The Solemnity of the Most
Holy Body and
Blood of
Christ (formerly called the
Feast of
Corpus Christi) is a
special celebration in the
Roman Catholic Church to
commemorate the
mystery of the
Mass where the outward
elements of
bread and
wine undergo a
change called
transubstantiation. It is believed that these elements are
transformed into the
Real Presence of the body and blood of Christ.
In the liturgical year this observance follows the seven Sundays of the Easter season and then the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. It is thought that Corpus Christi is a logical conclusion of what has happened in the preceeding eight weeks.
If faith is required to believe in the resurrection of Christ at Easter, perhaps more is required to affirm that God is a unity in the three Persons of the Trinity. Yet even more is needed to believe that at every mass transubstantiation takes place. It is estimated that only about 30% of practicing Catholics have that much faith.
While transubstantiation has almost from the beginning been an article of Catholic doctrine, there was no special observance to commemorate it in the mass until St. Juliana of Liege (1193-1258), a Belgium nun, pressed for its observance in the universal Church. First the bishop of Liege and finally Pope Urban IV and his successor, Clement V, took up the cause and finally established it as part of the liturgical year.
Two special ceremonies mark the solemnity.