The feast of Corpus Christi

The feast of Corpus Christi is observed in North America on the Sunday following Trinity Sunday. This year (2012), it will be celebrated on June 10 in the United States and Canada. The feast is primarily observed in the Roman Catholic Church.

Corpus Christi is a movable feast; the date changes each year depending on when Easter is celebrated. In some countries, where Corpus Christi is a Holy Day of Obligation, it is celebrated on the eighth Thursday after Easter. In other countries, like the United States and Canada, it is celebrated on the following Sunday.

"Corpus Christi" are the Latin words for "Body of Christ". The feast day celebrates the true presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus first changed bread and wine into His body and blood at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, but since the mood of Holy Week is one of sorrow and repentance, a separate feast is observed, one which can be celebrated with joy and thanksgiving.

The founder of the feast was an Augustinian nun, Juliana of Mont Cornillion, born in Belgium in 1193 AD. Since childhood she had a great devotion to the Holy Eucharist, and desired to have a feast devoted specifically to its honor.

After receiving many visions, she petitioned Bishop Robert de Thorete to arrange such a feast. The bishop convened a synod in 1246, which decreed that a celebration in honor of Jesus Christ present in the Holy Eucharist, should take place the following year. Although Bishop Robert died in 1246, the Feast of Corpus Christi was observed in 1247.

St. Juliana longed to see the feast extended to the entire Church but she died in 1258. However, one of her friends, St. Eve, championed the cause and requested Henry of Guelders, the new Bishop, to petition Pope Urban IV to make the feast universal. In 1264, the Pope declared the Feast of Corpus Christi be extended to the entire Church.

The Pope asked St. Thomas Aquinas to write the Office and the Mass for the feast. Accordingly, Thomas composed two well-known Latin Eucharistic hymns, "Tantum Ergo", and "Pange Lingua".

When Pope Urban died later that year, the matter was temporarily set aside. Finally, in 1311, Pope Clement V, at the General Council of Vienne, ordered the celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi. By 1325, the feast was observed throughout Europe and England. It was brought to the New World by early European settlers.

A number of unique customs are associated with the Feast of Corpus Christi, such as pageants and processions which originated in Europe during the Middle Ages. Presently, processions are often held outdoors in parish churches.

The priest, carrying the Blessed Sacrament in a gold monstrance, ( Latin: monstrare- to show) protected by a canopy, leads the faithful in solemn procession to four different stations around the church property. The stations represent the four corners of the earth.

Usually, the warm Spring weather, the incense, and an abundance of flowers contribute to a joyful, celebratory atmosphere. Special prayers and hymns form part of the ritual.

On Corpus Christi Sunday, Catholics in North America show their love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament by honoring Him in a public way. They also demonstrate love of neighbors by bringing Jesus the Lord out of the church and closer those in the vicinity.

The procession ends with solemn Benediction, given either in or outside the church, at a suitable place where the people can gather comfortably. The feast of Corpus Christi is a joyful celebration which offers praise and thanksgiving to God for His great gift of the Eucharist. It seems fitting that it occurs at the end of the cold winter season, and marks the beginning of the long-awaited warmth of summer.