Article II. On the Distribution of the Eucharist

217. 1. The power of distributing. One minister of distribution is ordinary, another extraordinary.

The ordinary minister of distributing the Eucharist is the priest alone.

For the Council of Trent declared:²⁰² "It was always the custom in the Church of God that laymen should receive Communion from priests, but that priests celebrating should communicate themselves."

The extraordinary minister of distributing the Eucharist is "the deacon, with the permission of the local Ordinary or of the pastor, to be granted for a grave cause, which in a case of necessity is legitimately presumed."²⁰³

Already in the primitive Church, deacons, by commission either of the bishop or of the priest, distributed the Eucharist by presenting the consecrated chalice and carrying the consecrated bread to the sick. Such power belongs to the deacon from his ordination itself, since he ought to assist the priest in all things pertaining to the Holy Eucharist. But the distribution of the Eucharist is among the principal duties of the priest.

According to the discipline now in force, a deacon cannot licitly distribute Communion except by legitimate delegation, which is customarily granted either by the local Ordinary, by the pastor or his substitute, or probably by a religious superior, by the rector of a clerical seminary, or by the rector of any church.^203a This delegation requires a grave cause, such as is present, for example, when a priest is prevented from distributing Communion because he is occupied with other necessary works, such as hearing Confessions, performing ecclesiastical functions, preaching a sermon, and so forth. In grave necessity, for example, of ministering Viaticum to a dying person, the deacon can presume this delegation; indeed, several authors rightly permit that, in the absence of a priest and deacon, not only a subdeacon or cleric, but even a layman, can licitly carry Viaticum to a dying person in extreme necessity. For Viaticum is commanded to be received by divine law and brings great assistance to the dying person, while merely ecclesiastical law (which did not yet exist in the first centuries of the Church) prohibits a layman from touching and distributing the Eucharist. Hence "where particular dexterity is required in communicating a sick person, a priest can entrust to a woman, for example, a Sister of Charity ministering to the sick person, that she give Viaticum with a spoon." Thus rightly Noldin and others.²⁰⁴ This case can occur, for example, if the sick person suffers from cancer of the throat, so that swallowing is exceedingly difficult. The reason why this manner is lawful is the same as that just stated. Viaticum obliges by divine law. No one is present who can administer it except a layman. Therefore this is lawful.

A deacon distributing Communion by legitimate delegation wears the stole crosswise. According to the Roman Ritual, tit. 4, c. 10, the deacon ministers Communion as does a priest. Even at the end of the distribution he can and ought to impart a blessing with his hand, as the Pontifical Commission declared on July 19, 1930 (Acta Ap. Sed. XXII, 365). In the administration of Viaticum, if a priest is lacking, the deacon can bless the sick person and the assistants with his hand or with the pyx.²⁰⁵

A deacon who without a grave cause and without due permission administers Communion seems to sin gravely, because he gravely violates both the right of the legitimate pastor and a grave precept of the Church; but he does not incur an irregularity, just as he likewise does not incur an irregularity if he illegitimately administers solemn Baptism, as was said above in n. 121.

²⁰² Session 13, c. 8 on the Eucharist (Denz., n. 881).

²⁰³ Code of Canon Law, c. 845, § 2.

^203a Thus also Cappello, De sacr., n. 329.

²⁰⁴ De sacr., n. 124.

²⁰⁵ Cf. Sacred Congregation of Rites, August 14, 1858 (Decr. auth., n. 3074); Code of Canon Law, c. 1274, § 2.

218. No one can administer the Eucharist to himself except in two cases, namely: a) a priest in his own Mass; b) in a case of necessity. In the absence of another priest and with scandal removed, a priest can probably administer Communion to himself even for the sake of devotion alone. Some say the same²⁰⁶ of a deacon; this, however, does not seem lawful today without special permission. But a layman cannot do this except because of the necessity of receiving Viaticum, namely, when a priest or deacon is lacking.²⁰⁷

2. Requisites for lawful distribution. For licitly distributing the Eucharist, the following are further required: a) due jurisdiction; b) due time; c) a due place; d) a due rite.

