The Real Presence is the Catholic teaching that, at the consecration of the Mass, bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, so that Christ himself is present in the Eucharist. The Catechism puts it this way: in the Eucharist “the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.” Catechism 1374
“Real” does not mean Christ is absent elsewhere. The Catechism lists other ways he is present to his Church, such as “in his word” and “in the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned.” His presence in the Eucharist is called “real” not to deny those, “but because it is presence in the fullest sense”: a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, “makes himself wholly and entirely present.” Catechism 1373–1374
Where the belief comes from
In the Gospel of John, Jesus says: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” His listeners argued, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus continued: “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” John 6:51–55
Many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” The Gospel records that “many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” When Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:60–68
St. Paul hands on what Jesus did “on the night he was handed over”: he took bread and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:23–24
What transubstantiation means
The Catechism explains: “It is by the conversion of the bread and wine into Christ’s body and blood that Christ becomes present in this sacrament.” It quotes the Council of Trent, which declared that “by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation.” Catechism 1375–1376
The Catechism quotes St. Thomas Aquinas, who says that the presence of Christ’s true Body and Blood in this sacrament “cannot be apprehended by the senses,” “but only by faith, which relies on divine authority.” Catechism 1381
When it begins and how long it lasts
Christ’s Eucharistic presence “begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist.” He is present “whole and entire in each of the species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ.” Catechism 1377
What it means for Catholics at Mass
The Catechism says that at Mass we express our faith in the real presence “by, among other ways, genuflecting or bowing deeply as a sign of adoration of the Lord.” The Church offers this adoration “not only during Mass, but also outside of it,” reserving the consecrated hosts with the utmost care, exposing them to the solemn veneration of the faithful and carrying them in procession. Catechism 1378
It also shapes how Catholics receive Communion. St. Paul warns that “whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord,” and adds, “A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup.” 1 Corinthians 11:27–28
The Catechism, citing the same passage, says plainly: “Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion.” Catechism 1385
Reading further
All of this sits in Catechism paragraphs 1373 to 1381. Our guide to reading the Catechism explains its paragraph numbers, cross-references and footnotes. How to read the Catechism
