Where do the hosts go?

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pilots13

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A question that crossed my mind today when I was packing up all the Holy Thursday decorations and setting up for Good Friday service. Where do the consecrated hosts get stored while the Tabernacle is empty over the Triduum?

I had to move the hosts from the Altar in the chapel, where adoration was held last night, in order to prep the chapel for morning prayers tomorrow morning. Our old pastor had always removed the hosts from the adoration spot (which he used the Tabernacle for (which is on a side Altar)) when he locked up Thursday night. So when I would come back they were already gone. We have a new pastor now who doesn’t live on campus, and one of the staff stuck around and locked up last night instead of the pastor, so the host were left on the Altar of Repose.

As bad as this sounds, I stuck them in a cabinet in the Sacristy. I knew that is where the old pastor always moved them to after the adoration period was over with. We always had a vigil candle is next to the cabinet. What is the proper thing to do with the hosts if you don’t have them stored in the tabernacle? I did a quick google search from my phone while at church and couldn’t get a straight answer. So I figured I’d throw it out to you folks as you all seem to know what’s going on. Thanks!
 
pilots13 said:
A question that crossed my mind today when I was packing up all the Holy Thursday decorations and setting up for Good Friday service. Where do the consecrated hosts get stored while the Tabernacle is empty over the Triduum?

I had to move the hosts from the Altar in the chapel, where adoration was held last night, in order to prep the chapel for morning prayers tomorrow morning. Our old pastor had always removed the hosts from the adoration spot (which he used the Tabernacle for (which is on a side Altar)) when he locked up Thursday night. So when I would come back they were already gone. We have a new pastor now who doesn’t live on campus, and one of the staff stuck around and locked up last night instead of the pastor, so the host were left on the Altar of Repose.

As bad as this sounds, I stuck them in a cabinet in the Sacristy. I knew that is where the old pastor always moved them to after the adoration period was over with. We always had a vigil candle is next to the cabinet. What is the proper thing to do with the hosts if you don’t have them stored in the tabernacle? I did a quick google search from my phone while at church and couldn’t get a straight answer. So I figured I’d throw it out to you folks as you all seem to know what’s going on. Thanks!
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Not sure if this answers your question -

At my church, on Holy Thursday the Blessed Sacrament was transferred from the Tabernacle to the Altar of Repose. To the best of my knowledge, it remained locked within a Tabernacle on the Altar of Repose all of Thursday night and all of Friday until the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion when it was removed for Communion. It was then returned to the Altar of Repose and has remained there all of today (Holy Saturday).

It may have been removed from the Altar of Repose at some point, but I don’t believe that is the case. It’s a bit unfortunate, but at my church the Altar of Repose is quite small and hidden to one side of the main body. It seems that quite a few people don’t realise that the Blessed Sacrament is there (they genuflect towards the main altar - even though the Tabernacle curtain is open and the lamp beside the Tabernacle is unlit - and walk right past the Altar of Repose without any real reflection).
 
Yes, the Blessed Sacrament is left in the Altar of Repose until after the Vigil.

This year we have so many Hosts remaining that Fr. won’t have to consecrate more than a concelebration host on Easter morning (no Vigil in our parish this year).
 
Our tabernacle for the Triduum is not secured to the altar of repose, so it is moved into a cabinet in the sacristy, with a lamp, when the Adoration period is over on Thursday night. Over the years, it has been tucked away in various other places depending on what is available.
 
There is no one answer to this question. Solutions and protocols vary from parish to parish, and depend largely on local circumstances, including the layout of the church and the available resources.

My church (FSSP) has a tabernacle in the sacristy for this purpose. At midnight the Most Holy is removed from the altar of repose and kept in the sacristy tabernacle until it is brought out for communion on Good Friday. After the Liturgy of the Passion (shouldn’t be too many Hosts left by that point), It is returned to the sacristy tabernacle until the end of the Easter Vigil Mass. This same sacristy tabernacle is used to place the Blessed Sacrament when we have a wedding rehearsal, or other non-liturgical events that involve a good deal of conversation within the church. Not many churches have a sacristy tabernacle; I have only seen them in older, larger big-city churches of the Midwest and Northeast.

Other locations of the Blessed Sacrament during the Triduum that I have seen:

—sacristy safe (very common)
—rarely used sacristy closet (sign and candle outside of door, so all know)
—pastor’s office (otherwise unused during this time)
—parish library (same)
—quiet corner of building, in or near sacristy
 
pilots13 said:
As bad as this sounds, I stuck them in a cabinet in the Sacristy. I knew that is where the old pastor always moved them to after the adoration period was over with. We always had a vigil candle is next to the cabinet. What is the proper thing to do with the hosts if you don’t have them stored in the tabernacle? I did a quick google search from my phone while at church and couldn’t get a straight answer. So I figured I’d throw it out to you folks as you all seem to know what’s going on. Thanks!
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I don’t think that was for you to presume to do. You should have told the priest or a deacon that the Blessed Sacrament was still in the tabernacle of repose. And then they would have moved it or deputized you to move it.
 