²⁰⁶ St. Alphonsus, Theol. mor., l. 6, n. 238.

²⁰⁷ St. Alphonsus, ibid., n. 237.

219. a) Due jurisdiction. Since the Eucharist is the spiritual food of the soul, while feeding the flock of Christ is the proper office of pastors, only those to whom the care of souls has been entrusted can distribute Holy Communion. Therefore, to distribute Communion is a parochial right. Thus at least according to the old law, which, however, has been somewhat diminished in the course of time. According to the discipline now in force, the following have been established:

α) Any priest can administer Holy Communion within Mass and also (if he celebrates privately) immediately before and immediately after it; and this even in a private oratory, unless the local Ordinary, for just causes, has prohibited it in particular cases.²⁰⁸ Therefore, even those who do not satisfy the precept of hearing Sunday Mass in a private oratory can receive Holy Communion there for the sake of devotion.

β) To carry Holy Communion by way of Viaticum, whether publicly or privately, to the sick belongs to the pastor²⁰⁹ and his delegate. There are, however, three exceptions: 1. In a case of necessity, when the pastor is lacking, those things hold which were said above in n. 217 concerning the extraordinary minister of distributing the Eucharist. 2. The right and duty of administering Viaticum to the diocesan bishop belongs to the dignitaries and canons of the chapter.²¹⁰ 3. In every clerical religious institute, superiors have the right and duty, either personally or through another, of administering Viaticum (and Extreme Unction), not only to sick professed religious, but also to novices and others remaining day and night in the religious house for the sake of service, education, hospitality, or ill health.²¹¹ In a house of nuns, the ordinary confessor or the one who takes his place has the same right and duty.²¹² In another, lay religious institute, this right and duty pertains to the pastor of the place or to a chaplain whom the Ordinary has substituted for the pastor.²¹³ To carry Communion privately to the sick for the sake of devotion is not a parochial right, and therefore any priest can do it.²¹⁴ The matter is otherwise with public carrying, which belongs to the pastor in his own parish.²¹⁵

²⁰⁸ Code of Canon Law, cc. 846 and 869.

²⁰⁹ Ibid., c. 850.

²¹⁰ Ibid., c. 397, n. 3.

²¹¹ Code of Canon Law, c. 514, § 1. Cf. Pontifical Commission, June 16, 1931 (Acta Ap. Sed. XXIII, 353).

²¹² Code of Canon Law, c. 514, § 2.

²¹³ Ibid., § 3.

²¹⁴ Ibid., c. 849, § 1.

²¹⁵ Ibid., c. 462, n. 2, and c. 848, § 1.

220. Easter Communion had to be received by common law in the parish church, as was already said above. As a testimony of this law, religious were prohibited from administering Communion in their churches to laypersons who were not members of their household on Easter Day itself (and at Rome also on Holy Thursday). But by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Council on November 28, 1912, Pius X abrogated this law, wishing to render daily Communion easier. Therefore, religious can give Communion in their churches even on Easter Day, and the following can be held as a general rule: Except in the case of ministering Viaticum, according to the discipline of the Church now in force, any priest who licitly says Mass somewhere can also licitly distribute Communion to anyone.

221. b) Due time. α) As regards days, according to the present discipline of the Church, Communion as Viaticum can be distributed on all days, but other Communion can be given on those days on which it is lawful to consecrate the Eucharist. Hence it is lawful to distribute Communion on Holy Thursday, even in churches and oratories in which solemn Mass is not sung. It is expedient, however, that all receive Communion only before or within the solemn or conventual Mass. Likewise, it is lawful to distribute Communion on Holy Saturday, but only during the solemnities of the Masses or immediately after they have been completed;²¹⁶ and therefore not in churches or oratories where the solemnities of the Masses are not celebrated. It is not lawful to distribute Communion on Good Friday, because the Eucharist is not then consecrated. Nevertheless, in certain places a custom is already gaining force of giving Communion even on Good Friday, since this day is now in those regions a feast of precept.²¹⁷ But when such a custom does not exist, or if special permission has not been granted, Communion is not to be distributed at all on Good Friday except by way of Viaticum, which can licitly be given on all days and at all hours of the entire year.²¹⁸

