Ecclesia de Eucharistia

2003 papal encyclical by Pope John Paul II

Ecclesia de Eucharistia (The Church from the Eucharist) is an encyclical by Pope John Paul II published on April 17, 2003. Its title, as is customary, is taken from the opening words of the Latin version of the text, which is rendered in the English translation as "The Church draws her life from the Eucharist". He discusses the centrality of the Eucharist to the definition and mission of the Church and says he hopes his message will "effectively help to banish the dark clouds of unacceptable doctrine and practice, so that the Eucharist will continue to shine forth in all its radiant mystery." He explored themes familiar from his earlier writings, including the profound connection between the Eucharist and the priesthood. It drew as well on his personal experiences saying Mass. Throughout his pontificate, John Paul II wrote an annual letter to priests on Holy Thursday. On his 25th Holy Thursday as pope, he issued this encyclical instead, addressed to all Catholics: "to the bishops, priests and deacons, men and women in the consecrated life and all the lay faithful". It was the last of his fourteen encyclicals.

The Anglican Communion welcomed the document as the basis for additional study by the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and the International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) as they explore the path to "fuller eucharistic sharing". Pastor Gilles Daudé, head of ecumenical relations for the Protestant Federation of France expressed concern that John Paul's fear that the Eucharist might not be accorded the full reverence it deserves may "freeze the advances on Eucharistic hospitality between Catholics and Protestants, even though those who practice it are often those who are best trained" and, ministry aside, "there are many more things that unite us than things that divide us". In Eucharist as Meaning, Joseph C. Mudd of Gonzaga University wrote that in this encyclical John Paul adopted "a naïve realist understanding of eucharistic presence" when he quoted Paul VI's statement "that in objective reality, independently of our mind, the bread and wine have ceased to exist after consecration. Mudd was questioning the notion of an objectivity that "can be attained without minds" (emphasis in original). Considering the implications of Ecclesia for the relationship between the Catholic Church and evangelicals, Mark Noll wrote that it would resonate with those Protestants who adhere to the idea of the real presence rather than communion as a memorial, though all would welcome its reliance on Scripture. He believed that "It is obvious that John Paul II teaches a Eucharist doctrine closer to what the Protestant reformers [Luther, Melancthon] themselves advocated than to what they condemned in the sixteenth century", including even his discussion of transubstantiation. He nevertheless concluded that "it is nevertheless evident that the institutional life of the Catholic Church enjoys a prominence in defining a foundational Christian reality that evangelicals do not allow for any human institution."