Amid the news about a possible change in the date for the Vatican’s Corpus Christi procession comes this detail:
In the first year of his pontificate, Pope Francis surprised everyone by following the Corpus Christi procession on foot, behind the Most Blessed Sacrament, instead of kneeling before the Eucharist on a modified “pope-mobile,” as his predecessors had done. Then, in 2014, no longer able to make the journey on foot, the pope chose to travel to the Basilica of St. Mary Major by car, ahead of the arrival of the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
According to Farodi Roma, “the pope wanted all the attention of the faithful to be on the Eucharist that was being carried in procession, and not on him.” Once the Blessed Sacrament has arrived at St. Mary Major, the pope would then preside at solemn Benediction.
This year, the possibility of eliminating the vehicle that holds aloft the Most Blessed Sacrament, in favor of two deacons carrying the monstrance on foot, is also being considered.
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