Early history While the keeping of the Blessed Sacrament outside Mass seems to have been part of the Christian practice from the beginning to administer to the sick and dying (both
Justin Martyr and
Tertullian refer to it), the practice of adoration began somewhat later. One of the first possible references to reserving the Blessed Sacrament for adoration is found in the life of
St. Basil (died AD 379). Basil is said to have divided the Eucharistic bread into three parts when he celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the monastery. One part he consumed, the second part he gave to the monks, and the third he placed in a golden dove-shaped container suspended over the altar. This separate portion was probably to reserve the sacrament for distribution to the sick who were unable to attend the liturgy. The earliest explicit reference to Eucharistic adoration comes from an eighth century vita of St.
Victorian of Asan (d. 558 or 560). According to James Monti: "In a medieval biography of the Italian-born abbot Saint Victorian (+558) written probably in the eighth century, we find what constitutes the earliest extant, explicit account of prayer before the reserved Eucharist outside of Mass. After describing Victorian’s devotion in celebrating Mass as a hermit-priest living in northeast Spain (prior to his becoming an abbot sometime between 522 and 531), the biographer tells of a chapel Victorian built adjoining his hermitage, “far off from every loud noise of the world,” and how he spent his time there: “In this [chapel], more frequently and fervently, he poured forth his prayers before that indescribable Sacrament of divine goodness and commended to God the health of the whole Church; and in this holy exercise he consumed almost the entire day.” This account lends credence to the extraordinary claim of the Spanish city of Lugo that perpetual adoration of the Eucharist has existed in the city since the late sixth century." Another early example of Eucharistic adoration is in the life of
St. Wenceslaus the Martyr (d. 935): "St. Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia, although tired with the business of the day, would nevertheless spend whole nights before the tabernacle in supplication for his people… On the coldest winter nights he would arise from his bed in order to visit Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament; and so inflamed with divine love was his soul that it imparted heat to his very body.” According to
Alphonsus Liguori: "...tender indeed was the devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament St. Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia. This holy king was so enamored of Jesus there present that he... even during the winter... used to go at night to visit the church in which the Blessed Sacrament was kept." St.
Ulrich of Augsburg is also reported to have practiced adoration in the form of Eucharistic processions: "...the biographer of St. Ulrich (d. 973) speaks of a procession, "hallowed by tradition", with the Eucharist to the church of St. Ambrose, returning to the church of John the Baptist on Easter morning." Eucharistic adoration in the form of processions, has existed since the 10th century in England and Cluny: "By the tenth century, a solem procession for bringing the Eucharist to the sick and the dying had emerged in the monasteries: the tenth-century
Regularis concordia, a directory for England's monasteries attributed to
Saint Æthelwold of Winchester (d. 984), speaks of the Blessed Sacrament being carried with incense in procession to the rooms of ill monks. The French Benedictine customary of Cluny known as the
Liber tramitis (c. 1043) directs that when the priest carrying the
Viaticum enters the home of the invalid, all present should kneel before "the Body of the Lord", including the invalid himself, if he is able to do so." Eucharistic adoration has also been reported, by some authors, among the saints of the British Isles: "Of this devotion Fr. Bridgett gives a long list of saintly examples – Cuthbert, and Guthlac and Ulfric, Herbert and Godric, and besides them many holy women." According to Lawrence George Lovasik: "The Anglo-Saxons gave the highest worship to that which the ciborium or pyx contained. They called it "the adorable Host of the Son of God." They gave every sign of outward reverence to the church that contained it and to the altar on which it was offered." In
Eastern Christianity, the adoration which developed in the West has never been part of the Eastern liturgy which St. Basil celebrated, but a liturgy for adoration does exist among the
Eastern Catholic Churches involving
psalms and placing a covered diskos with the sacred species on the altar. This is befitting the Eastern custom of veiling from human eyes those things deemed sacred.
Middle Ages The theological basis for the adoration was prepared in the 11th century by
Pope Gregory VII, who was instrumental in affirming the tenet that Christ is present in the Blessed Host. In 1079, Gregory required of
Berengar of Tours a confession of belief: This profession of faith began a "Eucharistic Renaissance" in the churches of Europe.
