Position of the tabernacle

15 September 1998 21:22

The following are a couple of responses to the request for information about church law and the position of the tabernacle in churches.

Elise Bonnette writes:
I have found a pastoral letter by Most Rev. Thomas J. Tobin, Bishop of Youngstown on the Eucharist. Regarding the tabernacle, he quotes article 183 of the new Catechism and canons 938 and 940.
Here is the address:

http://www.doy.org/pastoral_letter.htm

Araceli Duque writes:
As far as I know, the Vatican does not stress that the tabernacle should be placed specifically on the center altar, but that it is placed in “a most worthy place with the greatest honor “(Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei: AAS (1965) 771). The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “the tabernacle should be located in a especially worthy place in the church and should be constructed in such a way that it emphasizes and manifests the truth of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament” (1379). I hope this is of some help.