Corpus Christi (feast)

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Corpus Christi (feast)

Corpus Christi (Latin for Body of Christ
Christ

Christ is the English language term for the Greek meaning "the anointing", which is a title given to the Reigning Messiah in the given age of the Zodiac....
) is a Christian

Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
feast

Religious festival

A religious festival is a time of special importance marked by adherents to that religion. Religious festivals are commonly celebrated on recurring cycles in a calendar year or lunar calendar....
. Its purpose is to honour the Eucharist

Eucharist

The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names, is a Christianity sacrament commemorating, by consecrating bread and wine, the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his arrest, and eventual crucifixion, when he gave them bread saying, "This is my body", and wine...
, and as such it does not commemorate a particular event in Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
' life. Its celebration on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christianity liturgical year, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity....
is meant to associate it with Jesus' institution of the Eucharist during the Last Supper

Last Supper

In the Christian Gospels, the Last Supper was the last meal Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles and Disciple before Crucifixion of Jesus. The Last Supper has been the subject of many paintings, perhaps The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci....
, on Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles....
.

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History

The appearance of Corpus Christi as a feast in the Christian calendar was primarily due to the petitions of the thirteenth-century Augustinian nun

Nun

A Nun is a woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life. She may be an monasticism who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent....
Juliana of Liège

Juliana of Liège

Saint Juliana of Li?ge was a nun and visionary from Retinnes in Fl?ron in the Bishopric of Li?ge, now in Belgium. She was a significant member of the Premonstratensian convent of Mount Cornillon....
. From her youth she claimed that God had been instructing her to establish a feast day for the Eucharist and later in life petitioned the learned Dominican Hugh of St-Cher, Jacques Pantaléon (Archdeacon

Archdeacon

A position of archdeacon is a senior position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, and in some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop....
of Liège and later Pope Urban IV

Pope Urban IV

Pope Urban IV , born Jacques Pantal?on, was Pope, from 1261 to 1264. He was not a Cardinal , and there have been several Popes since him who have not been Cardinals, including Urban V and Urban VI....
) and Robert de Thorete, Bishop of Liège. At that time bishops

Bishop (Catholic Church)

In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an Holy Orders Minister who holds the fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the faith and ruling the church....
could order feasts in their diocese

Diocese

In many rites of the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglicanism, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bi...
s, so in 1246 Bishop Robert convened a synod

Synod

A synod is a council of a Ecclesia , usually a Christianity church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. An ecumenical council is so named because it is a synod of the whole church ...
and ordered a celebration of Corpus Christi to be held each year thereafter. The decree is preserved in Anton Joseph Binterim

Anton Joseph Binterim

Anton Joseph Binterim was the parish priest of Bilk from 1805-55 and a prominent leader of Roman Catholic Church in Prussia. He lobbied against intermarriage between Catholics and Protestants....
's Vorzüglichsten Denkwürdigkeiten der Christkatholischen Kirche, together with parts of the first liturgy

Liturgy

A liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to their particular traditions. The word may refer to an elaborate formal ritual such as the Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy and Mass , or a daily activity such as the Muslim salat and Jewish Jewish services....
written for the occasion.

The celebration of Corpus Christi became widespread only after both Juliana and Bishop Robert de Thorete had died. In 1263 Pope Urban IV

Pope Urban IV

Eucharistic miracle

A Eucharistic miracle is a miracle that is believed to occur during the consecration portion of the Catholic or Orthodox Mass when the bread and wine become the actual, scientifically identified Body and Blood of Jesus Christ....
at Bolsena

Corporal of Bolsena

The Corporal of Bolsena dates from a Eucharistic miracle in Bolsena, Italy in 1263 when a Consecration#Roman_Catholic_Church Sacramental bread began to Bleeding onto a corporal , the small cloth upon which the Sacramental bread and chalice rest during the Canon of the Mass....
, in which a consecrated host

Blessed Sacrament

Papal bull

A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a pope. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end to authenticate it....
Transiturus in which Corpus Christi was made a feast throughout the entire Latin Rite

Latin Rite

The Latin Rite is one of the 23 sui iuris particular Churches within the Catholic Church. This particular Church developed in western Europe and north Africa, where, from classical antiquity to the Renaissance, Latin was the principal language of education and culture, and so also of the liturgy....
.