β) As regards hours. When a just cause exists, the faithful who are fasting can receive Communion not only in the morning hours, but also in the afternoon, provided, however, that scandal or wonder among the people does not arise from it.²¹⁹ Therefore, the prohibition against celebrating Mass after midday does not extend so strictly to the distribution of Communion. At night it is lawful to administer Viaticum; but to distribute Communion for the sake of devotion is not lawful by common law except on the night of the Nativity of the Lord for all religious institutes, pious places, and seminaries of clerics where the Most Holy Sacrament is reserved, provided this is done with the doors closed. In churches or public oratories which serve for the public use of the faithful, it is not lawful on the night of the Nativity to distribute Communion to the faithful unless there is a reasonable cause for doing it, at least in the judgment of the Ordinary.²²⁰ Irreverence toward the Most Holy Sacrament, which can easily arise because of worldly festivities customarily celebrated on that night, must be avoided.

For the sick staying in houses where the Most Holy Sacrament is reserved, it is lawful to carry Communion even shortly after midnight if they cannot remain fasting. Before the decree of Pius X (December 7, 1906), a bishop, and indeed even a pastor, could give permission that Communion be carried at night to those sick persons who could not observe the fast any longer; but now the fast no longer binds them so strictly, as was explained above, and therefore Communion is not to be carried through the streets at night (except by way of Viaticum).

It is indeed fitting that the faithful receive Communion within Mass after the Communion of the priest, because thus there is a greater union with the sacrifice of the Mass. Today, however, the faithful can receive Communion both before and after Mass (even a Requiem Mass), and indeed at all daytime hours, as was said above. But a priest vested in the sacred vestments of the sacrifice is not to distribute Communion before or after a solemn, sung, or even conventual Mass;²²¹ therefore, the priest must distribute Communion either before he puts on the chasuble or after he has taken it off.

²¹⁶ Ibid., c. 867, § 3.

²¹⁷ In ancient times there was a fairly universal custom of receiving Communion even on Good Friday (cf. Martène, De antiq. Eccles. rit., l. 4, c. 23, n. 25). In our days such a custom, approved by the Holy See, exists in the parish of Delbrück in the Diocese of Paderborn, where on that day a particle of the true Cross is exposed for public veneration and people come from the entire region to receive the Eucharist.

²¹⁸ Code of Canon Law, c. 867, § 5.

²¹⁹ Code of Canon Law, c. 867, § 4, establishes: "Holy Communion is to be distributed only at those hours at which the sacrifice of the Mass can be offered, unless a reasonable cause counsels otherwise."

²²⁰ "Whether (by force of canon 867), without an Apostolic Indult, Holy Communion can be distributed to those requesting it at a Mass celebrated on the night of the Nativity of the Lord in parish and conventual churches, whenever, at least in the judgment of the Ordinary, a reasonable cause for doing it is present? Reply: Affirmative." Thus Cardinal Gasparri, President of the Pontifical Commission (cf. Monitore Ecclesiastico, 1922, p. 371).

²²¹ Sacred Congregation of Rites, January 19, 1906 (Decr. auth., n. 4177, ad 3).

222. c) A suitable place for administering the Eucharist is every place in which it is lawful to celebrate Mass or to reserve the Most Holy Sacrament; nevertheless, for a just cause the Ordinary can in a particular case prohibit Communion in a private oratory²²² or permit it in another becoming place. But Viaticum and the Communion of bedridden sick persons can be distributed in any place when necessity requires it.

²²² Code of Canon Law, c. 869.

