Urban IV institutes Corpus Christi feast

1264

Influenced by the visions of the Liege mystic Juliana of Cornillon, the pope established a new feast to honor the body of Christ in the Eucharist. Thomas Aquinas composed its Latin hymns, including the Pange Lingua, still sung at benediction worldwide. The feast's elaborate street processions, with their canopied monstrance and flower-strewn paths, became one of the most visually spectacular rituals in Catholic life.