While the institution of the Eucharist is celebrated on Holy Thursday, the liturgy on that day also commemorates Christ's New Commandment ("A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you." ), the washing of the disciples' feet, the institution of the priesthood

Priesthood (Catholic Church)

The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church includes both the orders of Bishop and Presbyterium, which in Latin language is sacerdos. The Holy Orders priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
and the agony in the Garden

Agony in the Garden

The Agony in the Garden refers to the events in the life of Jesus between the Last Supper and Arrest of Jesus....
of Gethsemane

Gethsemane

Gethsemane is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem believed to be the place where Jesus and his disciples prayed the night before Crucifixion of Jesus....
. For this reason, the Feast of Corpus Christi was established to create a feast focused solely on the Holy Eucharist.

A new liturgy for the feast was composed by St. Thomas Aquinas. This liturgy has come to be used not only on the Feast of Corpus Christi itself but also throughout the liturgical year at events related to the Blessed Sacrament

Blessed Sacrament

Vespers

Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Byzantine Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican, and Lutheran Liturgy of the canonical hours....
of Corpus Christi, Pange Lingua, is also used on Holy Thursday during the procession of the Blessed Sacrament

Blessed Sacrament

Altar of repose

The altar of repose is an altar in a Roman Catholic Church or Anglo-Catholicism church where the Eucharist hosts, consecrated in the Mass on Holy Thursday , are Reserved sacrament for Holy Communion to be given the following day, which is Good Friday....
. The last two verses of Pange Lingua are also used as a separate hymn, Tantum Ergo
Tantum Ergo

Tantum ergo are the opening words of the last two verses of Pange Lingua Gloriosi Corporis Mysterium, a Mediaeval Latin hymn written by St Thomas Aquinas....
, which is sung at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is a devotional ceremony celebrated within the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in some Anglican Churches, Western Rite Orthodox churches, and Liturgical latinisation Eastern Catholic Churches....
. O Salutaris Hostia
O Salutaris Hostia

O salutaris Hostia, "O Saving Host", is a section of one of the Eucharistic hymns written by St Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi. He wrote it for the Hour of Lauds in the Divine Office....
, another hymn sung at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, comprises the last two verses of Verbum Supernum Prodiens
Verbum Supernum Prodiens

Verbum Supernum Prodiens is a Catholic hymn by St Thomas Aquinas. It was written for the Lauds in the Divine Office of Corpus Christi . It is about the institution of the Eucharist by Christ at the Last Supper, and His Passion and death....
, Aquinas' hymn for Lauds

Lauds

Lauds is one of the two "major hours" in the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours. It is to be recited in the early morning hours, preferably near dawn....
of Corpus Christi. Aquinas also composed the proper

Proper (liturgy)

The Proper is a part of the Christian liturgy that varies according to the date, either representing an observance within the Liturgical Year, or of a particular saint or significant event....
s for the Mass

Mass (liturgy)

Sequence (poetry)

A sequence is a Gregorian chant sung or recited during the Mass , before the proclamation of the Gospel. By the time of the Council of Trent there were sequences for many feasts in the Church's year....
Lauda Sion Salvatorem. The epistle

Epistle

An epistle is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually a Letter and a very formal, often didactic and elegant one. The letters in the New Testament from Twelve apostles to Christians are usually referred to as epistles....
reading for the Mass was taken from Paul's

Paul of Tarsus

Saint Paul, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul or Paul of Tarsus , was a Hellenistic Judaism, who called himself the "Apostle to the Gentiles", and was, together with Saint Peter and James the Just, the most notable of early Christian missionaries....
First Epistle to the Corinthians

First Epistle to the Corinthians

The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament, often referred to simply as 1 Corinthians. The book is a letter from Paul of Tarsus and Sosthenes to the Christians of Corinth, Greece....
, and the Gospel

Gospel

In Christianity, a gospel is generally one of the first four books of the New Testament that describe the birth, life, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus....
reading was taken from the Gospel of John

Gospel of John

The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the Biblical canon of the New Testament, traditionally ascribed to John the Evangelist. Like the three synoptic gospels, it contains an account of some of the actions and sayings of Jesus of Nazareth, but differs from them in ethos and theological emphases....
.

