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| Agostino Ciampelli, Adoration of the Eucharist Italian, c. 1614 Rome, Church of the Gesù, Sacristy |
Each year, following the celebration of the feast of the Holy Trinity the Church celebrates another major
feast, the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, also called Corpus
Christi or Corpus Domini.
This feast, honoring the Body
and Blood of Christ, was initially proposed by St. Juliana of Liège (also known
as Juliana of Montcornillon). Juliana was a nun of the Premonstratensian order,
a religious order founded by St. Norbert in 1120. One of the purposes of the
orders he founded is the defense of and spread of devotion to the Blessed
Sacrament, which is the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist.
For many years, beginning in her 20s, Juliana had a vision
in which she saw the full moon shining brightly except for one black spot. Over
time she came to understand that the full moon was a symbol for the round,
white Host, the Body of Christ, which is also the Church (known as the Mystical
Body of Christ) and that the black spot was an indication that something was
missing from the Body of Christ.
Eventually, she determined that what was missing was a feast
which celebrated the Body of Christ in all its aspects. Her spiritual director,
the Canon John of Lausanne, contacted a number of theologians who agreed that
her visions were genuine and not in conflict with any Church teaching.
Therefore, in 1246 a feast in honor of the Blessed Sacrament was established
for the diocese of Liège by the bishop, Robert de Thorete.
In 1261 one of the theologians who had been consulted about
her visions in the 1240s became Pope Urban IV. In 1264 he established the feast
of Corpus Christi for the universal Church on the Thursday following the Sunday
celebration of the Holy Trinity. St. Thomas Aquinas was asked by the Pope to
compose the Office and prayers for the new universal feast and his beautiful
work is still part of the celebration of the feast today. Indeed, his great
poems for the feast, which include the sequence “Lauda Sion” and the hymn
“Pange Lingua” (the last two verses of which are the well-known Benediction
hymn “Tantum Ergo”) are in frequent use by the Church at other times as well.
The feast is still celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday in some
countries, while in others, including the United States, it is celebrated on
the Sunday following Trinity Sunday.
As its name suggests the feast celebrates the Body and Blood
of Christ, specifically the elements of bread and wine which are transformed
into Christ’s Body and Blood at the consecration of the Mass. This celebration has focused primarily on the
Mass itself, a procession with the Blessed Sacrament through the streets and
adoration of the reserved consecrated Eucharistic Host by the faithful. And these are well represented in the artistic
record. But there are many other ways in
which the Eucharist and its elements are represented in iconography. I will not try to cover all of these in this
essay, so there will be many other essays to come. You may access the essay, Corpus Christ – Of the Blood, All Price Exceeding, Shed by Our Immortal King, regarding the Precious Blood of Christ, which is the other portion of the Consecration of every Mass and the second part of the title of this feast.
The Procession
What was once the most conspicuously public aspects of the
Corpus Christi feast was the public procession through the streets. Still practiced in some locations, it is now
most frequent in American cities by its absence. But, it was once one of the primary ways in
which the Catholic community carried its faith into the public gaze.
One can grasp what it must once have been
like, especially in Catholic countries, by turning to the Vatican Television on
the feast day and observing the Corpus Christi Mass and procession through the
streets of Rome. At about 1 hour 25
minutes on the video of the 2016 procession below, one can see the procession
which follows the Mass from its beginning although, unlike his predecessors
Pope Saint John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis chooses not to
accompany the Blessed Sacrament.
The modern procession has deep roots both liturgically and
visually. The earliest images I have
encountered date from about one hundred years from the establishment of the
feast for the entire Church by Pope Urban IV.
All feature the procession, usually under a canopy, of a bishop, priest
or deacon(s) carrying the Blessed Sacrament in the special reliquary, called a
monstrance, in which the Host is displayed for adoration. In most images the canopy is held by humans,
as it is in practice, but occasionally the artist has assigned this task to
angels, emphasizing the sacredness of what the priest or bishop carries.
