Francis of Assisi implored those in his order to ‘reverence, honor the most holy body and blood
By Father Randy Stice
This year is the Eighth Centenary of the happy passage of St. Francis of Assisi from earthly life to his heavenly homeland on Oct. 3, 1226. Pope Leo XIV has established a special Year of St. Francis from Jan. 10, 2026, until Jan. 10, 2027, so that “every Christian faithful, following the example of the Saint of Assisi, may himself become a model of holiness of life and a constant witness of peace.”1 In this column, I want to share some of St. Francis’ writings on the Eucharist, for which he had a profound devotion.
In a letter to his new order, St. Francis wrote, “I implore all of you brothers to show all possible reverence and honor to the most holy body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in Whom that which is in the heavens and on the earth is brought to peace and is reconciled to the all-powerful God.”2 He urged reverence not only during Mass but also whenever Christ’s body was being carried from Mass: “When It [body and blood] is sacrificed upon the altar by the priest and carried to any place, let all the people, on bended knee, praise, glorify, and honor the Lord God living and true.”3
A major event during St. Francis’ life was the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, which dealt with a number of abuses concerning the Eucharist. The Council prohibited the ordination of priests who were “ignorant and unformed” (Canon 27).4 It required consecrated hosts to be securely locked “so that no audacious hand can reach them to do anything horrible or impious” (Canon 20).5 And it forbade leaving “the service vessels and ministers’ vestments and altar cloths and even corporals so dirty that they at times horrify some people…. For it seems too absurd to take no notice of squalor in sacred things when it is unbecoming even in profane things” (Canon 19).6
St. Francis was committed to implementing these reforms. He urged the brothers to “consider the sad state of the chalices, the corporals, and the altar linens upon which the body and blood of our Lord are sacrificed. And [the body and blood of the Lord] is left by many in dirty places, carried about in a miserable manner, received unworthily, and administered to others without discretion….Are we not moved by a sense of piety concerning all these things, since the good Lord offers Himself into our hands and we handle Him and receive Him daily with our mouth? …wherever the most holy body of our Lord Jesus Christ has been unlawfully housed and neglected, let it be removed from that place and deposited and locked in a precious location.” 7
It was important, St. Francis said, to “guard the sacred vessels and other liturgical appointments so that we may impress upon ourselves the loftiness of our Creator and our subjection to Him.”8 Therefore, he exhorted the custodians (leaders), “Humbly beg the clergy to revere above everything else the most holy body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and His holy written words which consecrate His body. The chalices, corporals, appointments of the altar, and everything that pertains to the sacrifice must be of precious material…the most holy body of the Lord…should be placed in a precious location under lock and kept according to the mandate of the Church and carried about with great reverence and administered to others with discretion.”9
Echoing the Lateran Council’s concern for well-formed and holy priests, St. Francis reminded his priests “how holy, just, and worthy must be the person who touches Him with his hands, receives Him in his heart and mouth, and offers Him to others to be received. This is He Who is now not about to die, but Who is eternally victorious and glorified, upon Whom the angels desire to gaze.”10
St. Francis saw Christ’s presence in the Mass as a prolongation of the humility of the Incarnation. “See, daily He humbles Himself as when He came from the royal throne (Wisdom 18:15) into the womb of the Virgin; daily He comes to us in a humble form; daily He comes down from the bosom of the Father upon the altar in the hands of the priest. And as He appeared to the holy Apostles in true flesh, so now He reveals Himself to us in the sacred bread….as we see bread and wine with [our] bodily eyes, we too are to see and firmly believe them to be His most holy Body and Blood living and true. And in this way the Lord is always with His faithful, as He Himself says: Behold I am with you even to the end of the world.”11
I want to conclude with a passage that touches both mind and heart. “Let the whole of mankind tremble, the whole world shake and the heavens exult when Christ, the Son of the living God, is present on the altar in the hands of the priest. O admirable heights and sublime lowliness! O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! That the Lord of the universe, God and the Son of God, so humbles Himself that for our salvation He hides Himself under the little form of bread! Look at the humility of God and pour out your hearts before Him!”12
1 files.ecatholic.com/34924/documents/2026/2/Decreto_Indulgenza_Giubileo_Francescono-EN.pdf?t=1770919364000
2 Francis and Clare: The Complete Works, Translation and Introduction by Regis J. Armstrong, OFM Cap., and Ignatius C. Brady, OFM (Classics of Western Spirituality, N.Y.: Paulist Press, 1982), p. 56
3 Ibid, p. 53
4 www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum12-2.htm
5 Ibid
6 Ibid
7 Francis and Clare: The Complete Works, p. 50
8 Ibid, p. 59
9 Ibid, p. 53
10 Ibid, p. 57
11 Ibid, p. 26-27
12 Ibid, p. 58
Father Randy Stice is director of the diocesan Office of Worship and Liturgy. He can be reached at frrandy@dioknox.org.