Archbishop Rosales leads celebration of Corpus Christi

Manila Archbishop Gaudencio B. Rosales leads the faithful in the celebration of the feast of the Corpus Christi (or the Body and Blood of Christ) on May 28 (vigil) and May 29. Its celebration takes on double significance this year because the Catholic Church celebrates from October 2004 to October 2005 the Year of the Eucharist, while the Philippine Church marks it as the national Eucharistic and Marian Year until December 2005.

The feast is unique to Catholics because it honors the Blessed Sacrament which is the presence of Jesus Christ which they receive in Holy Communion.

Highlight of the celebration will be the Corpus Christi procession, to be led by Archbishop Rosales, from the Sta. Cruz church to the Manila Cathedral, late afternoon of May 28. Earlier on that day the activities start with the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at 1:30 p.m. followed by the conference on the Eucharist with speakers Bishop Teodoro C. Bacani and Ambassador Henrietta T. de Villa. Archbishop Rosales will preside at the Mass (anticipated) for the Solemnity of the Corpus Christi at 5 p.m. The procession follows the mass and will wind its way through streets in Binondo, Sta. Cruz and Intramuros, leading to the Manila Cathedral where an overnight vigil for the Blessed Sacrament will be held. Archbishop Rosales will once again preside at the Mass on the feast day proper on May 29 at 7 a.m. at the Manila Cathedral.

Pope Benedict XVI has encouraged the special participation of the feast this year as was the wish of his predecessor John Paul II. In his Apostolic Letter for the Yaer of the Eucharist, “Mane nobiscum Domine” (“Stay with us Lord”), John Paul asked the whole Church to “celebrate with particular devotion the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, with its traditional procession. Our faith in God who took flesh in order to become our companion along the way needs to be everywhere proclaimed, especially in our streets and homes, as an expression of our grateful love and as an inexhaustible source of blessings.”

For this part, Pope Benedict XVI said, “In this year, therefore, the solemnity of Corpus Christi must be celebrated with particular prominence” and reminded everyone “to intensify over the next month their love and devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist and to express in a courageous and clear way their faith in the Lord’s real presence, above all through the solemnity and correctness of the celebrations.”

The feast of the Corpus Christi was instituted by the Catholic Church in the 13 th century by Bishop Robert de Thorte of Liege ( Belgium) at the suggestion of Belgian nun St. Juliana of Mont Carvillon, who since she was 16 often had a vision during her prayers of a full moon in brilliant light, while a part of its disc remained black. Christ told her the meaning of this vision. The moon represented the liturgical year; the black spot indicated the lack of a festival in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. She was to tell the Church hierarchy that God wished the establishment of such a feast.

In the 14 th century the custom developed of carrying the Blessed Sacrament in a splendid procession through the town after the Mass on the feast of the Corpus Christi. The popes encouraged this; they granted special indulgences to all who would participate in the celebration. 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 Eucharist.

For schedule of vigil and full text of Holy Hour Prayers for the Vigil visit website of the Archdiocese of Manila, www.rcam.org. ##

Please refer: Peachy E. Yamsuan
Archdiocesan Office of Communications/527-6159