Croatian believers celebrate Corpus Christi

It is the feast of Corpus Christi or the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, with which the Catholic Church celebrates the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday before Christ's Passion, and is celebrated on the ninth Thursday after Easter.

With this holiday, believers renew their faith in the person of Jesus Christ, the God-man, who at a certain historical moment as the only begotten Son of God became a historical person.

Procession in Rijeka

The procession in Rijeka was led by the Archbishop of Rijeka, Mate Uzinić. “The procession began with singing and prayer, the scattering of rose petals and the carrying of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, which is a consecrated host that is only taken outside the church premises on this day,” said Danijela Minić for Croatian Radio Television.

In his sermon, the Archbishop emphasized how important it is to connect with Jesus in the Eucharist, to strengthen us and to let the source that is the Eucharist bubble up within us.

The second message was that wars and conflicts are not an option, but love for our neighbors and in the community because it is the only thing that initiates friendship with Christ.

“What is important is that we believe that this miracle in which Jesus gives himself to us, in which he gives us his heart from which he nourishes us, is given in every Eucharist, in every Mass, and that we are the ones who go to that source and drink from that source in every communion we receive,” said Mate Uznić, Archbishop of Rijeka.

“Every person is our neighbor, not just those from the family, but every person is our neighbor. If you don't love your neighbor, you can't love God either, that's at least known,” said one believer.

“That's what keeps us, spiritually, in this world, within some kind of good framework. We, who are here,” emphasized another believer.

Corpus Christi Procession in Punitovci

The tradition of celebrating Corpus Christi in the parish of Punitovci is more than 250 years old, and the tradition lives on together with faith.

The residents of Punitovci decorate their houses and windows for Corpus Christi, decorating them with flowers.

In the center of the village, visitors can visit the gazebos or, as the locals call them - "sivnice", which represent the four cardinal points.

Catholics celebrate Corpus Christi

The celebration of Corpus Christi began in the 13th century, when the Augustinian nun Saint Juliana from the monastery near Liege in Belgium, in a vision of the full moon, saw a spot on the moon. The nun interpreted the full moon as the Church, and the spot as a feast that the Church lacks, with which to honor the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. At the request of Saint Juliana, the local bishop Robert de Thorote introduced the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ - the Holy Eucharist - in his diocese. Saint Juliana and her contemporaries spread the celebration of this feast throughout the Church.

Another event that strongly influenced the veneration of the Body and Blood of Christ is associated with the Eucharistic miracle that occurred in 1263 in Bolsena, Italy. At that time, a priest, while celebrating Holy Mass, suspected that the bread and wine had been transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus. When he broke the consecrated host, he noticed blood dripping from it and flowing onto the altar.

After these two events, Pope Urban IV issued a bull on September 8, 1264, establishing the feast of Corpus Christi (Eucharist), wishing to extend this feast to the entire Church, but his untimely death prevented him from doing so. It was not until the 14th century that Pope John XXII extended the feast to the entire Roman Catholic Church.

In some Croatian regions, the feast is also called Brašančevo, and this name dates back to the 18th century. The word Brašančevo comes from the word brašno (flour), which is what bread is made of, and the bread, when transformed during the Holy Mass, becomes the Body of Christ.

An event similar to the one in Bolsena also occurred in 1411 in Croatia, in Ludbreg. At that time, during the most important part of the Holy Mass - the transubstantiation, when, at the priest's words and the action of the Holy Spirit, the bread is transformed into the Body and the wine into the Blood of Jesus, the priest doubted the miracle. Seeing that the chalice contained real fresh blood, confused and frightened by the unexpected event, he quickly put the chalice with the Holy Blood behind the altar and ended the Mass.

The event was thoroughly investigated by Pope Julius II (1503-1513), who due to the length of the investigation and examination of the miraculous events was unable to complete the investigation, but allowed the public veneration of the relic, which his successor Pope Leo X also did. Since that time, believers from all over the world have come to Ludbreg to express their veneration of the relic of the Precious Blood of Christ, especially every first Sunday in September, when the central annual celebration of the Precious Blood of Christ is held.

The Feast of Corpus Christi is also associated with processions. The first Corpus Christi procession was held in Cologne in the 1370s, and this custom spread to many Catholic countries in the 14th century. In the procession, the priest carries the consecrated host in a monstrance, while the people sing, pray and carry flowers.

Source: HRT