Eucharist. He is here in front of us.”
According to Catholic Underground’s website, the event begins with Vespers and a Holy Hour, a time that includes “simple praise” and “a window for each person to personally encounter Jesus Christ.”
The second part of the evening focuses on the “new evangelization” by showcasing Catholic artists, which can encompass performances, including music, poetry, film, and dance. The Good Newsroom reported that January’s artist was country musician Bradley Banning, who converted to Catholicism in 2015.
According to Catholic Underground’s website, Cardinal Timothy Dolan praised the event in his 2015 Report on the Synod in Catholic New York, calling it one of the archdiocese’s most successful gatherings and a place for sharing “deep Catholic values in a culture and city that can indeed be at times antagonistic.”
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