On This Date in Nativity History
Winter, 2003-2004
In early 2004, another “first”: a parishioner received Holy Communion with a low-gluten Host. They had been diagnosed with celiac disease, an immune system reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat. For celiacs, eating gluten triggers an immune response in the small intestine that causes discomfort and, over time, serious complications that require surgery. The only treatment is to avoid eating anything containing gluten. The number of people affected is impossible to confirm since most celiacs are not aware of the cause of their condition.
For centuries, the Church allowed Communion only with a Host made from gluten. When the parishioner asked Nativity Pastor Father Martin for a solution to the problem, he could not help because parishes could not use gluten-free Hosts, and he was unaware of any alternative. The parishioner wrote to Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde to ask that he give Father Martin permission to use gluten-free Hosts. Fortunately, the preceding July 2003, bishops had received a letter from Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI), then Director of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, explaining that low-gluten Hosts (i.e., Hosts made with very small amounts of gluten) were permitted for celiacs. The November 2003 News Letter from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Secretariat for the Liturgy advised that low-gluten Hosts (0.01% gluten) were permitted for Communion and were now available for purchase from the Benedictine Sisters Altar Bread Department in Clyde, Missouri. Here was the solution.
For some years, the parishioner’s need was treated as unique. The parishioner had to acquire their own supply of low-gluten Hosts and provide them to the parish; make special arrangements with each celebrant to be sure he knew to treat their Host separately; and receive Communion apart from other communicants, awkward for all concerned. Now, the issue is treated in a much more systematic and formal way. The parish acquires the low-gluten Hosts (there are now several sources of these), and a supply of consecrated Hosts is always available in the Tabernacle.
In the photo, Benedictine Sister of Perpetual Adoration Marie Jona Yoo pours batter on a hot plate used to bake low-gluten altar breads.