I actually did call him first and he OKed the cabinet. I ran the question by him too and he said it was fine to put it there. I still was curious to see what others thought and if there was and “official” place it should be put.
 
pilots13 said:
I actually did call him first and he OKed the cabinet. I ran the question by him too and he said it was fine to put it there. I still was curious to see what others thought and if there was and “official” place it should be put.
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I don’t know what happens now , but going back 50 years when I was an altar server after the Good Friday Liturgy the hosts were kept in a safe in the sacristy with a sanctuary lamp burning at the side .
 
pilots13 said:
A question that crossed my mind today when I was packing up all the Holy Thursday decorations and setting up for Good Friday service. Where do the consecrated hosts get stored while the Tabernacle is empty over the Triduum?

I had to move the hosts from the Altar in the chapel, where adoration was held last night, in order to prep the chapel for morning prayers tomorrow morning. Our old pastor had always removed the hosts from the adoration spot (which he used the Tabernacle for (which is on a side Altar)) when he locked up Thursday night. So when I would come back they were already gone. We have a new pastor now who doesn’t live on campus, and one of the staff stuck around and locked up last night instead of the pastor, so the host were left on the Altar of Repose.

As bad as this sounds, I stuck them in a cabinet in the Sacristy. I knew that is where the old pastor always moved them to after the adoration period was over with. We always had a vigil candle is next to the cabinet. What is the proper thing to do with the hosts if you don’t have them stored in the tabernacle? I did a quick google search from my phone while at church and couldn’t get a straight answer. So I figured I’d throw it out to you folks as you all seem to know what’s going on. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Doesn’t your parish have a documented procedure for this? This should have been well known to everyone. The Blessed Sacrament should not be reserved inside the church after Maundy Thursday Mass. That does not mean that the Blessed Sacrament cannot be reserved in a tabernacle located in a secured parish hall, library or chapel outside of the church.

I’m not sure where you chapel is located and what sort of “prep” you have to do for morning prayer but it sounds like leaving the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle of repose is superior to some cabinet in the sacristy. There is no reason why morning prayer could not be completed in the presence of the reposed Blessed Sacrament.
 
Ours were kept in the vestry.

The artificial candle was the best we could do. The thurible has set off the smoke detector in the vestry before and so instead of a real flame we used one of those little battery operated jobbers.

-Tim-
 
In my parish on Holy Thursday all ciboria except one were placed in the sacristy safe with a sanctuary candle placed on top of it. The one remaining ciborium was processed from the main altar to a tabernacle at a side altar in the church where it remained until midnight. At midnight of Good Friday it was then placed in the safe in the sacristy with the others.
 
Ours went in the Sacristy Safe with a Sanctuary Lamp as well, then before Good Friday they got moved to a Portable Tebernacle which was placed in the Sacristy.
 
Many perfectly “orthodox” parishes use a cupboard in the sacristy, or the parish safe, and keep a vigil lamp burning nearby.
 
Jegudiel said:
Doesn’t your parish have a documented procedure for this? This should have been well known to everyone. The Blessed Sacrament should not be reserved inside the church after Maundy Thursday Mass. That does not mean that the Blessed Sacrament cannot be reserved in a tabernacle located in a secured parish hall, library or chapel outside of the church.

I’m not sure where you chapel is located and what sort of “prep” you have to do for morning prayer but it sounds like leaving the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle of repose is superior to some cabinet in the sacristy. There is no reason why morning prayer could not be completed in the presence of the reposed Blessed Sacrament.
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No, we actually don’t have any official procedures for most anything. Most people who do things (aka me and the decorations, the music, the heavenly housekeepers, etc) just kinda do what they want. Even more so now that our priest is no longer living on the parish campus (we are clustered). Our chapel is in the church basement, so the Altar of Repose is not in the church body (though it was the past 10 years till this past Holy Thur) and the Tabernacle was empty till the Vigil. Our new pastor, in addition to moving the Altar or Repose, started back up the tradition of morning prayer Fri and Sat morning (Fri was at our clustered parish, and Sat was at my parish. Between the low # of people who were likely to attend (we had about 30) and me and my crew starting the process of putting the Easter decorations upstairs, morning prayers were held in the chapel, and I felt it was appropriate that it be stripped for the Tridum much like the main church was for services. Thus the Altar of Repose had to come down.

I guess my overall impression from this thread is you can put it anywhere safe, as long as a candle is burning next to it, but if you wanted to take it to the next level you’d make a temporary Tabernacle outside the church body for the whole time the main one is empty.
 
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