Corpus Christi

The Feast of the Body of Christ (Corpus Christi), which probably takes its name from the Middle High German vrône lîcham, is a feast of the Roman rite. It originated in the medieval Latin Church of the West in the 13th century. It is based on the doctrine of the Eucharistic transformation of the gifts of bread and wine into the blood and body of Christ (= transubstantiation), which was established in the Latin Church at the Fourth Lateran Council (1215). This is why Catholic communities carry the Eucharistically transformed body of Christ in the form of a host in solemn processions through towns and villages. Other Eastern and Western traditions of Christianity do not recognize this feast day.