He Pope Francisco He lamented this Sunday that many streets are reduced “to piles of rubble because of war, selfishness and indifference,” during his homily at the Corpus Christi mass which he presided over in San Juan de Lateran, after several years of absence in the Roman basilica.
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With the arrival of the covid pandemic and later with his mobility and health problems, he was not able to celebrate this date there either. On this feast in which Catholics celebrate the presence of God in the bread of the Eucharist,
Francisco explained that the world needs bread “that tastes of gratitude, freedom and proximity.”
“Every day we see too many streets, which perhaps were once scented with the smell of baking bread, being reduced to piles of rubble because of war, selfishness and indifference,” he said.
Pope Francis presides over the Corpus Christi ceremony in front of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major after the arrival of a procession from the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, on June 2, 2024 in Rome. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)
Photo:AFP
After the mass, the traditional procession will be celebrated and the pope will also go to the nearby basilica of Santa María Maggiore, from where he will give the blessing.
The Corpus Christi festival was instituted by Pope Urban IV in 1264 after the so-called “miracle of Bolsena”. In 1263, a Bohemian priest, Peter of Prague, was heading towards Rome when he stopped in the nearby town of Bolsena to say mass.
The priest doubted the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and asked God for a “sign.” According to Catholic tradition, some drops of blood came out of the consecrated host, falling on the corporal, the cloth that is spread on the altar, above the altar, to place the host and the chalice on it. The cloth is kept in the cathedral of Orvieto, in central Italy.
EFE
