CONEY ISLAND — Mother Nature has forced the postponement of the much-anticipated Diocesean Eucharistic Revival that had been set for Saturday, Oct. 7, at Maimonides Park in Coney Island.

On Wednesday, Oct. 4, the Diocese of Brooklyn made the decision not to move forward with the massive outdoor gathering due to a rainstorm that is expected to hit New York City on Saturday, said Father Joseph Gibino, vicar for evangelization and catechesis for the Diocese of Brooklyn.

More than 6,000 people from almost every parish in the diocese were expected to take part in the revival and Mass. The revival was planned as a day of prayer, live music, a Eucharistic procession, and other expressions of faith.

“We were so looking forward to our wonderful Eucharistic Revival but our main concern is to keep people safe,” said Father Gibino, who is leading the planning of the revival. “We have been looking at the weather forecast each day and as the week has gone on, the forecast has been getting worse and worse.”

The forecast for Oct. 7 calls for heavy rain and winds between 10 and 15 miles per hour. “We didn’t want to expose the faithful people of our diocese to that,” Father Gibino added.

Instead, the revival will take place in the spring. The exact date has not been selected.

But Catholics can look forward to “a wonderful day,” Father Gibino said.

While organizers said that much of the planned program — including the musical performances — will remain intact, the venue will likely change. “We will probably hold it indoors,” Father Gibino said.

Keynote speeches and songs of praise to be performed by singers and the Diocesan Choir were to have been featured.

Father Gibino further noted that the revival was to have placed a heavy emphasis on families, in the hope that families would be “energized to really be committed to worship and to be committed to the Eucharist.”

The diocesan celebration was one of thousands of grassroots gatherings taking place across the country as part of the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, launched by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2022.

The National Eucharistic Revival will culminate in 2024 with the National Eucharistic Congress, which will take place July 17-21 in Indianapolis.

The various celebrations surrounding the National Eucharistic Revival are designed to bring Catholics closer to their faith. The idea is to promote a main tenet of the faith — that Jesus Christ is truly present in the Eucharist and that Communion isn’t merely symbolic.