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| John Siferwas, Corpus Christi Procession From The Lovell Lectionary English (Glastonbury), c.1400-1410 London, British Library MS Harley 7026, fol. 13 |
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| Corpus Christi Procession From a Book of Hours French (Anjou), c. 1435-1445 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 157, fol.172v In this image the priest is barefoot, emphasizing the sacredness of the monstrance with the consecrated Host that he carries. The laymen following carry lighted candles, a further emphasis on the holiness of the moment. |
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| Nicholas Love, Eucharistic Procession From the Mirrour of the blessed lyf of Jesu Christ and other devotional texts English, c. 1435-1445 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 648, fol.131r |
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| Eucharistic Procession From a Gospel Lectionary Italian (Padua), 1436 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 180, fol. 68r In this image, in the image above it and in the one below, the canopy is carried by angels. Therefore, I hesitate to call them Corpus Christi processions, which are more earthbound. They are, however, indicative of the solemnity of the earthly Corpus Christi procession, of which they are models. |
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| Eucharistic Procession From an Antiphonary Italian (Milan), c. 1465-1500 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 682, fol. 1r |
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| Corpus Christi Procession Hours of the Blessed Sacrament From a Prayer Book French (Paris), c. 1485-1495 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS H 3, fol. 47r |
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| Jean Colombe, Corpus Christi Procession From the Pontifical matutinale and missal of Jean Coeur French (Bourges), c. 1460-1470 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS G 49, fol.148r |
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| Master of James IV of Scotland, Procession for Corpus Christi From the Spinola Hours Flemish (Bruges), c. 1510-1520 Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum MS Ludwig IX 18, fol. 48v |
One image, in particular, is extremely interesting, as it
represents the same event as the contemporary video above.
This is a representation of the Corpus Christi procession in Rome during
the 1540s. It shows the arrival of the
procession at Saint Peter’s Basilica, not the basilica as it is today, but the
façade of the old Saint Peter’s, for the “new” (current) basilica was being
built behind it during those years.
But, what is most interesting, to me at least, is the tiny figure under
the canopy, seen slightly to the left of center in the middle distance. It shows the Pope, carried aloft in his
processional chair, with the Blessed Sacrament exposed before him. Above the scene the sky is filled with angels
preparing to shower down flowers and above the angels in heaven the Trinity and
the whole court of heaven look down.
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| Guilio Clovio, Papal Corpus Christi Procession From the Farnese Hours Italian, (Rome), 1546 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 69, fol. 72v-73r |
Adoration
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| Studio of Frans Francken II, Angels Adoring the Eucharist Flemish, c.1615-1630 Private Collection |
In Catholic understanding the substances of the bread and wine that are offered in what is known as the Offertory of the Mass become the real Body and Blood of Christ through His words from the Last Supper which are repeated by the priest at the Consecration, even though they still retain the form of bread and wine. Also, each of the elements or “species” (i.e., bread and wine) when consecrated becomes the whole of Christ, not just a part. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ”1 and “Under the consecrated species of bread and wine Christ himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real, and substantial manner: his Body and his Blood, with his soul and his divinity.”2 For this reason, the Church has from the earliest times reserved some of the consecrated Hosts for various purposes: to bring to the sick and for adoration either within the specially designated structure called a tabernacle or in the monstrance. Most usually the monstrance is placed on the altar for adoration or, as we have seen above, it can be carried in procession. When Catholics adore the Eucharist they are not adoring the piece of metal or a piece of bread, which would be idolatry, they are adoring the One who is present in the form of the Host, Jesus Christ Himself, whole and entire, as he was when he walked on earth and as he now is in heaven, though veiled in the form of a sliver of bread.3
- The narrative works show people engaged in adoring the exposed Host.
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| Gold Scrolls Group, Veneration of the Host From a Missal Flemish (Bruges), c. 1415-1425 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 374, fol.179v |
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| Master of the Flemish Boetius, Adoration of the Host From Vita Jesu Christi by Ludolph of Saxony Belgian (Ghent), c.1480 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 181, fol. 81 |
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| Marten Pepijn, St. Norbert Adoring the Eucharist Flemish, 1637 Antwerp, Cathedral of Our Lady |
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| Cristobal de Villalpando, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Mexican, c. 1690-1699 Mexico City, Private Collection |
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Giambattista Tiepolo, Vision of St. Pascal Baylon Italian, c. 1767-1769 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
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| Manuel Cabral y Aguado Bejarano, The Corpus Christi Procession in Seville Spanish, 1857 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
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| Arcadio Mas y Fondevila, Corpus Christi Spanish, 1887 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado This picture depicts priest and people in adoration at one of the street altars that are a part of the traditional Corpus Christi procession through a town. |
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| Frank Duvenek, Benediction American, c. 1910 Covington, KY, St. Mary's Cathedral, Basilica of the Assumption |
This last image above depicts Benediction, the closing element of a period of Eucharistic Adoration or of a Eucharistic procession in which the priest blesses the assembled people with the monstrance containing the Host. With his face hidden behind the monstrance and his hands covered with the humeral veil the priest becomes invisible to the congregation and it is the Eucharistic Christ Himself whom they see as He blesses them.
