St. Joseph, St. Ann celebrate Feast of Corpus Christi

Sheri Trusty
Updated ·2 min read
The Rev. Matt Frisbee carries the consecrated host in a monstrance throughout Fremont on Sunday. The event, he said, helped the church “bring Christ into the streets.”
The Rev. Matt Frisbee carries the consecrated host in a monstrance throughout Fremont on Sunday. The event, he said, helped the church “bring Christ into the streets.”
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

FREMONT - In the year 1263, a German Catholic priest named Peter of Prague reached an impasse in his faith. Peter was faithful to service but was struggling to believe in the church’s doctrine that teaches that the bread and wine of the eucharist are transformed into the literal body of Christ. While on pilgrimage to Rome, Peter stopped to celebrate Mass at the tomb of St. Christina in Bolsena, Italy, and experienced what is recognized by the Catholic Church as a miracle.

According to Catholic tradition, as Peter worshipped, blood began to pour from the consecrated host onto the altar and the corporal, the cloth on which the host is placed during communion. Peter brought the consecrated host and bloodstained cloth to Pope Urban IV in nearby Orvieto, where the corporal was enshrined in the Cathedral of Orvieto. The following year, in 1264, Urban instituted the Feast of Corpus Christi.

Parishioners celebrate Feast of Corpus Christi with a procession

On Sunday, St. Joseph, St. Ann and Sacred Heart parishes joined together at St. Joseph to celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi. Following morning Mass, a procession honoring the consecrated host was made through the streets of Fremont. A large crowd made the trek from St. Joseph to St. Ann, softly singing hymns as they walked.“We are celebrating the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the elements of the eucharist,” said the Rev. Matthew Frisbee, pastor of St. Joseph and St. Ann parishes. “As Catholics, we believe Christ is present really, truly, actually, in the eucharist.”

The consecrated host was carried in the procession by Frisbee on a monstrance, an elaborate, decorative vessel used to display objects of piety. St. Joseph used the smaller of its two vessels. The church’s other, historic monstrance, which weighs about 75 pounds, was too big to carry.

Frisbee said Feast of Corpus Christi celebrations are historically extravagant.

Local Catholics celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi on Sunday with a procession from St. Joseph Catholic Church to St. Ann. The procession honored the Catholic belief in the transubstantiation of the bread and wine in the eucharist.
Local Catholics celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi on Sunday with a procession from St. Joseph Catholic Church to St. Ann. The procession honored the Catholic belief in the transubstantiation of the bread and wine in the eucharist.

Tradition of feast is to be elaborate, but local church kept it simple

“Through the centuries, the procession would have been elaborate. They would stop the procession at people’s homes where there were altars to have prayer and do readings. Sometimes children took their First Communion on that day,” Frisbee said. “We’re not doing that. We are just walking from St. Joseph to St. Ann.”

Although the churches kept the celebration simple, that did not lessen its significance to parishioners who joined from the two parishes to worship together.

“They are here to be a witness to our faith and the Lord’s presence,” Frisbee said. “Jesus said, ‘I will be with you to the ends of the world,’ and he is with us in the eucharist.”

Parishioners from St. Joseph and St. Ann Catholic parishes leave St. Joseph on a trek to St. Ann as they celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi on Sunday.
Parishioners from St. Joseph and St. Ann Catholic parishes leave St. Joseph on a trek to St. Ann as they celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi on Sunday.

The celebration was a way for local Catholics to openly share their faith.

“We are celebrating Christ’s presence in the elements as a way to bring Christ into the streets, out into Fremont,” Frisbee said.

Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at  sheritrusty4@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: St. Joseph, St. Ann celebrate Feast of Corpus Christi