Saint Francis and the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
On June 7, Catholics celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, popularly known as Corpus Christi.
The Real Presence of Christ
For many centuries celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, in most places today Corpus Christi is observed on the following Sunday. This feast celebrates the great gift of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist in the life of the Church.
Saint Thomas Aquinas urged extending this feast
First observed locally in northern France and what is now Belgium in the 1240s, Pope Urban VI extended this feast to the universal Church in 1264 at the urging of St. Thomas Aquinas.
The Eucharistic writings of Saint Francis
In many ways, however, St. Francis anticipated this devotion to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. On this point, see this enlightening article by John Barker, OFM.
Dominic Monti, OFM
Professor of Franciscan Research in the Franciscan Institute of St. Bonaventure University
Dominic V. Monti, OFM, is a Franciscan Friar of Holy Name Province (USA) and currently professor of Franciscan Research in the Franciscan Institute of St. Bonaventure University. He devoted the greater part of his ministry to teaching the History of Christianity, in particular the history of the Franciscan movement. He has contributed two volumes to the Works of St. Bonaventure series and is author of Francis & His Brothers, a popular history of the Friars Minor.