- The devotional type presents an image of the consecrated Host to the viewer as a sort of substitute for the presence of an actual Host. Presumably the latter served the purpose of offering the viewer a chance to join his or her own prayer to those of people praying before the actual exposed Host when the viewer was unable to be present physically.
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| Master of the Dark Eyes, Host Adored by Angels From a Book of Hours Dutch (Utrecht), c.1490 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 76 G 9, fol. 134r |
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| Jean Poyer, Angels Adoring the Host From the Prayer Book of Anne de Bretagne French (Tours), 1492-1495 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 50, fol. 11v |
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| Painter of Additional Manuscript 15677, Angels Adoring the Host from a Book of Hours Flemish, c.1500 Cambridge (UK), Fitzwilliam Museum MS Marlay Cutting G. 7d |
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| Jean Bourdichon, Angels Adoring the Host from Heures de Frédéric d'Aragon French (Tours), 1501-1504 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 10532, fol. 302 |
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| Master of Claude de France, Host on an Altar for Adoration from Prayer Book French (Tours), 1515-1520 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 1166, fol. 52v Those familiar with the rite of Benediction will recognize the text on this page. It is the dialogue and prayer recited just before the act of benediction, when the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament is positioned on the altar and priest and people are facing it. This is the same prayer used today in exactly the same way.
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| Anton Wierix, Angels Adoring the Holy Eucharist, Surrounded by the Other Sacraments Flemish, c. 1580-1604 Boston, Museum of Fine Arts
This engraving could be considered to be a Catholic Counter-Reformation didactic work. It represents both adoration of the
Eucharist, which the reformers opposed, and the other six Sacraments. The early Reformers had reduced the sacraments to two: Baptism and the Eucharist, and even these were rejected by later waves of dissent.
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Jan Anton van der Baren, The Eucharist in a Floral Wreath Flemish, c. 1635-1659 Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum |
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| Alexander Coosemans, Allegory of the Eucharist Flemish, c. 1641-1689 Le Mans, Tessé Museum
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| David Teniers the Younger, Sacramental Miracle of St. Gudule (detail) Dutch, c. 1630-1690 Berlin, Gemäldegalerie der Staatliche Museen zu Berlin |
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| Jan van Kessel, Still Life of Flowers and Grapes Encircling the Eucharist in a Niche Dutch, c. 1670 Edinburgh, National Galleries of Scotland |
- There is also a third type, which to some extent combines the two above, that was often used for the decoration of tabernacles and for large church paintings, such as altarpieces or building spaces. In these the host, the host and chalice or the monstrance is often held aloft by Christ Himself, or by the personification of the Church or of Faith or by angels and adored by saints and/or angels.
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| Tabernacle with Angels Adoring the Eucharist Italian (Sicily), 16th Century Palermo, Galleria Regionale della Sicilia |
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| Raphael, Faith with the Eucharist Flanked by Angels Holding the Inscriptions Bearing the Name and Monogram of Christ Italian, 1507 Vatican City, Pinacoteca Vaticana |
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| Giuseppe Salerno, The Triumph of the Eucharist with Saints Catherine of Siena and Peter Martyr Italian, 1617 Petralia Sottana, Church of the Assumption, Oratorio del Santissimo Sacramento |
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| Peter Paul Rubens, Glorification of the Eucharist Sketch for an Altar in the Church of the Shod Carmelites of Antwerp Flemish, c. 1630-1632 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Juan de Valdes-Leal, Triumph of the Eucharist Spanish, c. 1651-1700 Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz Museum & Foundation Corboud |
%20de%20Vos_Flemish,%201695,%20Louvre_1.JPG) | ||
Lodewyck de Deyster, Glorification of the Eucharist, Angels and Allegorical Figures of the Arts and Sciences Presenting the work of Joannes (Jan) de Vos Flemish, 1695 Paris, Musée du Louvre
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| Adoration of the Host German, 1729 Huysburg am Harz, Monastery Church of the Assumption
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| Olivio Sozzi, The Triumph of the Eucharist_ talian, c. 1763 Termini Imerese (Palermo), Museo Civico Baldassare |
© M. Duffy, 2017, pictures updated 2023.
* The title is taken from John 6:51.
______________________________________________
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 1377. Also see The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 284.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 1413. Also see The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 282.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 1378 and 1379. Also see The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 286.
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