Solemnity of the Feast of Corpus Christi

(May 21, 2008) Thursday, 22nd of May is the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Pope Benedict XVI is celebrating the Holy mass at 7 PM in the Square of the Basilica of St John Lateran. Immediately following the Mass he will board a vehicle on which a monstrance will be displayed for the veneration of the Blessed Sacrament. This vehicle will lead the way down the Via Merulana to the basilica of St. Mary Major, with hundreds of pilgrims following, praying and singing hymns. At St. Mary Major the Pope will offer Benediction, concluding the Corpus Christi observance. The Holy Father has invited all to participate in the procession and express the faith in Jesus present in the Eucharist. The Vicariate of Rome announced that for two days preceding the celebration, 40 uninterrupted hours of Eucharistic adoration will be held in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. The solemnity of Corpus Christi, dedicated to the mystery of the Eucharist, concludes the cycle of feasts following Easter. The date is fixed by the Vatican as the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, which is turn is the Sunday after Pentecost. In India the feast is celebrated on Sunday following the Trinity Sunday. The feast day was first officially celebrated at Liege in 1246, and extended to the universal Church by Pope Urban IV in 1264. In Italy the traditional feast dates back to the 15th century, and the route of the annual procession was set in the 16th century. The procession through Rome was abandoned in 1870, after Italian forces took Rome from the papacy. Pope John Paul II revived the tradition in 1979.