Archiepiscopal Encyclical Letter on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Eucharist

Sunday 22nd June 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“This is My body, which is given for you… This cup is the new covenant in My blood” – with these sacred words at the Last Supper, our Blessed Lord instituted the Sacrament of His Body and Blood on the eve of His Passion. As we prepare to celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), we recall that this feast honours Jesus Christ, really, truly, and substantially present under the appearances of bread and wine. In this great sacrament, the Lord fulfils His promise to remain with us “always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20) – a promise of abiding love that brings immeasurable comfort and strength to the Christian faithful.

On this joyous occasion, we write to refresh our understanding of the Church’s ancient and essential teaching of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. We will briefly trace the roots of this doctrine in Scripture and the early Catholic tradition, observe its development through Church history, and rekindle our devotion to this wondrous mystery. By reflecting on the consistent witness of theologians, saints, and Church councils – and by sharing an anecdote that illuminates Eucharistic faith – we hope to inspire you, dear brothers, to teach and celebrate this mystery with renewed fervour. May this letter serve to deepen our love for Jesus, hidden in the Eucharist, and to strengthen us in guiding the faithful to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).

The Real Presence in Scripture and the Early Church

From the very beginning, our faith in the Eucharist is founded on the clear words of Christ and the testimony of His Apostles. At the Last Supper, Jesus did not speak symbolically but literally: “Take, eat; this is My body… Drink of it, all of you, for this is My blood of the covenant” (cf. Matthew 26:26–28). Likewise, the Apostle Paul handed down this sacred tradition: “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you…” – that Jesus said, “This is My body which is for you” and “This cup is the new covenant in My blood”. The earliest Christians understood that in the Eucharist, ordinary bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of Christ. Saint Paul even warned the Corinthians that anyone who eats and drinks unworthily is “guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27), showing that the early Church believed the Eucharist is Christ Himself, not a mere metaphor.

Our Lord’s own teaching in the Scriptures confirms this belief. In the Bread of Life discourse, Jesus emphatically declared: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you… For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed”. Many listeners found this a “hard saying” and left Him, but Jesus did not retract His words (John 6:53–66). Instead, He insisted on the reality of this mystery. The Apostles and their successors took Him at His word. Thus, from apostolic times, the Church has believed that the Eucharistic bread and wine, once consecrated, are truly the Lord’s Body and Blood – the same Jesus born of Mary, who suffered, died, and rose again, now gloriously present in sacramental form among His people.

The writings of the early Church Fathers unanimously bear witness to this faith in the Real Presence. They taught with one voice that the Eucharist is no ordinary meal, but Christ’s very Body and Blood given to us. A few examples from the first centuries illustrate this unchanging belief:

• St. Ignatius of Antioch (1st–2nd century), a disciple of the Apostles, attested that those who held heretical doctrines “abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ”. In other words, true Christians do confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of Christ Himself.

• St. Justin Martyr (2nd century) explained to the pagan world what Christians believed about this sacrament: “Not as common bread or common drink do we receive these; but… the food which has been made into the Eucharist… is both the flesh and blood of that incarnated Jesus”. For Justin and the early believers, the Eucharist was nothing less than Jesus, the Word-made-flesh, nourishing His people under the forms of bread and wine.

• St. Cyril of Jerusalem (4th century) instructed the newly baptised not to trust their natural senses, but to have faith in Christ’s words: “Do not view the bread and wine as ordinary; for they are, according to the Master’s declaration, the Body and Blood of Christ. Even if your senses suggest otherwise, let faith reassure you”. Since Jesus Himself said “This is My Body,” Cyril urges, who would dare to doubt Him?

Thus, from the age of the Apostles through the fathers of East and West, the Church professed the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The sacred elements were treated with the utmost reverence as the holy Body and Blood of the Lord. Origen, a theologian of the 3rd century, noted how carefully Christians handled the Eucharistic bread, “reverently guarding lest a particle of it fall” – for any crumb, being holy, was considered a great treasure not to be lost. Saint Augustine in the 4th century even exclaimed, “No one eats that flesh without first adoring it; we should sin were we not to adore it”. Such was the awe and love surrounding the Eucharist: the faithful believed, as we do today, that Jesus Christ is really with us in this Blessed Sacrament, and thus they worshipped Him present in it.

