St. Peter Roman Catholic Church, 4 S. Fifth St., Coplay, attracted approximately 100 people to its Corpus Christi procession held June 11.

Monsignor David James, pastor, officiated the event rooted in the Middle Ages.

Corpus Christi is the Latin title for the feast of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Most Catholics refer to the feast by its Latin title, Corpus Christi.

The feast was originated to honor Jesus for the gift of the Holy Eucharist. The change from bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood occurs through the Holy Spirit based on Christ’s Last Supper words, “This is my Body; this is my Blood. Do this in remembrance of Me.” The bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus and are received at Holy Communion.

During the Middle Ages, a priest named Berengarius taught that the Eucharist was not the Body and Blood of Christ as Christ taught. He later recanted, but his teachings caused confusion. To address this confusion, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi was instituted.

St. Thomas Aquinas asked Pope Urban IV to sanction an official feast. Aquinas was commissioned by Urban IV to compose the prayers. Aquinas’ prayers are still used today, along with his famous hymn to the Eucharist, “Adoro te Devote” which is sung in its original Latin and in English as the hymn “Humbly We Adore Thee.”

Corpus Christi is celebrated the Thursday after Pentecost Sunday. It was assigned to Thursday to show the connection between this solemnity and the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday.

Mimicking the ceremonies of Holy Thursday, Corpus Christi is celebrated with a Mass and a procession with the Holy Eucharist. On Corpus Christi, the procession is outdoors with the Holy Eucharist in a special vessel.

While the official date of Corpus Christi remains on the second Thursday after Pentecost Sunday, each national conference of bishops may move it to the following Sunday so more people can participate. That is the case in the United States, so Corpus Christi is celebrated the second Sunday after Pentecost Sunday.

The celebration of Corpus Christi has been an important part of the history of the St. Peter parish. Parish records show the first Mass celebrated in the newly established parish was celebrated on Corpus Christi.

Upon becoming pastor of St. Peter in June 2021, James wanted to restore the Corpus Christi procession. He waited until this year to hold the service.

In April, a church committee formed to plan the event. The committee labored to prepare the flowers, altars and procession route. Following European customs, the children in the church’s First Communion class led the procession, scattering rose petals. Confirmation class members created chalk drawings of religious symbols on the sidewalk in front of the rectory, church and convent where the procession passed.

Music for the procession was led by the parish choir. Members of the Holy Name Society carried the canopy over the priest who carried the Eucharist, and the parish Eucharistic ministers carried torches behind the canopy.