Tour of St. Peter's - Blessed Sacrament Chapel

Catholics believe that during the Mass bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ.

“The mode of Christ’s presence under the Eucharistic species [the physical realities of the bread and wine] is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all the sacraments….In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.” (CCC #1374)

The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment in the Mass when the priest recites the narrative of the Last Supper, a moment called the consecration, and continues as long as the physical appearances of bread and wine remain.

Some of the consecrated Eucharistic bread is reserved so that Holy Communion may be brought to the sick and the homebound. The decorated box in which it is kept is called a tabernacle. The reserved Eucharist is called the Most Blessed Sacrament. In the course of time, as belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist deepened, the Church became conscious of the meaning of silent adoration of the Lord present under the Eucharistic species. The presence of the Blessed Sacrament in our churches is one of the reasons why Catholics find their church to be a unique place of prayer.

As you stand in front of the sanctuary and look up to the left, you are looking at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and the tabernacle within it. It can be entered either from the left or right. If you are Catholic and entered our Blessed Sacrament Chapel, you would express your faith in the presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament by genuflecting. Anyone who enters a Blessed Sacrament Chapel would respect our custom of remaining absolutely silent in the Chapel.

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