Next Sunday, the Church in Malta will celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). Archbishop Charles Scicluna will celebrate Mass at St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta at 9:30am and everyone is invited to attend. The celebration will be broadcast on TVM, Church.mt, Newsbook Malta and RTK 103.
Following the Mass, the Archbishop will lead a traditional procession with the Holy Eucharist along the main streets of Valletta. It will start from St John’s Co-Cathedral and pass through Merchants Street, Archbishop Street, stopping in front of the church dedicated to Our Lady of Damascus, where Papàs Martin Zammit, the parish priest of the Greek Catholic parish, will incense the Eucharist in an act of worship. The procession will then continue to Republic Street and end at the Co-Cathedral.
As part of the Corpus Christi celebration, tomorrow, Thursday, 30th May, Archbishop Scicluna will celebrate Mass at St George’s Parish Church in Ħal Qormi at 6pm. Afterwards, he will lead a procession with the Blessed Sacrament through the main streets of the parish, with the participation of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, which this year is commemorating the 450th anniversary of its establishment.
The feast of Corpus Christi commemorates the institution of the Holy Eucharist by Christ on Maundy Thursday, the eve of His passion and death. Since the focus of Maundy Thursday is on the solemnity of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the feast of Corpus Christi started to be celebrated on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday. When the feast of Corpus Christi was no longer a public holiday in Malta, it started to be celebrated on the Sunday following Trinity Sunday. On this very important day for the Church, Catholics are encouraged to reflect on the significance of the Holy Eucharist in their lives.