VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The feast of Corpus Christi is an important occasion for Catholics to renew their faith in the true presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, Pope Benedict XVI said.
own mediaeval nun who was the first to promote the creation of a feast celebrating the sacrament, Pope Benedict also said that frequent participation in Communion “is essential to the path of faith.”
At the weekly audience on 17 November, Pope Benedict praised the “zeal for the Eucharistic cult” of St Juliana of Mont Cornillon, Belgium. During her life from 1193 to 1258, the Pope said, she was educated by Augustinian nuns, became one herself and served as abbess of an Augustinian convent.
The Pope explained how, beginning at age 16, St Juliana had a series of visions in which she was instructed to establish a feast day to exalt the sacrament of the Eucharist. She kept the vision secret for some 20 years until she found others who would help her promote such a celebration.
The Pope said St Juliana convinced the Bishop who would later become Pope Urban IV to create a special feast. After her death, Pope Urban created the feast of Corpus Domini, also known as Corpus Christi, and celebrated it for the first time in Orvieto, Italy in 1264. The Pope said that the feast of Corpus Christi “has had a marvellous development and is still very much felt by Christian people.”
Remembering the feast and St Juliana, the Pope said, “We also renew our faith in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.” He repeated Church teaching that Jesus “is present in a true, real and substantial way in the Eucharist.”