Corpus Christi (feast)
- This article is about the Christian feast of Corpus Christi. For other uses, please see Corpus Christi.
Corpus Christi (Latin for Body of Christ) is a Christian feast in honour of the Holy Eucharist. It was originally assigned to the Thursday following Trinity Sunday, thereby mirroring Holy Thursday, the Thursday of Holy Week, the day on which Christians commemorate the The Last Supper of Jesus Christ and his apostles, seen as the first Holy Eucharist.
While the institution of the Eucharist is celebrated on Holy Thursday, the joy of what is referred to in Greek as "the Holy Gift" (τὸ Ἅγιον Δῶρον) cannot on that occasion be well expressed, because of the nearness of Good Friday. This is given as a reason for celebrating the Corpus Christi feast at a different time of year.
Corpus Christi is primarily celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church, but also by some in the Church of England and other Anglican Churches (see Anglo-Catholicism), and by the Old Catholic Church.
In some Catholic countries it is a national holiday.
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History
The first appearance of a feast of Corpus Christi was due to the petitions of the 13th century Augustinian nun Saint Juliana of Liège. From her youth she claimed that God had been instructing her to have a feast day for the Eucharist instituted. Later in life, she made this petition to the learned Dominican Hugh of St-Cher, Jacques Pantaléon (Archdeacon of Liège and later Pope Urban IV) and Robert de Thorete, Prince-Bishop of Liège. In 1246, Bishop Robert convened a synod and, as bishops could then do, ordered a celebration of Corpus Christi to be held each year in his diocese. The decree is preserved in Anton Josef Binterim's Vorzüglichsten Denkwürdigkeiten der christkatholischen Kirche, together with parts of the first liturgy written for the occasion.
The celebration of Corpus Christi became widespread only after both Juliana and Bishop Robert had died. In 1263, Jacques Pantaléon, now Pope Urban IV, investigated claims of a miracle of blood issuing from a host. As a result, in 1264 he issued the papal bull Transiturus in which Corpus Christi was made a feast day throughout the Latin Church. A new liturgy for the celebration was written by Saint Thomas Aquinas. Though the feast occurs outside of Paschaltime, the word "alleluja" was added to the Introit, Offertory and Communion antiphons. This was removed in the 1970 revision of the Roman Missal.
When is the Feast of Corpus Christi?
The Feast of Corpus Christi, which is a moveable feast, is celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday or, in countries where it is not a Holy Day of Obligation, 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). As is obvious, the Sunday celebrations fall three days later.
The Thursday dates until 2022 are:
- 2007: June 7
- 2008: May 22
- 2009: 11 June
- 2010: 3 June
- 2011: 23 June
- 2012: 7 June
- 2013: 30 May
- 2014: 19 June
- 2015: 4 June
- 2016: 26 May
- 2017: 15 June
- 2018: 31 May
- 2019: 20 June
- 2020: 11 June
- 2021: 3 June
- 2022: 16 June
Corpus Christi is a public holiday in some traditionally Catholic countries such as Austria, parts of Germany and Switzerland, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Poland, and Portugal.
External links
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Feast of Corpus Christi
- John Thomas Lane: "From Corpus Christi to the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ"
- The spread and development of Eucharistic worship beyond Mass
Categories
Latin religious phrases | Liturgical Calendar | Roman Catholic Eucharistic theology | Catholic holy days | Catholic liturgy | Christian festivals | May observances | June observances