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CV NEWS FEED // A Denver parish that has had daily Eucharistic adoration for over 90 years has become a quiet refuge of devotion in the city, and as such, will be a stop for the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage as it makes its way to Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress.
Denver Catholic reported that Holy Ghost Parish received permission to expose the Blessed Sacrament daily from then-Bishop Urban Vehr in 1933, making it one of the only churches west of St. Louis with such a rare privilege.
“This privilege comes at a most opportune time,” the Denver Catholic Register reported in its 1933 issue, “when there is urgent need of prayer and supplication for the assistance of Divine Providence in meeting the many problems, financial and others, that face the world today. It will offer the much-needed incentive for a return to prayer as the means of hope and perseverance to the end.”
Written more than 90 years ago, the Register’s words still apply today as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ National Eucharistic Revival comes to its culmination with the Congress in July.
Catholics across the nation are more in need than ever of a spiritual revival, but Holy Ghost has been living out the National Eucharistic Revival with its deep devotion to the Eucharist for years.
The pastor of Holy Ghost, Fr. Paul Nguyen, O.M.V., told Denver Catholic that the daily exposition of the Eucharist is a “vital lifeline, even as there are a lot of things that threaten that.”
He added that there is no shortage of distractions, like drugs, violence, and sirens heard throughout the city, but that “the Lord who makes himself present in the Eucharist is trying to proclaim something different, something higher and life giving.”
Former pastor Fr. Chris Uhl, O.M.V., told Denver Catholic that entering Holy Ghost for adoration leaves a deep impact on visitors.
“They’re literally blown away by the holiness and the features of the church,” he said. “People walking in, they just get a sense of the holiness of the place.”
“You hear in talking to countless people that they never knew the church was here,” Fr. Uhl added. “They come in and they see it and they’re just really impressed with the architecture and the holiness and things like that. That’s the initial draw.”
Denver Catholic reported:
Once inside the church and struck by its beauty, these souls have an encounter with Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist. They see confessionals open and available for them to receive God’s mercy. They find a quiet retreat from the sounds and smells of downtown, an invitation to and from heaven. This environment of prayer comes together by the work of the Holy Spirit, Father Uhl shared, saying, “Those are things that happen not by design, not by hours of this or anything like that. That’s the Holy Spirit working.”
Fr. Uhl concluded by pointing out that Holy Ghost is one of the only things in Denver that has remained stable and unchanged for so long.
“When you look at the history, all the things that have gone on around this area, Denver, Holy Ghost is really the only thing left. It really is,” he said. “Catholicism and Holy Ghost hasn’t gone anywhere. And we’re not going anywhere. We’re still here. We’re in the midst of all the cutting-edge technology and things that are going on. We’re still here and we still present the faith and we present many beautiful aspects of the faith.”
