In the real world, the feast of Corpus Christi, honoring the Blessed Sacrament, takes place this year on May 26, the Thursday after Trinity Sunday; in the United States it is deferred until the following Sunday. Dating from the 13th century, when a Belgian mystic, Bl. Juliana de Cornillon had a series of visions in which Christ called for a special feast day in honor of His Eucharistic Body, its most notable keynote has been, after the principal Mass of the day, an outdoor procession.

Centering on a priest carrying an exposed host in a monstrance, who in turn was shielded from the elements by a rich canopy carried by four men (each holding one of the canopy’s poles), the procession always included a large number of priests. Joining them, however would be soldiers, members of the local civil authority (including, if it took place in a capital, the local monarch: the Austrian Emperor and the Kings of France, Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sardinia, and Poland all proudly took their places --- often carrying one of the canopy poles themselves), civic associations, and all sorts of other groups.

So popular did these processions become, that within two centuries they were to be found in almost every parish in Catholic Europe, from Sweden to Sicily, and from Ireland to Poland. They became ever more elaborate, and in addition to the cast just notice, in many places acquired floats illustrating biblical or doctrinal themes. It is not hard to figure out why our ancestors so loved them. First and foremost, the processions honored the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Then, of course, bringing Him out of the church building and into the streets or countryside signified His rule over the outside world --- that He is not simply confined to the church. The presence of all elements of society, from the top to the bottom showed both their common subjection to Him and their essential unity that He brings about. Moreover, publicly honoring the Blessed Sacrament was a way of making reparation for all the many sins of the community, both corporate and individual.

Just as unsurprisingly, the enemies of the Faith have deeply loathed an observance that so completely underlines doctrines they hate. At the Reformation, from England to Germany and Scandinavia, the processions were ruthlessly suppressed. In what remained of Catholic Europe and in Latin America, anti-clerical or revolutionary governments took similar actions from time to time. Indeed, whether or not a government suppressed Corpus Christi was a very good barometer of where it stood as regards the Faith. Today, in lands where the Corpus Christi processions are still permitted, the secular governments often try to limit official participation in them, such as when the Irish government forbade their soldiers to march in 2000. Such post-Catholic regimes pride themselves on being “secular,” “modern,” or “multi-cultural.”

But it is not simply ignorant or nasty politicians who hate Corpus Christi. Since Vatican II, in many countries, a falling off of belief among Catholics themselves led to a decline in the number of processions. In diocese after diocese, they became a thing of the past, alongside Benediction, Adoration, and the Forty Hours. Several generations of Catholics in many areas grew up without any knowledge of such things, and their faith suffered as a result. It is no coincidence that, according to Gallup, only 30% of American Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is really and truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.

This has not gone unnoticed in Rome. During the Jubilee Year of 2000, John Paul II called for the return of the Corpus Christ Procession, which call was heeded in a number of places. He reiterated this plea when opening the Year of the Eucharist in 2004. Benedict XVI not only repeated this call, but revived the Papal Corpus Christi procession himself, leading it from his cathedral of St. John Lateran to the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

I myself marched in the procession several times, in the German city of Aachen, capital of Charlemagne. In addition to the Bishop with the Host, and a crowd of priests and religious, the marchers included the mayor and city council, the local hunting fraternities in their green costumes and plumed hats, the local student fraternities in their hussar-style uniforms, and several bands. It was a wonderful affirmation of the Kingship and Real Presence of Christ, the unity of the people, and their connection with Catholics everywhere.

If you are fortunate to live near a place where such an activity is conducted, by all means participate. If not, ask your priest to organize it for next year. In a society where the murder of the unborn and the starvation of such as Terry Schiavo is gleefully smiled on by the courts; where the so-called conservative party in Congress has committed itself to the destruction of embryos; where the sacrament of marriage is routinely profaned by divorce, artificial contraception, shacking up, and homosexual “unions;” where the poor count for nothing and wealth is all --- we need much more than our share of reparation. The Corpus Christi procession at once shows our belief in Christ’s Real Presence and acts as a stern and tangible rebuke to the powers that be --- something they need a good deal of.