Letter to Bishops on the bread and wine for the
Eucharist
Pope francis rises the Holy Host during a Mass prior to the Corpus Domini procession from St.John at the Lateran Basilica to St.Mary Major Basilica.- AP |
(Vatican Radio) At the request of Pope Francis, the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is writing
to Diocesan Bishops to remind them that it falls to them above all to duly
provide for all that is required for the celebration of the Lord’s
Supper.
Below find the English language translation of Circular
letter to Bishops on the bread and wine for the Eucharist
CONGREGATION FOR DIVINE WORSHIP
AND THE DISCIPLINE OF THE SACRAMENTS
Prot. N. 320/17
Circular letter to Bishops
on the bread and wine for the Eucharist
At the request of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is writing
to Diocesan Bishops (and to those who are their equivalents in law) to remind
them that it falls to them above all to duly provide for all that is required
for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (cf. Lk 22: 8,13). It is for the
Bishop as principal dispenser of the mysteries of God, moderator, promoter and
guardian of the liturgical life in the Church entrusted to his care (Cf. CIC
can. 835 § 1), to watch over the quality of the bread and wine to be used at
the Eucharist and also those who prepare these materials. In order to be
of assistance we recall the existing regulations and offer some practical
suggestions.
Until recently it was certain religious communities who took
care of baking the bread and making the wine for the celebration of the
Eucharist. Today, however, these materials are also sold in supermarkets
and other stores and even over the internet. In order to remove any doubt
about the validity of the matter for the Eucharist, this Dicastery suggests
that Ordinaries should give guidance in this regard by, for example,
guaranteeing the Eucharistic matter through special certification.
The Ordinary is bound to remind priests, especially parish
priests and rectors of churches, of their responsibility to verify those who
provide the bread and wine for the celebration and the worthiness of the material.
It is also for the Ordinary to provide information to the
producers of the bread and wine for the Eucharist and to remind them of the
absolute respect that is due to the norms.
The norms about the Eucharistic matter are given in can. 924
of the CIC and in numbers 319 – 323 of the Institutio generalis Missalis
Romani and have already been explained in the Instruction Redemptionis
Sacramentum issued by this Congregation (25 March 2004):
“The bread used in the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharistic
Sacrifice must be unleavened, purely of wheat, and recently made so that there
is no danger of decomposition. It follows therefore that bread made from
another substance, even if it is grain, or if it is mixed with another
substance different from wheat to such an extent that it would not commonly be
considered wheat bread, does not constitute valid matter for confecting the
Sacrifice and the Eucharistic Sacrament. It is a grave abuse to introduce
other substances, such as fruit or sugar or honey, into the bread for
confecting the Eucharist. Hosts should obviously be made by those who are not
only distinguished by their integrity, but also skilled in making them and
furnished with suitable tools” (n. 48).
“The wine that is used in the most sacred celebration of the
Eucharistic Sacrifice must be natural, from the fruit of the grape, pure and
incorrupt, not mixed with other substances. […] Great care should
be taken so that the wine intended for the celebration of the Eucharist is well
conserved and has not soured. It is altogether forbidden to use wine of
doubtful authenticity or provenance, for the Church requires certainty
regarding the conditions necessary for the validity of the sacraments. Nor are
other drinks of any kind to be admitted for any reason, as they do not
constitute valid matter” (n. 50).
In its Circular Letter to the Presidents of the Episcopal
Conferences regarding legitimate variations in the use of bread with a small
quantity of gluten and the use of mustum as Eucharistic matter (24 July 2003,
Prot. N. 89/78 – 17498), the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
published the norms for the celebration of the Eucharist by persons who, for
varying and grave reasons, cannot consume bread made in the usual manner nor
wine fermented in the normal manner:
“Hosts that are completely gluten-free are invalid matter
for the celebration of the Eucharist. Low-gluten hosts (partially
gluten-free) are valid matter, provided they contain a sufficient amount of
gluten to obtain the confection of bread without the addition of foreign
materials and without the use of procedures that would alter the nature of
bread” (A. 1-2).
“Mustum, which is grape juice that is either fresh or
preserved by methods that suspend its fermentation without altering its nature
(for example, freezing), is valid matter for the celebration of the Eucharist”
(A. 3).
“The Ordinary is competent to give permission for an
individual priest or layperson to use low-gluten hosts or mustum for the
celebration of the Eucharist. Permission can be granted habitually, for as long
as the situation continues which occasioned the granting of permission” (C. 1).
The same Congregation also decided that Eucharistic matter
made with genetically modified organisms can be considered valid matter (cf.
Letter to the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline
of the Sacraments, 9 December 2013, Prot. N. 89/78 – 44897).
Those who make bread and produce wine for use in the Mass
must be aware that their work is directed towards the Eucharistic Sacrifice and
that this demands their honesty, responsibility and competence.
In order to facilitate the observance of the general norms
Ordinaries can usefully reach agreement at the level of the Episcopal
Conference by establishing concrete regulations. Given the complexity of
situations and circumstances, such as a decrease in respect for the sacred, it
may be useful to mandate a competent authority to have oversight in actually
guaranteeing the genuineness of the Eucharistic matter by producers as well as
those responsible for its distribution and sale.
It is suggested, for example, that an Episcopal Conference
could mandate one or more Religious Congregations or another body capable of
carrying out the necessary checks on production, conservation and sale of the
Eucharistic bread and wine in a given country and for other countries to which
they are exported. It is recommended that the bread and wine to be used
in the Eucharist be treated accordingly in the places where they are sold.
From the offices of the Congregation for Divine Worship and
the Discipline of the Sacraments, 15 June 2017, Solemnity of the Most
Holy Body and Blood of Christ.
Robert Card. Sarah
Prefect
X Arthur Roche
Archbishop Secretary
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