Did you know? (Sunday, March 16, 2025)

In the ancient tradition of the church, the Sacred Host (the Body of Christ) was laid directly upon the corporal, because a corporal is what is used to wrap a corpse. The word <corporal= is derived from the Latin word corpus (corporis) which means body, and so since the mass is a sacrifice, which makes present the death of Christ, the white cloth upon which the Host is placed, is called a corporal or burial cloth. Later on in the Mass when a server or priest folds up the empty corporal and takes it away from the altar, it is a reminder to us that the tomb is empty – Christ is not dead, but has risen.

(Erlenbush, R., The Shroud of Turin, 2012)