Vox Clamantis: June 2025 — Corpus Christi in Dundee

In the 15th century, Corpus Christi processions were participated in by the whole town and the crafts guilds in particular had well-defined roles in them. The focus of the procession was obviously the Blessed Sacrament but following on behind came the guilds with various representations of saints linked to them. The feast of Corpus Christi did not survive 1560, but the procession had been such a part of town life that the cordiners determined to keep it going in some form. The days of Corpus Christi processions in Scotland in their mediaeval form with all their exuberance, or even, in the more sobre modern manner, on the scale of former years are, to a large extent, over — for the moment. The few that still take place are comprised of scores rather than thousands, which is surely not the purpose of a public procession. Tradi tional Catholics can almost never have them. Nonetheless, if we do not share the erstwhile success of these public professions of faith, we can still participate in the living faith of former ages in our hearts, families and in our churches.