Lanfranc of Canterbury started the tradition of Eucharistic processions during the Liturgy in Canterbury cathedral, and the people would bow in adoration of the Sacrament. The
Franciscan archives credit Saint
Francis of Assisi (who died in 1226) for starting Eucharistic Adoration in Italy. It then spread from
Umbria to other parts of Italy. In 1264
Pope Urban IV instituted the feast of
Corpus Christi ("the Body of Christ") with the publication of the papal bull . He asked the Dominican theologian
Thomas Aquinas to write the texts for the Mass and Office of the feast. This included such famous hymns as and , the last two strophes of which form the Benediction hymn . The last two verses of are sung as the hymn , also used at Benediction. Beginning in the 14th century in the
Western Church, devotions began to focus on the Eucharistic gifts as the objective presence of the risen Christ and the Host began to be elevated during the liturgy for the purpose of adoration, as well as to be seen by the congregation since the priest stood facing the same direction in front of the altar.
16th–18th centuries In the 16th century, the
Protestant Reformation was challenging various issues with respect to the Eucharist and in response the
Council of Trent greatly emphasized the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the theological basis for Eucharistic adoration. The Trent declaration was the most significant theological component of Eucharistic doctrine since the
apostolic age. The statement included the following: The Council then declared Eucharistic adoration as a form of
latria: Following the Council of Trent, figures such as Saints
Charles Borromeo and
Alain de Solminihac promoted Eucharistic devotion and adoration. As part of the simplification of Church interiors, and to emphasize the importance of the Blessed Sacrament, Charles Borromeo initiated the practice of placing the
tabernacle at a higher, central location behind the main altar. As Eucharistic adoration and Benediction became more widespread during the 17th century, the altar came to be seen as the "home of the Blessed Sacrament" where it would be adored. A common early practice of adoration known as (literary 'forty hours') started in the 16th century. It is an exercise of devotion in which continuous prayer is made for forty hours before the exposed Blessed Sacrament. This practice started in Milan in the 1530s and 1540s by
Capuchins such as Giuseppe da Fermo who promoted long periods of adoration. From Northern Italy it was carried to elsewhere in Europe by the Capuchins and
Jesuits. The practice of the perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament started in Naples in 1590 within the Order of the
Clerics Regular Minor, founded by
Francis Caracciolo, Fr. Augustine Adorno and Fr. Fabrizio Caracciolo. This practice was modified to continuous adoration during the day due to the few number of religious in the Order's Constitutions of 1597 with approval by
Pope Clement VIII At a later date, the Order would revert to its earlier rule of perpetual adoration, but only within houses of no less than twenty religious. The houses with less religious were offered perpetual adoration as an option if it would not interfere with the execution of the house's ministries. In the 18th century, large numbers of people were drawn to quiet adoration of the Eucharist and priests such as
Alphonsus Liguori encouraged the practice. He wrote a book entitled
Visits to the Blessed Sacrament and explained that a visit to the Blessed Sacrament is the "practice of loving Jesus Christ", since friends who love each other visit regularly.
Benedict Joseph Labre, a homeless beggar and
Franciscan tertiary, was a familiar figure in the city of Rome and known as the "saint of the Forty Hours" (or ) for his dedication to Eucharistic adoration.
19th and 20th centuries The French Revolution hindered the practice of Eucharistic adoration; however, the beginning of the 19th century witnessed a strong emphasis on Eucharistic piety, devotions and adorations. By 1829, the efforts of the
Confraternity of Penitents-Gris brought Eucharistic adoration back in France. Twenty years later, the Venerable
Leo Dupont initiated the nightly adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in
Tours in 1849, from where it spread within
France.
Anthony Mary Claret, the confessor to
Isabella II of Spain and the founder of the
Claretians, was also a fervent promoter of Eucharistic devotion and adoration and introduced the practice to
Cuba, where he was sent as Archbishop. The adoration of the Eucharist within France grew in this period, and there were interactions between Catholic figures who were enthusiastic about spreading the practice, e.g.,
Leo Dupont,
Jean Vianney and
Peter Julian Eymard who in 1858 formed the
Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. Also in 1858, Eymard, known as the
Apostle of the Eucharist, and sister
Marguerite Guillot formed the
Servants of the Blessed Sacrament which now maintains houses on several continents where continuous Eucharistic adoration takes place. By Decree of the Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship, dated 9 December 1995, Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Priest, was added to the General Roman Calendar with the rank of optional memorial: The first informally organized
Eucharistic Congress took place in 1874, through the efforts of
Marie-Marthe-Baptistine Tamisier of
Tours, France. In 1881, Pope
Leo XIII approved the first formal Eucharistic Congress, which was organized by
Louis-Gaston de Ségur in
Lille, France, and was attended by a few adherents. The 1905 congress took place in Rome, and
Pope Pius X presided over it. The practice of prolonged Eucharistic adoration also spread to the United States in the 19th century, and
John Neumann, the
Bishop of Philadelphia, started the
Forty Hours' Devotion there, where it continues to this day. ==Christian traditions==