Vatican City, Jun 21, 2025 /
06:00 am
Pope Leo XIV is preparing to celebrate the solemnity of Corpus Christi for the first time as bishop of Rome, one of the rare occasions on which a pontiff leaves the Vatican to celebrate publicly in the city.
As is the tradition, Leo XIV will celebrate Mass in St. John Lateran Basilica, the pope’s cathedral as bishop of Rome. He has also confirmed his subsequent presence at St. Mary Major Basilica.
However, it remains unclear whether he will walk — or otherwise take — the route between the two basilicas.
A statement from the Holy See Press Office confirmed the celebration for the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ at 5 p.m. local time on Sunday, June 22, in St. John Lateran Basilica’s square.
However, the Vatican only specified that “the Eucharistic procession will then take place, traveling along Via Merulana and arriving at St. Mary Major Basilica,” wording that leaves several scenarios open.
Popes have made the procession in different ways. In 2004, John Paul II, suffering from serious health problems, traveled this route seated in the popemobile. The following year, in May 2005, Benedict XVI accompanied the procession on his knees in a white, open-top vehicle that moved slowly, surrounded by a crowd of faithful praying with candles in hand.
In his first year as pontiff, Pope Francis surprised everyone by choosing to walk behind the Blessed Sacrament in a gesture of ecclesial closeness that he repeated in subsequent years.
Since 2014, the Argentine pontiff preferred not to participate in the procession and instead appeared directly at the Marian basilica. He also introduced several new features — for example, celebrating Corpus Christi in marginalized neighborhoods of Rome rather than in Rome’s cathedral.
In 2018, Francis offered the Mass for this liturgical solemnity, which celebrates the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, in Ostia, a seaside town outside Rome, attended by some 10,000 people.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the celebration was moved to St. Peter’s Basilica due to restrictions on social gatherings, and in other years Francis was unable to attend at all for health reasons.
In 2024, he celebrated this liturgical feast again in St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome, marking his final Corpus Christi as pope.
This Sunday, attention will be focused on how the new pope chooses to live out and express one of the most emblematic celebrations of the Catholic faith.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
As a journalist, Victoria Cardiel has specialized in social and religious news. Since 2013, she has covered the Vatican for various media outlets, including Europa Press and Alfa and Omega, the weekly newspaper of the Archdiocese of Madrid.
