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While most liturgists rightly attribute the Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament to the establishment of the Feast of Corpus Christi, which occurred in 1264, noteworthy is the fact that the first recorded instance of Perpetual Adoration antedates Corpus Christi and occurred at Avignon, France some eighteen (18) years earlier.
On 11 September 1226, in compliance with the wish of French King Louis VII, who had just been victorious over the Albigensians, the Blessed Sacrament, veiled, was exposed in the Chapel of the Holy Cross at Avignon, as an act of thanksgiving. So great was the throng of adorers that the bishop, Pierre de Corbie, judged it advantageous to continue the adoration by night, as well as by day, a proposal that was subsequently ratified by the approval of the Holy See, eighteen (18) years later with the institution of the Feast of Corpus Christi.
Meanwhile, in Liège, Belgium, a nun and mystic who was later canonized St. Juliana (1193-1258), experienced a series of visions in which she was instructed by Our Lord to work to establish a liturgical feast for the Holy Eucharist, to which she had a great devotion. The first vision occurred when she was sixteen (16) years old. For years she labored to convince her bishop to create establish a feast in honor of the Blessed Sacrament where none had previously existed. Like many saints, Juliana was severely scrutinized, even ridiculed by certain Church fathers.
This was also the time when, for the first time in the history of the Church, serious questions began to be raised about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
In 1263, five years after the death of St. Juliana, a German priest, Fr. Peter of Prague, while on a pilgrimage to Rome, stopped to celebrate Mass at the Church of St. Christina in Bolsena, Italy. The good father was, at the time, having his own serious doubts about the Real Presence when, at the prayer of consecration during Mass, the host began to bleed in his hands, with blood seeping from the consecrated host onto the altar and corporal. The astonished priest stopped Mass, informed the congregation what had happened, placed the Real Presence in the corporal which he folded around the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus, and traveled some ten (10) miles to nearby Orvieto, where the Holy Father was staying at the time.
Upon arrival in Orvieto, Fr. Peter reported the miracle to none-other than Pope Urban IV (the former Archdeacon sympathetic to St. Juliana and her visions), confirming for the Holy Father St. Juliana’s visions of some years prior. Pope Urban investigated the priest’s report, the Church ultimately declaring the validity of the miraculous bleeding host, and he moved the relics to the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Orvieto, where they remain today.
Enter St. Thomas Aquinas. Inspired by the Eucharistic miracle of Bolsena, Pope Urban commissioned a Dominican friar, the future St. Thomas Aquinas, to compose the Mass and Office for the feast of Corpus Christi. Aquinas' hymns in honor of the Holy Eucharist, Pange Lingua, Tantum Ergo, Panis Angelicus, and O Salutaris Hostia are the beloved hymns the Church sings on the feast of Corpus Christi as well as throughout the year during Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
Six years after St. Juliana’s death, Pope Urban IV instituted the Feast of Corpus Christi and celebrated it first in Orvieto in 1264.
We are blessed with multiple opportunities to participate in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Consider spending regular time with Jesus in adoration. The following area parishes have Perpetual Adoration Programs:
- Adoration - Church of the Ascension (kcascension.org)
- Curé of Ars Catholic Church - Eucharistic Adoration - Leawood, Kansas (cureofars.com)
- Holy Spirit Catholic Parish - Eucharistic Adoration - Overland Park, Kansas (hscatholic.org)
- We Adore Him/Holy Trinity Catholic Parish/Lenexa, KS (htlenexa.org)
- Ministries & Groups — St. Paul Catholic Church (spcatholic.org)
- Prayer Ministries - Sacred Heart of Jesus, Shawnee, KS (shoj.org)
- Adoration - St. Joseph Shawnee (stjoeshawnee.org)
- Holy Angels Church/Basehor, KS
- Perpetual Adoration/Church of the Holy Cross (holycrossopks.org)
- Eucharistic Adoration | Queen of the Holy Rosary
In addition to these programs, there are two opportunities monthly to participate in a holy hour for vocations:
- First Tuesday Holy Hour for Vocations at Curé of Ars
- Third Monday Holy Hour for Vocations at Ascension
Go ahead. Make some time to spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. You will be glad you did.
The photo is of the Queen of Holy Angels Adoration Chapel, Holy Angels Catholic Church, Basehor, KS.
