Devotion to the Blood of Christ Until the Nineteenth Century
"For you know that the price of your ransom from the futile way of life handed down from your ancestors was paid, not in anything perishable like silver or gold, but in precious blood as of a blameless and spotless lamb, Christ." (1 Pet 1:19)
This is only one quotation among the New Testament texts that state the value of the Blood of Christ, since the beginning of the Church.
The Fathers and writers of the Church did not fail to study the statements of sacred texts with special reference to redemption (humanity was bought back by Jesus with his blood), to covenant (the blood of Jesus is the sign of the new covenant) and to expiation (the blood of Jesus purifies humanity of sin.) The saving power of this "precious blood", exalted in the sources of revelation, has resulted in the blood of Christ's becoming an object of special devotion in Christian piety. This devotion toward the precious blood was a consequence of the "liturgical renewal" that came about during the high Middle Ages, with the conversion of "barbarian" peoples to the Christian faith. These peoples felt the need of a more "humanized" worship. Commemorations of touching episodes of the life of Christ, processions and various ceremonies, grew up alongside the Mass, the only form of public worship until that time.
In this climate "devotions" developed, especially a devotion to the humanity of Christ, and therefore, devotion to his Blood. Spiritual writers, theologians, mystics (like St. Bonaventure, Blessed Angela of Foligno, St. Catherine of Siena) nourished this spiritual thirst with their writings. The hymns, sequences, chants and prose texts of this period of Christian literature are rich with references to the Blood of Jesus. Also, the plastic and figurative arts of the high Middle Ages: the Crucifix is often represented with the chalice at its feet; angels who gather in a chalice the blood the flows from the wounds of Jesus; the "mystical bath" in the blood of Christ, etc.
The blood of Christ was an object of reflection in Christian communities also in the theological disputes of the XIV-XV centuries, especially in the controversy of the "Triduum mortis," and in the delicate question of communion under the two species, which tormented the Church so much in the XV-XVI centuries, first with the Hussites and then with the Protestants. The greatest contribution for the spread of the special cult of the blood of Christ was made by the relics of the passion brought from the Orient, many of which were directly or indirectly characterized by blood, and the many miracles of blood (crucifixes, statues, pictures that miraculously shed blood, consecrated hosts in which blood appeared, etc.). Veneration of such relics, especially those of the passion, already existed previously; but in the Middle Ages it received its greatest impulse. Magnificent churches and famous monasteries were erected in honor of these relics. Among the most famous relics of the Most Precious Blood, we recall those of Ferrara, Bolsena, Mantova, Weingarten, Bruges and Fécamp. In their respective places of conservation, they generated great popular interest. Confraternities dedicated to the blood of Christ arose; the institution of popular feasts was promoted with various manifestations of piety, and also the liturgical cult of the Precious Blood was introduced, with proper masses and offices.
Devotion to the Blood of Christ
in to the XIX century
It is in this period that religious institutes dedicated to the spread of devotion to the Most Precious Blood began to spring up, especially in Italy, to the extent that this devotion became a characteristic of Italian spirituality of the 1800's. (D. Barsotti, Devotion, p. 49)
In spite of there being previous noteworthy examples of this devotion (St. Catherine of Siena, Sr. Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi, etc.), it seems that its blossoming in the 1800's in Italy is not directly linked to them. The beginning, in fact, of the first congregation dedicated to the Most Precious Blood (that of the Missionaries of S. Gaspar del Bufalo) is linked to a rather unknown relic, preserved in Rome in the Basilica of St. Nicola in Carcere. It is a presumed shred of the clothing of Longinus, on which there was a spot of blood believed to be that of Christ. In 1808 the Roman priest, Francesco Albertini started a confraternity dedicated to the Most Precious Blood, both to honor that relic, and, even more, to remind the faithful about the redeeming power of the Blood of Christ.
Among Albertini's strongest collaborators from the very beginning, was another Roman priest, Gaspar del Bufalo, destined to become the greatest apostle of the devotion to the Most Precious Blood, in the world. Some years after (1815), Gaspar founded the Institute of the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood, whose members, priests and lay, would give themselves to evangelization through parish missions and retreats. In their ministry the topic of the blood not only was the inspirational reason for their apostolic zeal, but was also the weapon considered the ideal one to open the hearts of the faithful and of the most callous sinners.
This Institute arose as an affiliate of the confraternity of St. Nicola in Carcere, which in the meantime became an archconfraternity.
A women's congregation was also projected, which, after various attempts, was founded in Acuto (Frosinone) by Maria De Mattias in 1834, with the title of "Adorers of the Most Precious Blood", now "Adorers of the Blood of Christ". These two congregations have very close ties with others dedicated to the Most Precious Blood, especially with: the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of Dayton, Ohio (USA), the Sisters of the Precious Blood of Schellenberg (Liechtenstein) and with the Sisters of the Adoration of the Most Precious Blood, of O'Fallon, Missouri, (USA) In addition, they remain the hub of an ever growing expansion of devotion to the Precious Blood in the universal Church (Decree "Redempti Sumus" of Pius IX, of August 10, 1849). The development of this devotion evidently also touched institutes that were not connected to it by their title. For Italy we must mention the congregation of the Passionists, who had its most zealous promoter in St. Vincenzo Maria Strambi. To him we owe the little work "The Month of July Consecrated to the Most Precious Blood of Our Divine Redeemer," written by commission of Gaspar del Bufalo. Also during the 1800's in Italy, devotion to the Most Precious Blood will touch two figures of significant fame: Maddalena di Canossa and Antonio Rosmini. These two founders are united, through this devotion, by the writing of the "Seven Commemorations," whose authorship is uncertain (Canossa or Rosmini?), but whose comments are probably by Canossa. Now the Seven Commemorations are the Seven Bloodsheddings which are found in St. Vincenzo Maria Strambi's Month of July, although in a different formulation. It is difficult to show how this devotion, which is found in the wake of devotions to particular aspects of Christ's humanity, was lived and promoted in religious institutes. While it is certain that the element of reparation is present, and a diversity of emphases among its various promoters (Gaspar del Bufalo, Vincenzo Maria Strambi, Rosmini), the necessary specific studies that permit us to put a finger on its meaning are absent. The re admission of the faithful to Eucharistic Communion under the two species following Vatican Council II (SC 55), as well as recent systematic studies published by F. Vattioni, help us rediscover the anthropologic value of the sign of the blood and the centrality of the Blood of Christ in salvation history.