Sacrifice , which occurred around 750 AD in the city of Lanciano, the Abruzzo region of Italy. A Basilian monk who doubted transubstantiation saw the bread and wine turn into flesh and blood during consecration; it is now venerated. Many early Christian communities understood the Eucharist in sacrificial terms, though later Christian traditions debated the meaning and legitimacy of sacrificial language. Contemporary Catholic teaching holds that the celebration of the Eucharist makes present the sacrificial death of Jesus, in continuity with the Last Supper. While "sacrifice" in antiquity often referred to
pagan rites or to the
offering of animals in
Judaism, theologian David Power argues that "the Cross of Christ replaced the rites of sacrifice with the table of Christ's body and blood," situating the Eucharist "outside the series of all earlier sacrificial rituals" and introducing "a totally different kind of reality" that fulfills the purpose of sacrifice "superabundantly".
Vatican II's
Sacrosanctum Concilium similarly teaches that "Christ entrusted this sacrifice to the Church, that the faithful might share in it both spiritually, by faith and charity, and sacramentally, through the banquet of Holy Communion". The
Compendium of the
Catechism of the Catholic Church also states that the "Eucharist is the very sacrifice of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus which he instituted to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross". Catholic doctrine holds that it is the same sacrifice as
Calvary because it represents the sacrifice of the cross as a memorial and because it applies its fruits. The
Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century introduced major doctrinal divisions concerning the Eucharist and its sacrificial character. In the Catholic Church, the Council of Trent taught that "the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner" in the Mass, so that a true sacrifice occurs. According to theologian Stephen Sours, some Protestant communities abandoned "the doctrine of eucharistic sacrifice” or "the language of offering," while others truncated "its scope"; in his analysis, the idea of sacrifice in the Mass "became obscured in Protestant thought and life," rather than "simply being reformed of [its] excesses". Sours notes that early Methodist liturgies influenced by
John and
Charles Wesley retained certain sacrificial elements while rejecting
transubstantiation, whereas later Methodist practice moved toward more symbolic interpretations. Some early Protestant reformers criticized the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation by asserting that it "requires you not to believe your senses", since it teaches that "what you eat and drink is not bread and wine, but the body and blood of Jesus Christ". Across Protestant traditions, views on the Eucharist diverged significantly.
Martin Luther affirmed a "corporal, quasi-substantial presence" of Christ in the elements—often described as
sacramental union rather than
consubstantiation. In contrast,
Huldrych Zwingli taught
memoralism, interpreting the Eucharist as "a mere symbol of Christ".
John Calvin articulated a real spiritual presence, wherein believers are spiritually nourished by Christ through the
Holy Spirit, though his physical body remains in heaven. Because of these divisions, liturgical scholars have tried to "develop a doctrine of Christ's "dynamic presence" in the Eucharist, in a contrast to the "static presence” of a mere substance."
Transubstantiation and concomitance . . The chalice is displayed to the people immediately after the consecration of the wine. .
Transubstantiation (Latin:
transubstantiatio) refers to the change of the substance of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, without change in the accidents of bread and wine, within the sacrament of the Eucharist. According to Catholic doctrine, by the power of the
Holy Spirit and the words of Christ during consecration, they cease to be bread and wine. At his
Last Supper, Jesus said, "This is my body"; Catholic teaching holds that, although the appearances of bread remained, the "substance" of the bread was changed to his body. In Catholic theology, because "substance" is understood as a
metaphysical reality rather than a physical property accessible to the senses, the Church teaches that no change detectable by
empirical science occurs, even though the substance is held to change. The
Catechism states that "Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species... the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ". The Catholic Church teaches that, by transubstantiation, Christ is truly and substantially present under the appearances of bread and wine, a belief that underlies the practice of reserving consecrated elements in a tabernacle, bringing Holy Communion to the sick and dying, and fostering Eucharistic adoration. The
Catechism states that the Eucharistic presence is "a presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present". In the New Testament, Saint Paul teaches that participation in the one loaf forms "worshippers into one body in Christ" and Jesus' words at the Last Supper describe the cup "for you" and "for the forgiveness of sins". John Zupez argues that "there was no separation of the fact of the real presence in the bread... the term transubstantiation focuses only on the fact". Hildebert de Lavardin, Archbishop of Tours, is among the earliest Latin authors known to use the term "transubstantiation" to describe the change from bread and wine to the body and blood of Christ. Early Latin Christian writers also used the term "substance" (
substantia), for example in speaking of the Son as being the same "substance" (
consubstantialis) as the Father. In 1215, the
Fourth Lateran Council used the word
transubstantiated in its profession of faith and stated the following on the doctrine: His body and blood are truly contained in the sacrament of the altar under the forms of bread and wine, the bread and wine
having been changed in substance, by God’s power, into his body and blood, so that in order to achieve this mystery of unity we receive from God what he received from us. Nobody can effect this sacrament except a priest who has been properly ordained according to the church’s keys, which Jesus Christ himself gave to the apostles and their successors.