Prior to the liturigcal reforms following the Second Vatican Council

Second Vatican Council

The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965....
, separate feasts existed for the Body of Christ, held on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, and the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, with a feast

Feast of the Most Precious Blood

The Feast of the Most Precious Blood was a Roman Catholic feast day recognised for over a century, until just after the Second Vatican Council. For the current situation see Corpus Christi ....
held on July 1. For those groups currently using the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite

Roman Rite

The liturgy of the Catholic Church of Rome is called the Roman Rite. The quite distinct term Latin Rite usually refers not to a liturgical rite but to the particular Church within the Roman Catholic Church that was sometimes referred to also as the Patriarchate of the West....
, the two distinct feasts remain according to the liturgical calendar of the Extraordinary Rite

General Roman Calendar of 1962

This article lists the feast days of the General Roman Calendar as it was in 1962, following the reforms of Pope John XXIII introduced with his motu proprio of 23 July 1960....
. Until 1955, the Feast of Corpus Christi was followed by a privileged octave

Octave (liturgical)

"Octave" has two senses in Christian liturgical usage. In the first sense, it is the eighth day after a feast, reckoning inclusively, and so always falls on the same day of the week as the feast itself....
.

Celebration

Corpus Christi is primarily celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
, but it is also included in the calendar of a few Anglican churches, most notably the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....
. The feast is also celebrated by some Anglo-Catholic parishes even in provinces of the Anglican Communion that do not officially include it in their calendars. In Roman Catholic parishes that use the Mass of Paul VI

Mass of Paul VI

The Mass of Pope Paul VI is the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church Mass of the Roman Rite Promulgation by Paul VI in 1969, after the Second Vatican Council ....
, the feast is known as "the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ". In the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....
it is known as "The Day of Thanksgiving for the Institution of Holy Communion (Corpus Christi)" and has the status of a Festival

Festival (Church of England)

A Festival is a type of observance in the Churches of the Anglican Communion, considered to be less significant than a Principal Feast or Principal Holy Day, but more significant than a Lesser Festival or Commemoration ....
. It is also celebrated by the Old Catholic Church

Old Catholic Church

The Old Catholic Church is a Christianity denomination originating with mainly German language-speaking groups that split from the Holy See in the 1870s because they disagreed with the solemn declaration of the doctrine of papal infallibility promulgated by the First Vatican Council ....
and by some Western Rite Orthodox Christians, and is commemorated in the liturgical calendars of the more Latinized

Liturgical Latinisation

Liturgical Latinisation, also known as Latinisation is the process by which liturgy and other aspects of the Churches of Eastern Christianity were altered to resemble more closely the practices of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church....
Eastern Catholic Churches. The feast was also retained in some Lutheran churches up until about 1600.

In medieval times in many parts of Europe Corpus Christi was a popular time for the performance of mystery play

Mystery play

Mystery plays and Miracle plays are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the representation of Bible stories in Church as tableau vivant with accompanying antiphonal song....
s.

Date

The Feast of Corpus Christi, which is a moveable feast

Moveable feast

In Christianity, a moveable feast or movable feast is a holy day — a feast day or a fast day — whose date is not fixed to a particular day of the calendar year but moves in response to the date of Easter, the date of which varies according to a computus....
, is celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christianity liturgical year, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity....
or, in countries where it is not a Holy Day of Obligation

Holy Day of Obligation

In the Roman Catholic Church, Holy Days of Obligation or Holidays of Obligation, less commonly called Feasts of Precept, are the days on which, as of the Code of Canon law states,Eastern Catholic Churches...
, on the Sunday after Holy Trinity.

The earliest possible Thursday celebration falls on 21 May (as in 1818 and 2285), the latest on 24 June (as in 1943 and 2038). The Sunday celebrations fall three days later.

The Thursday dates until 2022 are:

22 May 2008
11 June 2009
3 June 2010
23 June 2011
7 June 2012
30 May 2013
19 June 2014
4 June 2015
26 May 2016
15 June 2017
31 May 2018
20 June 2019
11 June 2020
3 June 2021
16 June 2022

Corpus Christi is a public holiday in some traditionally Catholic countries including amongst others Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
, Bolivia

Bolivia

The Republic of Bolivia , named after Sim?n Bol?var, is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil on the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina on the south, and Chile and Peru on the west....
, Colombia

Public holidays in Colombia

The following are public holidays in Colombia:* A?o Nuevo * D?a de los Reyes Magos * D?a de San Jos? * Jueves Santo and Viernes Santo * Primero de Mayo ...
, Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a Central European country at the crossroads of Pannonian Plain, Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea....
, Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are List of divided islands, Saint Martin being the other....
, East Timor

East Timor

East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro Island and Jaco , and Oecussi-Ambeno, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor....
, parts of Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
, San Marino

San Marino

The Most Serene Republic of San Marino is a country in the Apennine Mountains. It is a landlocked country Enclave and exclave, completely surrounded by Italy....
, parts of Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
, and Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an island country in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American country of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles....
.

Corpus Christi (feast)

History

Celebration

Date

External links