Doctrine and Devotion through the Ages

While the fundamental belief in the Real Presence never wavered, the Church over the centuries sought deeper understanding and ways to express this mystery. By the early Middle Ages, theologians began using the term “transubstantiation” to describe the change that occurs at the altar. This term means that the entire “substance” of the bread is converted into the substance of Christ’s Body, and the substance of the wine into His Blood, while the appearances (the “accidents” of taste, colour, shape, etc.) remain those of bread and wine. The Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 explicitly taught this, affirming “that the bread and wine are transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Christ”. The Church was putting into precise words what Christians had always believed: that at Mass, what appears to be simple bread and wine becomes Jesus Himself, truly present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

Around the same period, the Lord inspired special devotions to deepen the Church’s love for the Eucharist. A remarkable event in the 13th century led directly to the establishment of the feast of Corpus Christi. A Belgian nun, St. Juliana of Liège, had long urged the Church to institute a feast honouring the Blessed Sacrament. In 1263 a German priest named Father Peter of Prague was celebrating Mass at the tomb of St. Christina in Bolsena, Italy. This priest had been struggling with doubts about Christ’s presence in the Eucharist. As he spoke the words of consecration, blood miraculously began to seep from the consecrated Host, drenching the altar linen (corporal) in blood. Astounded, the priest immediately halted Mass and travelled to the nearby town of Orvieto, where Pope Urban IV was residing, to report what had happened. Pope Urban IV, deeply moved by the miracle, authenticated the bloodstained linen and kept it as a relic, and resolved to respond to this extraordinary divine sign. The following year, in 1264, Urban IV commissioned St. Thomas Aquinas to compose liturgical texts for a new feast celebrating the Eucharist, and he officially instituted the Feast of Corpus Christi for the universal Church. This was a joyful proclamation to the world of what we believe: “O precious and wonderful banquet, that brings us salvation and contains all sweetness!”. From that time onward, the faithful have marked Corpus Christi with festive processions and adoration, giving public honour to Jesus dwelling among us in the Blessed Sacrament.

Saint Thomas Aquinas, the great theologian who composed the prayers and hymns for Corpus Christi, left us moving words that continue to shape our Eucharistic piety. In the hymn Tantum Ergo we sing at Benediction, Aquinas marvels at this mystery of faith in which our senses fail: “Faith for all defects supplying, where the feeble senses fail.” Our human eyes see only bread and wine, but faith grasps a deeper reality – the living Christ, hidden under the sacramental veil, whom we adore. As St. Irenaeus had hinted long before, “the bread, which comes from the earth, receiving the invocation of God, is no longer common bread but the Eucharist – consisting of two realities, earthly and heavenly”. Through the scholastic teaching of Aquinas and others, the Church grew in understanding how Christ could be present: by a miraculous conversion of the inner reality of the elements, leaving only the outward appearance. Yet the Church also learned to say in humility that this change is a sacred mystery, ultimately beyond full human comprehension. We know who is present – Jesus Himself – but the precise manner of this miracle remains, as the Council of Trent later said, something that “surpasses understanding” and can only be accepted in faith.

The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century brought challenges to the doctrine of the Eucharist. Some reformers denied the Real Presence or reduced it to a symbolic commemoration. In response, the Council of Trent (1545–1563) reaffirmed vigorously the traditional teaching. The Council declared that in the Eucharist, “after the consecration of the bread and wine, our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true man, is truly, really, and substantially contained under the species of those sensible things”. In other words, Christ whole and entire – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity – is truly present under the consecrated appearances of bread and wine. The Council insisted that this presence is not a mere figure or metaphor, but the actual reality of Christ, the same who is now glorified in heaven yet who makes Himself present on our altars. Our forebears in faith defended this truth even unto controversy, ensuring that the Real Presence remained at the centre of Catholic faith and worship.

Down through the ages, devotion to the Blessed Sacrament continued to flourish. The Church encouraged practices like Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction, Corpus Christi processions through the streets, and visits to the tabernacle – all born from the conviction that Jesus Dwells with us day and night in our churches. Many saints fell deeply in love with Christ present in the Eucharist, making Him the very centre of their lives. “There is nothing so great as the Eucharist,” exclaimed St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. “If God had something more precious, He would have given it to us.” Indeed, in the Holy Eucharist we possess the greatest treasure of the Church: Jesus Himself, given as our spiritual food and companion.

