Corpus Christi Feast Day: How it came to be

St. Juliana (by Andreas Praefcke) 

Eight centuries ago, an orphaned youth in what is now Belgium began having visions of a full moon marred by just one spot.

Juliana of Liege had these same visions for more than 20 years.  She often wondered what they meant, and prayed that they weren’t the devil’s doing.  Finally, this remarkable member of the Order of Canons Regular of Premontre (a Roman Catholic religious order that was founded by Saint Norbert in 1120) understood the true meaning of these visions.  She who had long venerated the Eucharist now realized that the one “dark spot” in the otherwise full “moon” was the absence of a feast day that was solely dedicated to Christ’s Body and Blood.

Saint Juliana began slowly sharing these visions with trusted members of her convent.  After she shared them with her confessor, Canon John of

Lausanne, he presented the idea of a Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) Feast Day to a group of esteemed theologians.  They, in turn, endorsed this idea - and approval of it was then granted by the local religious

authorities.

In 1246, Bishop of Liege Robert de Thorete ordered via a synod that a Corpus Christi celebration be held

annually.  However, Wikipedia reports that “the celebration of Corpus Christi became widespread only after both St. Juliana and Bishop Robert de Thorete had died.”  It wasn’t until 1264 that Pope Urban IV (whom St. Juliana had petitioned back when he was still the Archdeacon of Liege) issued the papal bull Transiturus de hoc mundo “in which Corpus Christi was made a feast throughout the entire Latin Rite.”

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliana_of_Li%C3%A8ge

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_Christi_(feast)

Copyright June 3, 2012 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved