The feast of the Most Precious Blood was instituted by Pope Pius IX and later merged with Corpus Christi. Jerusalem is the only place where it continues to be celebrated separately.
Newsroom (03/07/2025 19:30, Gaudium Press) On the occasion of the Solemnity of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, celebrated on July 1, the Franciscan Friars of the Custody of the Holy Land took part in a traditional liturgical ceremony at the Shrine of Gethsemane.
Through this blood, divine life itself flows into us
The celebration was presided over by the Custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton (who, with this ceremony, concluded his mandate in the Holy Land) and concelebrated by the Vicar Custodian, Father Ibrahim Faltas; the Guardian of the Gethsemane convent, Father Sinisa Srebrenović; among other priests.
In his homily, the Custos of the Holy Land stressed that the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, since his incarnation, runs through all the stages of Christ’s life until it reaches each one of us, transforming human history into a history of salvation. “This is the Precious Blood of Jesus, through this blood the divine life itself flows into us.”
The way to build peace and respect for every life
Father Patton stressed that on this solemnity, we celebrate the living encounter with Christ: in his donated blood, we receive the grace that transforms us inwardly, reconciles us with God and makes us participants in his own divine life. He also recalled the dramatic reality currently affecting the Holy Land, pointing to the Eucharist and the blood shed by Our Lord Jesus Christ as the way to build peace and respect for every life.
“In a context where human blood is shed too easily and without scruples; where words like forgiveness and reconciliation sound distant and almost unattainable; Jesus’ words take on an even stronger meaning – the meaning of a possible hope for reconciliation and peace, the meaning of a possible respect for every human life, the meaning of a new covenant,” he concluded.
Feast of the Precious Blood
In 1849, Pope Pius IX instituted the Feast of the Most Precious Blood on July 1st. Later, with the liturgical reform of 1969, Pope St. Paul VI merged this feast with Corpus Christi. Today, Jerusalem is the only place where the feast continues to be celebrated separately. (EPC)
Compiled by Teresa Joseph
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