223. d) The due rite is to be observed in the administration of the Eucharist, as the Roman Ritual or another approved Ritual prescribes.²²³ According to the present discipline in force in the Latin Church, the principal statutes are these:

1. It is a grave sin of irreverence to distribute or carry the Eucharist in churches or oratories without any sacred vestment, unless necessity excuses. The sacred vestments to be worn are the surplice and stole,²²⁴ unless Communion is given at Mass or immediately before or after it, in which case Communion is administered in the vestments worn for Mass. Two candles are to be lighted, and the prayers before and after the distribution are to be said. St. Alphonsus thinks that this precept obliges only under venial sin.²²⁵ The prayers to be said after Communion has been distributed (outside Mass) are: the antiphon "O sacrum convivium" and the versicles "Panem de caelo," etc.; and the prayer with the longer conclusion. During Easter time, "Alleluia" is added, and a special prayer is said, likewise with the longer conclusion.²²⁶ When Communion has been given in black vestments, neither is "Alleluia" added to the prayers, nor is a blessing given.

2. The priest must administer the Eucharist with the thumb and index finger of the right hand. But Lehmkuhl rightly says:²²⁷ "If [the priest] has those fingers impeded, it is better to use others than to deprive the people or individual dying persons of Holy Communion." For although only the first fingers are anointed, nevertheless the whole hand is consecrated. St. Alphonsus²²⁸ maintains a more severe opinion in this matter, saying: "If someone had a thumb so infirm that he could not break the host with it, he could not indeed celebrate.... The general rule is: that which is an impediment to receiving an order impedes the exercise of the order after its reception." This rule seems too harsh, for the Church more readily bars someone from receiving an order than from exercising an order rightly received. Therefore, the first opinion seems safe in practice, provided that external decorum is preserved and scandal is avoided. If, however, these fingers suffer from a lasting disease, then permission to celebrate Mass is to be sought from the Sacred Congregation of Rites.

3. In the Latin rite it is not lawful to give the Eucharist to a layman under the species of wine,²²⁹ not even in the necessity of receiving Viaticum. Thus the common opinion.²³⁰ For the rest, such a necessity can almost never occur; for a sick person who can swallow wine can also take water in which a particle of a consecrated host has been immersed. In necessity it is lawful to give the host in this manner.²³¹

4. All the faithful, even for the sake of devotion, can receive Communion in a rite other than their own. When a priest of their own rite is lacking in a case of necessity, an Eastern priest can distribute to the faithful the Eucharist confected in unleavened bread, and conversely it is lawful for a Latin priest to give the Eucharist confected in leavened bread. "But each one shall preserve his own rite of ministering."²³²

5. It is not lawful to give laypersons a larger host, such as the priest employs at Mass, or even several small hosts. Thus Innocent XI established,²³³ who nevertheless prohibited this lest anyone foster a false devotion by thinking that he obtains greater graces if he consumes a larger host or several hosts. Hence nothing seems to prevent several hosts from being given to a lay communicant for a reasonable cause (for example, if the celebrating priest cannot consume all the particles which remain).²³⁴ For a reasonable cause it is lawful to divide small hosts into two or three parts, provided, however, that the parts thus divided are not too small; likewise, for a reasonable cause a celebrating priest can give to some communicant a particle of the larger host consecrated by him at Mass.

6. If in the distribution of Holy Communion any species has fallen to the ground, that place is to be covered and afterward washed. But the water of ablution is to be poured into the sacrarium. This law, however, does not bind under grave sin.²³⁵ Hence, for example, if a consecrated host has fallen into a man's beard, that beard is by no means to be washed and the water of ablution poured into the sacrarium. But when a host has fallen into a woman's garments and cannot easily and without scandal be extracted thence by the priest, the woman is to be led into the sacristy, so that she herself may seek the sacred species and give it to the priest. The woman must then wash the hand with which she touched the host. If someone vomits the host and cannot consume it again, the host is to be placed in a vessel of water in the tabernacle. But when the host has dissolved, the water is to be poured into the sacrarium. If a drop of consecrated Blood has fallen, those things prescribed in the Missal are to be observed.²³⁶

²²³ For the rites used in the ancient Church, see Wetzer and Welte, Kirchenlexikon, s.v. "Kommunion."

