July 1st: Most Precious Blood
July 1st is the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Liturgically, it is a solemnity for the "sons" of St. Gaspar del Bufalo and for the "daughters" of St. Mary of Matthias.
The feast dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus originates from an annual celebration related to a relic that was in the church of St. Nicholas in Carcelio, in Rome: according to tradition, it was from the hem of the cloak of the Centurion who pierced the crucified Jesus with his lance to confirm his death.
That flap was later cut into pieces because it was stained with “blood and water” (John 19:34), which flowed from Jesus' open side. The Saveli Princes of Rome, who believed themselves to be descendants of the Centurion and whose lineage was on the verge of extinction, donated the precious reliquary to the church of St. Nicholas in Carcere in 1708. The relic was placed above the crucifix that “spoke” to the mystic Saint Bridget. An intense devotion to the precious relic developed. The custom arose of celebrating the feast of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ every year on the first Sunday of June.
In 1808, celebrating the first centenary of the donation, Canon Father Francisco Albertini founded a Pious Association in this church in honor of the Most Precious Blood. Father Gaspar del Búfalo, a friend and spiritual son of Father Albertini, was invited to deliver the inaugural sermon for the Pious Association. In 1815, the Pious Association was elevated to an Archconfraternity by Pope Pius VII. Father Gaspar became the great promoter of this work with his preaching and found inspiration here to found the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood in S. Felice de Giano in 1815.
The young Maria de Matias, during the mission that Father Gaspar del Búfalo carried out in Valecorsa in 1822, was deeply touched by the preaching, beginning to develop the idea of giving life to a Congregation of sisters, which she eventually founded in Acuto in 1834, under the title of Adorers of the Most Precious Blood.
In 1849, Pope Pius IX was in exile in Gaeta when he received a visit from Father Giovanni Merlini, Missionary of the Precious Blood, who prophetically stated that the exile would end when the Pope extended the feast of the Precious Blood to the entire Church. The Pope replied: “I do not make a vow, but I promise.” And so it happened. Pius IX returned to Rome. Beyond the promise, with the decree “Redempti sumus” of August 10, 1849, the feast of the Precious Blood was extended to the entire Church and continued to be celebrated on the first Sunday of June. In 1914, Pope Pius X fixed the date as July 1st. And Pope Pius XI, in memory of the Jubilee of the Redemption, raised it to the rank of solemnity on April 15, 1934. Pope Paul VI, with the reform of the liturgical calendar, united it with the feast of "Corpus Domini," which will be celebrated throughout the Church as the "Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.".
The Congregations that are inspired by the spirituality of the Blood of Christ still celebrate the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ on July 1st as a Solemnity.
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