Medieval Period · AD 1001–1100
The 11th-Century Witness to the Real Presence
From AD 1001 to 1100, 1 voice of the Church — Bl. Lanfranc of Canterbury — testified that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist. These are their primary-source words, with dates and sources.
Bl. Lanfranc of Canterbury
c. 1070c. 1005 – 1089 · Archbishop of Canterbury who defended the Real Presence against Berengar
“We believe that the earthly substances on the altar of the Lord, placed there for divine consecration by the priestly ministry, are ineffably, incomprehensibly, and wonderfully overturned by a heavenly power, and converted into the essence of the Body of the Lord, preserving the appearance and qualities of the species. [...] This is the faith that was held in ancient times and is now held by the Church, and has spread throughout the entire world by those of the Catholic name.”
De corpore et sanguine Domini · Read more →