²²⁴ The color of this stole can always be white; it can, however, also conform to the color of the Office of that day. Sacred Congregation of Rites, March 12, 1836 (Decr. auth., n. 2740 ad XII). On the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, let the color be white or violet. Sacred Congregation of Rites, April 19, 1912, ad X.

²²⁵ Theol. mor., l. 6, n. 241.

²²⁶ Thus from the Roman Ritual, tit. 4, c. 2 (typical edition). Therefore, the ancient custom seems to have been changed, and the response of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, August 30, 1892, ad 10 (Decr. auth., n. 3792), is to be interpreted according to the new text of the Ritual.

²²⁷ Theol. mor. II, n. 187.

²²⁸ Loc. cit., n. 244.

²²⁹ Code of Canon Law, c. 852.

²³⁰ St. Alphonsus, Theol. mor., l. 6, n. 245.

²³¹ Cf. ibid., n. 244.

²³² Cf. above, n. 214.

²³³ Decree Cum ad aures, February 12, 1679.

²³⁴ Cf. Benedict XIV, De sacrif. Miss., l. 3, c. 20, n. 1; Noldin, De sacr., n. 130.

²³⁵ Cf. St. Alphonsus, loc. cit., n. 250.

²³⁶ De defect. Missae, tit. 10, nn. 12 ff.

224. 7. The Eucharist is to be carried to the sick openly and honorably, as the Roman Ritual, tit. 4, c. 4, prescribes, unless a just and reasonable cause counsels otherwise.²³⁷ With regard to the words "unless a just and reasonable cause is present," the Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments declared that the judge of a just and reasonable cause is the Ordinary, but he is admonished "that, through rules too narrowly predetermined or general rules commanding public carrying, or through a reservation made to himself of granting permission in individual cases to carry the Sacrament of the Eucharist privately, sick persons not be impeded from the consolation even of daily Communion" (Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments, January 5, 1928: Acta Ap. Sed. XX, 81). Thus a bishop can permit the Holy Eucharist to be carried in a concealed manner to those sick faithful who wish to receive Communion several times for the sake of devotion (Benedict XIV, decree Inter omnigenas, February 2, 1744). "The priest shall always have the stole covered by his own garments; he shall enclose the pyx in a small bag or burse, which, suspended from his neck by cords, he shall place in his breast; and he shall never proceed alone, but shall be accompanied at least by a faithful person when a cleric is lacking" (Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments, December 23, 1912).²³⁸ For the rest, diocesan statutes are to be observed.

When the Eucharist is carried publicly to the house of a sick person, the priest must be vested in a surplice and stole and proceed with his head uncovered. Nevertheless, by an Apostolic indult it is not rarely permitted that the priest proceed with his head covered if the inclemency of the weather so requires. Thus, for example, on November 13, 1862, the Congregation of Rites gave the priests of Cologne permission "to proceed, especially in wintry weather, with the head covered by a woolen cap which, when necessity requires, can be of such size that it also covers the ears."²³⁹ In a case of necessity, namely, if danger to health is greatly feared (whether from the heat of the sun or from cold) and permission cannot be sought from the bishop, a priest, by employing epikeia, can carry the Eucharist to a sick person with his head covered, provided, however, that scandal is forestalled. Nothing prevents a priest carrying the Eucharist from wearing a wig (commonly Perücke) or even an artificial covering against rain or snow.²⁴⁰ For it would be more irreverent if the sacred vestments and the vessel itself containing the Holy Eucharist were made wet by rain or snow. For a reasonable cause, for example, because of the length of the journey, it is lawful to carry the Eucharist publicly while seated in some carriage or even on a horse, if danger of irreverence is absent. But it is not becoming that the Eucharist be carried while seated on a two-wheeled machine (commonly a velocipede), unless a grave necessity is present.

²³⁷ Code of Canon Law, c. 847.

²³⁸ Acta Ap. Sed. IV, 725.

²³⁹ A similar privilege was granted for the Diocese of Orihuela (Alicante in Spain) on April 22, 1871 (Decr. auth., n. 3246).

²⁴⁰ Commonly Regenschirm (umbrella), parapluie (umbrella), ombrello (umbrella), umbrella.