Corpus Christi celebrations will be virtual

With gatherings of more than five still disallowed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no public Masses, processions, or Benedictions with the Blessed Sacrament for the 236th Corpus Christi celebrations on Thursday, June 11.

There will however be a virtual Mass that morning at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Archbishop Jason Gordon told Catholic News after the Pentecost Vigil Mass at the Cathedral last Saturday evening.

The Archbishop also said there will likely be an overseas guest speaker after the Mass. Details of the Mass time and the speaker were still being arranged as the paper went to press last Monday. Updates will be shared via the Archdiocesan social media platforms.

The main Corpus Christi Mass is usually held at the Queen’s Park Savannah followed by a procession through Port of Spain ending at the Cathedral with Benediction. Masses and processions are also held across the Archdiocese including San Fernando, Arima, and Scarborough, Tobago.

The Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ—Corpus Christi—on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday. Its celebration on a Thursday is meant to associate it with the institution, by Jesus, of the Eucharist during the Last Supper. Corpus Christi is considered a solemn day of obligation for practising Catholics. —RS