Feast
of Corpus Christi
Feast of Corpus Christi. This feast was first
ordered by Pope Urban in 1264, but did not become a major time of celebration
until the early fourteenth century. It occurred on the Thursday following
Trinity Sunday (in the late spring or early summer, between May 23 and
June 24), and celebrated the redemptive power of Christ through the miracle
of the Host. The feast was celebrated by a procession of religious orders
who visited churches and holy sites. The long days would have allowed
for the elaboration of the celebration. Not dedicated to a specific event
or saint, the feast provided great latitude for celebration and gradually
became the focus for the presentation of religious plays gathered together
into expansive cycles which portrayed the history of the world from creation
to the last judgment.. Precisely when or how these plays became structured
into cycles is not known, but the cycles, expansive though they are, are
focused on the story of Christ. The betrayal, death and resurrection of
Christ form the central events of the cycle, and most of the other plays
can be seen to either foreshadow the Passion of Christ or reveal its consequences.
Corpus
Christi Plays
Corpus Christi plays are often referred to as the Mystery Plays, the origin
of the name being a bit of a mystery itself. One explanation which applies
to the English plays, that they were put on by the town craft guilds and
that it refers to the mysteries, or skills, of the crafts, does not hold
up as the French plays were also referred to as Mystères, and they
were not generally conducted by craft guilds. In France, Italy and Spain
special guilds or societies were generally set up for the purpose of organising
the plays.
The complexity of the plays and their method of production varied from place to place. Even the timing could change as some were performed at times other than the feast of Corpus Christi. They all had in common that they were performed in the vernacular, by members of the laity, outside the church. An elaborate procession announcing the event was mounted some weeks beforehand, getting the populace into a state of eager anticipation. In Continental Europe the heart of a town, with its marketplaces and buildings, could be taken over as the acting arena. The creation of an imaginary, theatrical space within a real space seems to have been a notable characteristic of the plays.
Corpus
Christi Processions
Very early (in the fourteenth century) the custom developed
of carrying the Blessed Sacrament in a splendid procession through the
town after the Mass on Corpus Christi Day. This was encouraged by the
popes, some of whom granted special indulgences to all participants. The
Council of Trent (1545-1563) solemnly approved and recommended the procession
on Corpus Christi as a public profession of the Catholic faith in the
real presence of Christ in the Holy Sacrament.
During the later Middle Ages these processions developed into splendid pageants of devotion and honor to the Blessed Sacrament. They are still publicly held, and often with the ancient splendor, in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, in the Catholic sections of Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Canada, Hungary, and in the Slavic countries and South America. Sovereigns and princes, presidents and ministers of the state, magistrates, members of trade and craft guilds, and honor guards of the armed forces accompany the liturgical procession while the church bells peal, bands play sacred hymns, and the faithful kneel in front of their homes to adore the Eucharistic Lord. The houses along the route of the procession are decorated with little birch trees and green boughs. Candles and pictures adorn the windows; and in many places, especially in Latin countries, the streets are covered with carpets of grass and flowers, often wrought in beautiful designs.
Corpus Christi
Eucharist
Articles
Eucharist
Activities, etc.
Related Catechism
US Conference of Catholic Bishops Website
www.usccb.org