Introduction

dossier edited by don Mauro Benzi

Procession from the Basilica of San Lorenzo, detail, anonymous 15th century master, sacristy of the church of San Lorenzo, Milan

«This year, furthermore, the solemnity of Corpus Christi must be given particular prominence in its celebration […]. I ask us all to intensify in coming months the love and devotion to the Eucharistic Jesus and to express in a courageous and clear way faith in the Real Presence of the Lord, especially through the solemnity and decorum of the celebrations. I ask it in a special way of priests, whom I think of at this time with great affection». Thus Pope Benedict XVI in the message read in Latin at the end of the so-called Missa pro Ecclesia, celebrated on 20 April in the Sistine Chapel with the cardinal electors.
To facilitate adherence to these indications of the Pope, we print a sermon by Saint Charles Borromeo, and a meditation of former Cardinal Ratzinger, on Corpus Christi.
Those ollowed by some of the norms in the Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum published jointly in 2004 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and that for Divine Worship after the last encyclical of John Paul II Ecclesia de Eucharistia. In this “anthology” we limit ourselves to indicating only the most concrete guidelines to the simple faithful and priests to follow that «solemnity and decorum of the celebrations» invoked by the new Pope.

Edited by don Maurizio Benzi