"Compendium Eucharisticum" presented to Pope

(October 23, 2009) Four years after the synod of bishops on the Eucharist, the promised "Compendium Eucharisticum" has been presented to Pope Benedict XVI. The Pope had already announced in his 2007 apostolic exhortation that the compendium would be the fruit of the recommendations of the bishops at the synod. Libreria Editrice, the Vatican publisher released the work Monday and on Wednesday, it was presented to the Pontiff by Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments. When the Holy Father announced the compendium in his apostolic exhortation, he expressed his hope that the document would "help make the memorial of the Passover of the Lord increasingly the source and summit of the Church's life and mission. This will encourage each member of the faithful to make his or her life a true act of spiritual worship." He said that it would contain texts from the Catechism, prayers, explanations of the Roman Missal and "other useful aids for a correct understanding, celebration and adoration of the Sacrament of the Altar." The initial volume was published in Italian and will soon be available in other languages.