Cannibalism claims Critics of the Eucharist have at times characterized the doctrine of Christ's real presence as a form of
cannibalism, often to portray the practice as immoral or to discredit it. One interpreter of Søren Kierkegaard's Eucharistic writings has used his notion of "a teleological suspension of the ethical,"
—in which "the ethical is suspended by a higher power, a direct divine mandate"
—to argue that, within such a framework, ritual or spiritual forms of cannibalism could be seen as superseding ordinary moral rules against cannibalism. Early Christian sources also recognized the challenging nature of Jesus' teaching on eating his flesh and drinking his blood; according to the
Gospel of John, some of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" and "many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him". One scholar argues that the Eucharist unites "the most positive and holiest as well as the most horrible and taboo-ridden aspects of eating and nourishment", a combination that contributes to what makes "the Eucharist so very powerful". Father Wayne Stock emphasizes that this is a spiritual reality: "[W]e are not taking pieces of meat off of his body but instead eating bread that has been transformed into his body" since "[H]is body is neither killed nor destroyed".
Minister of the sacrament in Sicily distributing the Eucharist to a child at her first Holy Communion According to Catholic teaching, only a validly ordained
priest or
bishop can consecrate the Eucharist and preside at its celebration, acting in the person of Christ. In the
Latin Church, lay faithful may serve as
extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, distributing the sacrament when "there are no ordained ministers present", when ordained ministers are unable to distribute it, or when there are "particularly large numbers of the faithful"; however, they have no power to consecrate the bread and wine.
Rules and obligations Because the Eucharist is held to be the real presence of the body and blood of Christ and the central act of Catholic worship, the Catholic Church prescribes specific rules and obligations for the faithful regarding its reception. The Eucharist may be celebrated on most days of the year; on
Good Friday, however, no Mass is offered and Communion is distributed from hosts consecrated at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on
Holy Thursday. A person may not receive the Eucharist in a state of
mortal sin, as this would be
sacrilege, unless "he has a grave reason for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to confession," as provided in canon law, a norm traditionally linked to 1 Corinthians 11:27-29. Catholic teaching holds that the principal fruit of the Eucharist is an intimate union with Christ Jesus, together with other spiritual gifts. In addition, Catholics are obliged to receive the Eucharist at least once per year, preferably during the
Easter season, and, in the
Latin Church, to abstain from food and drink (except water and medicine) for at least one hour before Communion. Eastern Catholics follow the fasting norms of their own Churches, which generally prescribe a longer period of preparation. In the Latin Church, communicants are to make an outward sign of reverence—such as a bow of the head—before receiving, and may receive either on the tongue or in the hand. A Catholic may receive Communion either during Mass or outside of Mass and may receive it a second time in one day, provided the second reception occurs within a Mass in which the person participates. For children, canon law requires "sufficient knowledge and careful preparation... to receive the body of Christ with faith and devotion". However, Communion may be administered to children "in danger of death" if "they can distinguish the body of Christ from ordinary food" and receive it reverently. In many dioceses in the United States and Canada, children typically receive their First Communion around the age of seven or eight (often in second grade), whereas in many Eastern Catholic Churches the Eucharist is given to infants immediately after
Baptism and
Chrismation. Holy Communion may be received under one kind (either the consecrated host or the chalice) or under both kinds; the Church teaches that "Holy Communion has a fuller form as a sign when it is distributed under both kinds," but that those who receive "even under only one species… are not deprived of any of the grace necessary for salvation". The diocesan bishop may permit Communion under both kinds whenever it is appropriate and there is "no danger of profanation of the Sacrament" or of the rites "becoming difficult". In the Mass, a Communion plate may be used when the faithful receive, in order to "avoid the danger of the sacred host or some fragment of it falling". The bread for the Eucharist must be made solely from wheat, and the wine must be natural grape wine and not corrupt. The
Congregation for Divine Worship has issued guidance on the character of bread and wine to be used in the Mass, including norms for low‑gluten hosts and for the use of
mustum (minimally fermented grape juice) in particular cases. According to canon law, validly baptized non‑Catholics may receive the Eucharist only in special situations. Members of Eastern Churches not in full communion with Rome may be admitted if they seek the sacrament of their own accord, manifest Catholic faith in it, and are properly disposed. Other baptized Christians may receive only in cases of danger of death or other grave necessity, when they cannot approach a minister of their own community, provided they manifest Catholic faith in the Eucharist, request it on their own, and are properly disposed; in all such cases, care is to be taken to avoid any appearance of indifferentism. == Devotion, adoration, and benediction ==