HistoryofCorpusChristi
TheFeastofCorpusChristi byAlesandroReinares
TheFeastofCorpusChristi, tosolemnlycommemoratetheinstitutionoftheHolyEucharist, wascelebratedonthe ThursdayafterTrinitySunday.
WhydowehavethisFeast? ItwasinSt. JulianaofMontCornilonwherethetheideaoftheFeastbegantotakeroot. St. JulianahadagreatvenerationfortheBlesedSacramentandlongedforaspecialfeastinitshonor. Shemade knownherideastoBishopRobertdeThorete. ThentotheDominicanHughwholaterbecameCardinallegateinthe Netherlands, andlastlytotheArchdeaconofLiège, JacquesPantaléon. HewastobecomePopeUrbanIV.
Sincebishopsasyethadtherightoforderingfeastsfortheirdioceses, BishopdeThoretecaledasynodin1246and orderedthecelebrationwastobeheldinthenextyear. HealsoorderedamonknamedJohntowritetheOficeinthe RomanBreviaryfortheoccasion.
TheFeastofCorpusChristiwasfirstcelebratedbythecanonsofSt. MartinatLiège. However, BishopdeThorete wasnotabletoseethehisorderbeingperformedforhediedonOctober16,1246. PatriarchofJerusalem Pantaléon becamePopeonAugust29,1261St. Juliana, whodiedon1258, hadurgedBishopHenryofGuelders, Bishopof Liège, torequestthePopetoextendthecelebrationtotheentireworld. PopeUrbanIV( Pantaléon), whowasalways anadmirerofthefeast, publishedtheBulTransiturusSeptember8,1264, inwhich, afterhavingextoledtheloveof JesusChristexpresedintheHolyEucharist, heorderedtheannualcelebrationofCorpusChristiintheThursday nextafterTrinitySundayandgrantingmanyindulgencestothepeoplefortheatendingtheMasandtheOfice. This Ofice, wascomposed, attherequestofthePope, bytheAngelicDoctorSt. ThomasAquinas, isoneofthemost beautifulintheRomanBreviary.
Shortlyafterthepublicationofthedecree, thespreadoftheFeastsloweddownatthedeathofPopeUrbanIVon October2,1264. ItwasPopeClementV, whoattheGeneralCouncilofViennein1311, oncemoreorderedthatthe Feastshouldbecelebrated. HepublishedanewdecreewhichfolowedtheoneofUrbanIV. ThesuccesorofClementV, JohnXXIurgeditsobservance.
ThedecreesofUrbanIVandClementVdonotmentiontheprocesionasapartoftheFeast. TheprocesionwasalreadyheldinsomeplacesandwasendowedwithindulgencesbyPopesMartinVandEugeneIV.
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