Dear Pope Leo: We Need an Encyclical on the Eucharist

If he does write an Encyclical on the Eucharist, it should be short enough to be read from the pulpit, not book-length, which no one will read!

From Crisis

By Paul Kengor

Can Pope Leo XIV help reverse the trend of Catholics who believe as Protestants believe in regards to the Holy Eucharist?

There has been much speculation and anticipation regarding the subject of Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical. He recently released his first papal document, Dilexi Te, an apostolic exhortation begun by Pope Francis. Leo reportedly made some edits to the document and added some personal reflections, but he largely seemed to leave it intact, apparently wanting to honor his predecessor by releasing the final document that Francis had commissioned. That kind of conciliatory approach is clearly emerging as Leo’s style. Unlike Francis, this pope wants to avoid division and polarization and seems committed to seeking peace—the literal first word of his papacy spoken from the Loggia on May 8, 2025.

Thus, in effect, we’re still awaiting the new pontiff’s first major document. 

While I certainly have no inside knowledge as to what Leo’s first encyclical will be, I’m hoping and praying for one decidedly more theological and, in fact, sacramental. I would like to see from Leo an encyclical on the Eucharist—or more to the point, on the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

My thinking on this is an informed opinion prompted by two things: First, the painful reality that so many self-professing Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence. And second, I’m currently finishing a major biography of Pope Leo XIV, during the writing of which I have both learned about and admired his respect for the Real Presence.

Rejecting the Real Presence

The tragic reality is that substantial numbers of Roman Catholics neither understand nor accept this central tenet of their faith. The data is scandalous. It reveals a deep, decades-long failure of rudimentary catechesis that has resulted in an embarrassingly ignorant laity. 

An August 2019 Pew Research Center study found that less than one-third of American Catholics (31 percent) believe that “during Catholic Mass, the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus.” Of this “source and summit” of our faith, nearly seven-in-ten Catholics (69 percent) say they personally believe that the bread and wine used in Holy Communion are mere “symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.”

That study was pre-Covid. During the pandemic, many Catholics abandoned Mass altogether. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised, given that many didn’t believe they were actually receiving Jesus in the Eucharist anyway. Subsequent surveys have yielded similarly disturbing numbers.

A survey released in 2023 by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) found that only 17 percent of Catholics go to Mass each week. Though belief in the Real Presence is higher among those who attend weekly, the overall numbers are still troubling. In the CARA study, a 51 percent majority of Catholics said that they believe that their Church teaches that “the bread and wine are symbols of Jesus.”

Other data could be shown. But the point is that way too many self-identified Catholics reject a core tenet of their Faith—one of the Church’s seven sacraments. They don’t believe what they were taught from the time of their first Holy Communion.

Pope Leo’s Appreciation for the Real Presence

The good news is that the new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, early in his pontificate has already shown his great respect for the Real Presence. He has a history of demonstrating that reverence, from the time he was a newly ordained priest to becoming the head of the Augustinian order in 2001.

In his opening words from the Loggia after being chosen pope on May 8, Robert Francis Prevost proudly described himself as a “son of Augustine.” He constantly quotes Augustine. He knows the venerable saint exceedingly well. And of course, Augustine (354-430) knew the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist exceedingly well.

“The Lord Jesus wanted those [who] recognize Him to recognize Him in the breaking of the bread,” wrote Augustine. “The faithful know what I am saying. They know Christ in the breaking of the bread. For not all bread, but only that which receives the blessing of Christ, becomes Christ’s body.”

Sadly, many self-identified Catholics would be perplexed by what Augustine was saying. They do not recognize Christ in the breaking of the bread. Two thousand years ago, the disciples on the Road to Emmaus recognized Him in the breaking of the bread, as did their Church henceforth. But millions of professing Catholics today do not.

One of Augustine’s most moving discourses on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist was his analysis of the Expositions on the Psalms (ca. 400) 33,1,10. There, Augustine commented on Psalm 119:109. Applying an Old Testament passage to the New Testament, Augustine asserted: “For Christ was carried in His own hands, when, referring to His own Body, He said: ‘This is My Body.’ For He carried that Body in His hands.”

According to Augustine, when Jesus held the bread at the Last Supper, He was holding Himself in His hands. 

And yet, large swaths of Catholic do not believe that such a miracle takes place today in their parishes when their priest, in persona Christi, consecrates the host. 

Of course, their pope most certainly believes it. And perhaps their new pope, Leo XIV—student, scholar, and son of Augustine—can help return them to this core doctrine of their Catholic Faith.

To that end, the faithful got an encouraging sign in the opening weeks of Leo XIV’s pontificate. In a powerful display, the new pope led the faithful in a Eucharistic procession through the streets of Rome during Corpus Christi Sunday on June 22. Faithful Catholics know that such processions are an uplifting gesture, dating back to the 13th century. Unfortunately, these processions are not done each year by every parish. Moreover, they have not been done consistently by the Bishop of Rome himself. When Pope Francis participated in a Corpus Christi procession in June 2024 (his poor health prohibited him from walking), it was the first time he had done so since 2017.

The new pope, however, led the procession himself. Leo XIV made no grand announcement and did not have the Vatican press office promote the event. He simply, silently did it. He led a 45-minute procession nearly a mile in 90-degree heat between the basilicas of St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran. The pontiff led a massive gathering of 20,000 pilgrims through the streets of Rome, hoisting high a golden monstrance encircled by precious stones. 

In his homily at St. John Lateran, the pope said that “the procession” was a “sign” to the world that “we will feed on the Blessed Sacrament, adore Him, and carry Him through the streets. In doing so, we will present Him before the eyes, the consciences, and the hearts of the people.” They would do this both for “those who do not believe” and for those who believe, “that they may believe more firmly.”

On that, the son of Augustine quoted Augustine saying that “Christ is truly present” in the bread that the faithful see and consume: the Eucharist “in fact, is the true, real, and substantial presence of the Savior, who transforms bread into Himself in order to transform us into Himself.”

Here was the new pope teaching the faithful about the Real Presence. The head of the flock knows not only that the sheep need to be fed, they need to be led. They need to be taught. Catholics badly need catechesis on the Real Presence not only from their priests and Religious Ed classes and RCIA; they need it from the top—from the Vatican, the magisterium, the Holy Father. 

As for Pope Leo’s first encyclical, well, there are countless worthy subjects demanding his attention. And yet, few seem as worthy as the precious Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. It is the source and summit of our faith. Here’s hoping and praying that we will get that faithful leadership from our Holy Father in the not too distant future.