Diocese of Providence video screengrab / YouTube
Editor’s Note: This article previously incorrectly indicated that Bishop Henning was Bishop of Wilmington. He is currently Bishop of Providence, Rhode Island and will be installed as Archbishop of Boston on October 31.
CV NEWS FEED // The soon-to-be-installed Archbishop of Boston reminded the faithful of the Diocese of Wilmington of the centrality of the Eucharist, just before taking up his new see.
In a powerful 45-minute keynote on October 5, Archbishop-elect Richard Henning presented a sweeping overview of salvation history in relation to the Eucharist during the Diocese of Wilmington’s Eucharistic Congress at the Roland Powell Convention Center. The event brought together more than 2,000 attendees.
Archbishop Henning, currently serving as Bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, will be installed as Archbishop of Boston on October 31.
Drawing from his background in Scripture studies, Archbishop Henning reflected on the “central place of the Eucharist in God’s plan for salvation and in the life of the Church.” He emphasized the Eucharist as the “source and summit” of the Church’s life, tracing its significance in a sweeping overview of Scripture.
Archbishop Henning emphasized God’s unwavering faithfulness throughout history, despite man’s repeated failures and sin, drawing connections between the Old and New Testaments.
“Jesus becomes the partner with God,” he said. “He is the faithful descendant of Abraham as promised. He is the faithful Israelite who lives the law of God. He is the royal Son of David who is going to bring God’s people to salvation. He is the one who fulfills even that covenant of Noah, the renewal, the recreation, the renewal of creation itself — all of this now in this person of Jesus, who is fully human and fully divine. It is God giving to us his own heart and giving us now that partner who can do for us what we could not do for ourselves, the one who will return that perfect love and trust.”
The Archbishop urged attendees to embrace the intimate relationship Christ offers through the Eucharist. He described the sacrament as the foundation of the Church and the path to unity with God.
“The church is born from the side of Christ. It is born from the gift of the Eucharist … the source and summit, a new covenant, a renewed humanity,” Archbishop Henning said.
He added that the “whole point of the Eucharist was to draw us to the heart of God … The whole point of our salvation is that we couldn’t pull it off. We could not find our way back to God. We couldn’t even reconcile ourselves or be one with one another, until he does it for us.”
Sister Virginia Peckham, of the Little Sisters of Mary and Jesus, praised the talk for its depth. “I loved the way he connected the Old Testament with the New,” she said. “And I especially loved the image of God’s partnership with humanity in the garden and the intimate image of the Father holding Jesus to his heart.”
