Over 7,000 people are expected to gather at Huntington Place in Detroit on July 22, 2026, for the Rising from the Ashes Revival
DETROIT — A large-scale revival of faith centered in the Eucharist will take place July 22, 2026, along the banks of the Detroit River, where Detroit’s faith story began nearly 325 years ago.
The Rising from the Ashes Revival will be a daylong event hosted at Huntington Place in downtown Detroit that will offer thousands of people an opportunity to grow, renew, and deepen their faith in Christ through the Holy Eucharist.
The event’s schedule will include talks from speakers such as Bishop Daniel E. Flores, Fr. John Riccardo and Sr. Josephine Garrett; music led by Matt Maher, Sarah Kroger, Steve Angrisano and Sarah Hart; and will culminate with a public procession with the Blessed Sacrament from Huntington Place to the Spirit of Detroit statue, and a blessing over the city and the Church of Detroit from Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger.
Fr. Joe Mallia, moderator of the North Macomb 1 Family of Parishes serving at St. Kieran Parish in Shelby Township, is spearheading the event, with support from other prominent Catholics in southeast Michigan, including Fr. Riccardo, John Hale, Dan Weingartz, Chuck Gaidica, Kelly Miller and Michelle Simpson. Auxiliary Bishop Robert J. Fisher has been appointed episcopal moderator, and Fr. Mario Amore serves as the archdiocesan liaison.
The inspiration for a revival struck Fr. Mallia almost five years ago when, in prayer, he felt that God was calling the Church to rise and revive its presence in the world.
“Looking at the situation of the Church and the world let me realize that God wanted something more from us than just trying to manage decline or the situation as it was; God calls us to be greater than that,” Fr. Mallia told Detroit Catholic. “He calls us to grow and evangelize, and so I prayed about that for well over a year before I brought it up to anybody because I wanted to be sure that it wasn’t just my idea.”
The first person Fr. Mallia brought on board was Fr. Riccardo, executive director of ACTS XXIX, who joined Fr. Mallia in prayer and discernment. Slowly, they added more people to the planning committee, conscious of keeping prayer at the center of the revival.
“We prayed about everything; we didn't want any of this to be simply based on our thoughts and feelings, but we wanted to do what the Lord wanted from us,” Fr. Mallia said.
The decision to host the revival at Huntington Place — one of Detroit's most recognizable venues — was intentional, Fr. Mallia said.
“If we are going to revive the diocese with the city and the Church, then we need to do it from its original starting point, which was the shores of the Detroit River,” Fr. Mallia emphasized. “That’s where the first settlers came. That is where the first missionaries came. Also, it helped remind us about the waters of baptism, where our faith springs from.”
Fr. Mallia and the planning team have looked to Fr. Gabriel Richard's example to guide their path, as he is one of the most prominent figures in the history of both the city and the Church in Detroit.
“We took his model because he was a great innovator of evangelization for his time: starting schools, working in the U.S. House of Representatives, laying out roads, coming up with the model of the city of Detroit,” Fr. Mallia said. “When the city of Detroit burned to the ground in 1805, he created a bucket brigade to bring water from the river to the fire to help out. Not only did he preach in Catholic churches, he preached in protestant churches. He reached out beyond the norm, and we thought, ‘This is a great model.’”
Fr. Mallia said all proceeds from ticket sales will support four charities in the Archdiocese of Detroit: Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan, the Pope Francis Center, the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and Mary’s Mantle. Schools, organizations and religious communities will set up booths during the revival so attendees can discover the vibrancy of Church life and activities available in their own backyard.
The goal, Fr. Mallia said, is to attract as many as 10,000 people from across the Archdiocese of Detroit, which would make it the largest locally held Catholic event since Blessed Solanus Casey's beatification in 2017.
Every aspect of the revival will accommodate people from all different walks of life and at various points in their own faith journeys, he added.
“We have to bring good news amid struggle, pain and confusion, whether in the diocese, the country, or the world,” Fr. Mallia said. “We have to look to Christ for our answer and our hope, and too often we find ourselves wandering and looking to others to find a solution to our problems rather than looking to the Lord. We are centered in the Eucharist and are called not just to be adorers of the Eucharist, but to be workers with Christ in evangelizing the world.”
Rising from the Ashes Revival
To reserve tickets for the Rising From the Ashes Revival, planned for July 22, 2026, at downtown Detroit's Huntington Place, visit the event's website.
