This research was conducted to clarify doubts about the Corpus Christi holiday.
The origin of the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ dates back to the 13th century. The Holy Church felt the need to emphasize the real presence of "Christ in his entirety" in the consecrated bread. The Feast of Corpus Christi was instituted by Pope Urban IV with the Bull ‘Transiturus’ on August 11, 1264, to be celebrated on the Thursday after the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, which occurs on the Sunday after Pentecost.
Pope Urban IV was the canon James Pantaleon of Troyes, archdeacon of the Diocesan Chapter of Liège in Belgium, who received the secret of the visions of the Augustinian nun, Juliana of Mont Cornillon, who demanded a feast of the Eucharist in the Liturgical Year. The ‘Fête Dieu’ (Feast of God) began in the parish of Saint Martin in Liège in 1230, with the archdeacon's authorization for a eucharistic procession only within the church, to proclaim gratitude to God for the benefit of the Eucharist. In 1247, the first eucharistic procession took place through the streets of Liège, already as a diocesan feast. It later became a national holiday in Belgium.
Corpus Christi procession, Moosburg, Germany, 2005The office was composed by Saint Thomas Aquinas who, out of love for liturgical tradition, partly used Antiphons, Lessons, and Responsories already in use in some Churches.
The worldwide feast of Corpus Christi was decreed in 1264. Urban IV's decree had little impact because the Pope died soon after. However, it spread to some churches, such as in the diocese of Cologne in Germany, where Corpus Christi has been celebrated since before 1270. The procession originated in Cologne and first spread throughout Germany, then to France and Italy. It has been found in Rome since 1350.
The Eucharist is one of the seven sacraments and was instituted at the Last Supper, when Jesus said: 'This is my body... this is my blood... do this in remembrance of me'. Because the Eucharist was celebrated for the first time on Holy Thursday, Corpus Christi is always celebrated on a Thursday after the Sunday after Pentecost.
Source: catedraldocarmo.org.br
