Description
The Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, usally known as Corpus Christi, was instituted by the Pope Urban IV in 1264 and it takes place sixty days after Easter. It is usually celebrated on a Thrusday emphasizing the institution of the Eucharist, which was observed on Hloy Thrursday, at the Last Supper of Jesus with the Apostles, a memorial of His infinite Love towards Humanity.
In Lisbon the Feast of Corpus Christi is enhanced by the Procession through some of the Downtown streets, during which the Blessed Sacrament is carried and held aloft in the middle of thousands of believers, in a demonstration of faith. From the 15th century onwards it assumes a wider significance and in the 17th century it becomes the oldest and most attended of all the processions. Nowadays people from the whole Diocese of Lisbon take part in this Procession, that begins and ends at the Cathedral.
"Today we are the vast crowd that Jesus feeds with His Bread. We, too, try to follow Him, listen to Him, be one with Him and walk with Him, so that He might be with us as well" (as in Pope Francis’s homily at the Solemnity of Corpus Christy, 2013)
Schedule
5pm - Procession starts at the Cathedral
Route: Largo da Sé, Rua das Pedras Negras, Rua da Madalena, Poço do Borratem, Praça Martim Moniz (contornando o Hotel mundial), Rua da Palma, Rua Dom Duarte, Praça da Figueira, Rua da Prata, Rua da Conceição, Largo da Madalena, Rua de Santo António da Sé, Largo da Sé
6:30pm - Procession finishes at the Largo Sé; Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
In Lisbon the Feast of Corpus Christi is enhanced by the Procession through some of the Downtown streets, during which the Blessed Sacrament is carried and held aloft in the middle of thousands of believers, in a demonstration of faith. From the 15th century onwards it assumes a wider significance and in the 17th century it becomes the oldest and most attended of all the processions. Nowadays people from the whole Diocese of Lisbon take part in this Procession, that begins and ends at the Cathedral.
"Today we are the vast crowd that Jesus feeds with His Bread. We, too, try to follow Him, listen to Him, be one with Him and walk with Him, so that He might be with us as well" (as in Pope Francis’s homily at the Solemnity of Corpus Christy, 2013)
Schedule
5pm - Procession starts at the Cathedral
Route: Largo da Sé, Rua das Pedras Negras, Rua da Madalena, Poço do Borratem, Praça Martim Moniz (contornando o Hotel mundial), Rua da Palma, Rua Dom Duarte, Praça da Figueira, Rua da Prata, Rua da Conceição, Largo da Madalena, Rua de Santo António da Sé, Largo da Sé
6:30pm - Procession finishes at the Largo Sé; Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament