Reception of Communion in the Hand - A Brief History
The reception of Holy Communion in the hand has a long but evolving history in the Catholic Church. It was the common practice in the early centuries, accompanied by strong emphasis on reverence and care against profanation. It gradually gave way to reception on the tongue (with the minister placing the Host) for reasons of heightened devotion to the Real Presence. This became the universal norm in the Latin Church from roughly the 9th century onward. In the late 20th century, an indult (exception to the norm) was granted in many countries where the practice had already spread illicitly, allowing reception in the hand as an option alongside the traditional method. No encyclical has directly addressed the manner of reception; the key documents are instructions from the Congregation for Divine Worship (now Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments) and related norms.
Early Church (1st–8th/9th Centuries): Widespread Reception in the Hand
In the first eight centuries or so, receiving the Eucharist in the hand was the ordinary practice in both East and West. The faithful typically approached with hands extended and joined (often described as forming a “throne” or cross), received the Host in the palm of the left (or dominant) hand, and then consumed it themselves. Great care was taken to avoid losing any particles, which were treated as the Body of Christ.
Key patristic witnesses include:
Tertullian (North Africa, c. 155–220) refers to Christians touching the Eucharist with the same hands used in daily life, in a context of warning against idolatry.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem (or possibly his successor John; Jerusalem, mid-4th century) in the Mystagogical Catecheses (5.21) gives detailed instructions: “Make your left hand a throne for the right… hollow your palm, receive the Body of Christ… be careful lest you lose any of it.”
Similar references appear in St. Cyprian, St. Augustine, St. Cyril of Alexandria, and Eastern sources such as Theodore of Mopsuestia and the Apostolic Constitutions. The Council of Constantinople (Trullo, 692) even prefers human hands (made in God’s image) over gold vessels for receiving the Eucharist.
The practice was reverent and regulated: the minister (priest or deacon) placed the Host in the communicant’s hand, and self-communication at home (for Viaticum during persecution) was also known but later restricted to clergy for better safeguarding. No evidence suggests it was seen as irreverent at the time; the opposite is true.
Transition to Reception on the Tongue (6th–9th Centuries)
As devotion to the Real Presence deepened (especially after controversies and clearer theological articulation), the Church shifted toward greater external signs of reverence. The task of distributing the Eucharist was increasingly reserved to clergy, and the custom of the minister placing the Host directly on the tongue became standard.
In Rome, this is attested from the 6th century.
In Gaul (France), it became normative by the 9th century.
The Synod (or Council) of Rouen in 878 explicitly decreed: “Let not the Eucharist be put in the hand of any lay man or woman, but only in the mouth.” This was a local measure to curb abuses and safeguard the sacrament, but it reflected a broader Western trend. By the High Middle Ages, only the priest’s consecrated hands were considered fitting to touch the Host (see St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae III, q. 82, a. 3). Kneeling and reception on the tongue became the universal Latin practice, emphasizing adoration.
Eastern Churches retained (and still largely retain) reception in the hand or by intinction, often standing.
From the Middle Ages to the Mid-20th Century: On the Tongue as the Sole Norm
Reception on the tongue while kneeling was the only ordinary way in the Latin Church for over a thousand years. This was not a conciliar mandate for the universal Church but a deeply entrenched custom rooted in reverence. The Council of Trent (Session 21) and later liturgical books presupposed it. No official document before the 1960s contemplated a return to the hand as a general practice.
The 1960s Revival and Illicit Spread
In the early 1960s, the practice of receiving in the hand re-emerged in parts of Europe (especially the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Germany) without Holy See approval. It spread as a form of liturgical experimentation, sometimes linked to a desire for “active participation” or perceived antiquity. This was an abuse of the existing discipline.
Memoriale Domini (29 May 1969) – The Key Vatican Response
Pope St. Paul VI ordered a worldwide consultation of bishops on whether to permit the change. The results (reported in Memoriale Domini, issued by the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship) were overwhelmingly negative:
1,233 bishops: No change.
597: Yes.
315: Yes with reservations.
Paul VI decided: “This method of distributing holy communion [on the tongue] must be retained… not merely because it has many centuries of tradition behind it, but especially because it expresses the faithful’s reverence for the Eucharist… [and] removes the danger of profanation.”
He acknowledged the ancient practice but noted the later development was driven by “a greater feeling of reverence” and “deeper humility.” However, where the contrary usage (in the hand) had already taken root and could not easily be suppressed, episcopal conferences could request an indult by secret vote with a two-thirds majority. Any indult required Holy See confirmation and strict conditions (detailed in an accompanying letter En réponse à la demande):
The new method must not exclude the traditional one.
Gradual introduction with thorough catechesis emphasizing reverence and the danger of profanation.
The communicant must consume the Host immediately in the minister’s presence.
Special care for fragments (use of paten/communion plate).
No self-intinction or passing the Host hand-to-hand.
Reports to Rome after six months.
The document explicitly warned of risks: loss of faith in the Real Presence, profanation, and doctrinal confusion.
Granting of Indults (1969 Onward)
Indults were granted first to countries where the abuse was entrenched:
Belgium (31 May 1969)
France and Germany (June 1969)
Netherlands, Bolivia, etc. (September–October 1969)
Canada (1970)
United States: The U.S. bishops voted in favor in 1977; the Holy See approved the indult on 17 June 1977 (effective with proper catechesis). It has remained in force, and the practice is now widespread (though the universal norm remains on the tongue).
By the 1980s–1990s, most Latin-rite conferences had obtained the indult (over 50 countries/regions by the late 1970s, eventually nearly all). In some places (e.g., parts of Italy, the Philippines at times), it was later restricted or rescinded locally. A few territories (e.g., Sri Lanka, some individual dioceses) never received or later revoked the indult and retain only on the tongue.
Subsequent Documents Confirming the Norm and Conditions
Inaestimabile Donum (Congregation for Divine Worship, 1980, under John Paul II): Reiterates that the faithful may not self-communicate or pass the Host to one another.
Redemptionis Sacramentum (Congregation for Divine Worship, 25 March 2004): “Each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue, at his choice.” Where the indult exists, the Host must be administered by the minister into the hand; the communicant must consume it immediately in the minister’s presence. If there is any risk of profanation, Communion in the hand is not to be given. The communion plate/paten should be retained.
The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) and national adaptations reflect the same: where permitted, both options exist, but the communicant’s choice (including kneeling and on the tongue) may never be refused.
Present Day (as of 2026)
In the vast majority of Latin-rite dioceses worldwide, both reception on the tongue (the universal norm) and in the hand (by indult, now often incorporated into local law) are permitted. The faithful may choose freely; no one may be forced into one or the other (though temporary restrictions, e.g., during pandemics, have occurred in some places and sparked controversy). Some bishops and dioceses strongly encourage or prefer on the tongue for reverence. A small number of countries or dioceses have never permitted or have suppressed the hand option.
No encyclical has altered this disciplinary framework; it remains governed by the 1969 instruction, subsequent clarifications, and local implementations. The Church continues to stress that reverence, faith in the Real Presence, and avoidance of profanation are paramount, regardless of the method.
This history shows continuity in the Church’s concern for the dignity of the Eucharist, even as external disciplines have adapted. The early practice was reverent; the later norm arose from deeper awareness of the mystery; the modern indult is a limited concession, not a return to antiquity without safeguards.
Sourcing
Tertullian, De Corona, ch. 3 (c. A.D. 211). References Christians handling the Eucharist and warns against sacrilegious inconsistency.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem (or John of Jerusalem), Mystagogical Catecheses, 5.21–22 (PG 33:1125–1128). Instruction to form the left hand as a “throne” and guard against loss of fragments.
St. Cyprian of Carthage, De Lapsis, 26 (PL 4:488–489). Reference to Eucharistic handling in persecution context.
St. Augustine, Sermon 227 (PL 38:1099). Admonition regarding reverence toward the Eucharist and careful reception.
Theodore of Mopsuestia, Catechetical Homilies, 16.27–30.
Apostolic Constitutions, VIII.13 (late 4th century). Early liturgical description of Eucharistic distribution.
Council in Trullo (Quinisext Council), Canon 101 (A.D. 692). Prefers receiving in the hand rather than using gold vessels in certain contexts.
Synod of Rouen (A.D. 878), Canon (variously cited in medieval canonical collections). Prohibits giving the Eucharist into the hand of laypersons.
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, III, q. 82, a. 3. Argues that touching the consecrated species pertains to the ordained priest by reason of consecration.
Council of Trent, Session 21 (July 16, 1562), ch. 2 and canons on Communion under one species. Assumes reception on the tongue and affirms the Church’s authority over sacramental discipline.
Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship, Memoriale Domini (29 May 1969). Official Vatican instruction retaining Communion on the tongue as normative while permitting indults.
Ibid. Statistical consultation of bishops: 1,233 against change; 597 in favor; 315 in favor with reservations.
Ibid. Affirmation that reception on the tongue expresses reverence and reduces danger of profanation.
En réponse à la demande (1969), accompanying letter to episcopal conferences outlining conditions for granting indults.
Indult approvals:
Belgium (31 May 1969)
France and Germany (June 1969)
Netherlands (September 1969)
Canada (1970)
United States (approved 17 June 1977)
Congregation for Divine Worship, Inaestimabile Donum (3 April 1980), no. 9. Prohibits self-communication and passing the Host among the faithful.
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Redemptionis Sacramentum (25 March 2004), nos. 90–94. Affirms the right of the faithful to receive on the tongue and establishes conditions for Communion in the hand.
General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) (current typical edition), nos. 160–161 and national adaptations. Regulates posture and method of reception.
Code of Canon Law (1983), can. 838 §§1–4. Establishes episcopal conference authority over liturgical adaptations subject to Holy See confirmation.
Historical scholarship:
Josef A. Jungmann, The Mass of the Roman Rite, vol. 2 (Westminster, MD: Christian Classics, 1986).
Adrian Fortescue, The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy (1912; repr. 2007).
Enrico Mazza, The Celebration of the Eucharist (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1999).
On fragment reverence and paten usage: Redemptionis Sacramentum, no. 93; cf. GIRM 118, 160.
On temporary pandemic restrictions and episcopal authority: Congregation for Divine Worship circular letters (2020) and related diocesan decrees (various jurisdictions).
