215 IN PERSONA CHRISTI CAPITIS: IN THE PERSON OF CHRIST

YOUCAT Lesson 215

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

215  Who leads the celebration of the Eucharist?

Actually Christ himself acts in every celebration of the Eucharist.  The bishop or the priest represents him.  [1348]

Painting: …..Christ of the Eucharist by Juan Juanes. 16th-century depicts the Valencia Chalice.....128.....215

It is the Church’s belief that the celebrant stands at the altar in the person of Christ, the Head (Latin; in persona Christi capitis).  This means that priests do not merely act in Christ’s place or at his command; rather, on the basis of their ordination, Christ himself, as Head of the Church, acts through them.  249-254

The movement of the celebration

…….1348   All gather together. Christians come together in one place for the Eucharistic assembly. At its head is Christ himself, the principal agent of the Eucharist. He is high priest of the New Covenant; it is he himself who presides invisibly over every Eucharistic celebration. It is in representing him that the bishop or priest acting in the person of Christ the head (in persona Christi capitis) presides over the assembly, speaks after the readings, receives the offerings, and says the Eucharistic Prayer. All have their own active parts to play in the celebration, each in his own way: readers, those who bring up the offerings, those who give communion, and the whole people whose "Amen" manifests their participation. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

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