Living the Eucharistic Mystery Today

“My dear brothers, the Eucharist “is the source and summit of the Christian life”, as the Second Vatican Council taught. In every Mass, through every Communion, our Lord unites us to Himself and builds up the Church as His Mystical Body. This sacrament is the beating heart of our parishes – the source of all grace, the summit toward which all our ministries aim. We are called not only to understand this teaching, but to live it out and proclaim it anew in our time. As clergy, we have a sacred duty to help our people encounter Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament with faith, reverence, and love.

Belief in the Real Presence changes everything about how we approach the Eucharist. If we truly know our God is here, we will approach the altar with humility and awe. We will handle the sacred species with care and devote time to prayer before the tabernacle, just as one spends time with a dear friend. We will teach the faithful that Communion is not ordinary food, but “the bread of angels” – a gift before which even the angels bow. Remember the beautiful insight of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “When you look at the crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you. When you look at the Sacred Host, you understand how much Jesus loves you now.” In the Host, the same Jesus who died for us on Calvary is present to love us here and now, pouring out grace and comfort. We must help our people to realise that in every tabernacle burns the living Heart of Christ, radiating peace and holiness to all who draw near in faith.

In practical pastoral terms, let us renew our commitment to making the Eucharist the centre of our own lives and our ministry. In particular, I urge you to take these concrete steps to foster Eucharistic faith and devotion among the people entrusted to your care:

• Teach clearly and frequently about the Real Presence. Preach on this mystery in homilies and catechesis, sharing the scriptural foundation and the stories of the saints who cherished the Eucharist. Regular teaching will help dispel doubt and ignorance about this sacrament.

• Celebrate the Mass with reverence and beauty, following the rubrics and treating the Eucharistic species with supreme honour. The manner of our celebration – our gestures, the care in purifications, the prayerful silence – all communicate our belief that this is truly holy ground, the living God in our midst.

• Encourage Eucharistic Adoration and visits to the Blessed Sacrament. Many hearts have been converted and healed by simply sitting quietly in Jesus’ Eucharistic presence. Where possible, organise periods of Adoration, processions on Corpus Christi, and Benediction, so that the faithful can gaze upon the Host and offer their love. Such encounters deepen faith in the Real Presence and inspire works of charity.

• Ensure proper preparation for Holy Communion, so that the faithful approach the sacrament in a state of grace and with understanding. This includes promoting the Sacrament of Reconciliation and instructing on devout reception – so that every Communion is received with a pure and longing heart, conscious of the One whom we receive.

By these means, we imitate the disciples on the road to Emmaus whose hearts burned within them as they recognised the Lord “in the breaking of the bread” (Luke 24:35). We help our parishioners to echo the words of St. Thomas the Apostle, “My Lord and my God!”, whenever they behold the Host at Mass. In a world so often restless and hungry for meaning, we will guide souls to the One who alone fills every hunger: Jesus, the Living Bread come down from heaven for the life of the world (John 6:51).

Conclusion

Dear brothers, as we celebrate Corpus Christi, let us rejoice in the wondrous gift of the Eucharist. In this Sacrament, Jesus fulfils His promise: “I am with you always” – giving Himself to us without reserve, remaining with us in every tabernacle, and nourishing us with His own Body and Blood. What a cause for gratitude and awe! I encourage each of you to rekindle your personal love for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Like the saints before us, may we fall to our knees in adoration, and rise with renewed zeal to serve God’s people, strengthened by the Bread of Life.

Let us entrust our efforts to the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who as a mother was the first to carry the Body of Christ within her, and who now points us to her Son truly present in the Eucharist. Through her intercession, may our faith in Jesus’ Real Presence grow ever stronger.

As we honour “Jesus Christ, Really, Truly, and Substantially Present” in the Eucharist this Corpus Christi, may our celebrations be filled with reverence, joy, and heartfelt love. May Christ in the Eucharist draw us and all those we serve into deeper communion with Himself.

With fraternal affection I impart my blessing to you, and I pray that the Eucharistic Lord will ever be the source of your strength, holiness, and peace. Amen.

The Most Reverend Dr. Felix Gibbins OSB Cam
Archbishop Primus of the United Kingdom