[Blog updated May 3, 2023]

Hey there Catholic liturgical geeks! Did you notice something a little different at Mass this past week? If not, I’ll just spill the beans, so-to-speak. We replaced the glass ciborium in the Tabernacle with a metal ciborium. I wanted to share why this change has taken place and explain the reasons behind the decision a bit.

To start, many of you — especially those who weren’t part of the parish when the new (current) church was built in 2000-2001 — might not know why we had a glass ciborium in the first place. It just so happens that our church’s architect, Dave Richen, was also one of my instructors at Mount Angel Abbey when I was a seminarian in the 90’s. He taught a fantastic, eye-opening class on art and architecture in the Church and shared many of his beautiful and innovative ideas, several of which he would use a few years later when designing the “new” Holy Trinity Church.

One such idea was the use of a glass ciborium in a tabernacle that had an inner glass door that locked/ unlocked separately from the tabernacle’s outer doors. This would allow the people, if they desired, to open the tabernacle’s outer doors and see the Blessed Sacrament in the ciborium — secured behind the interior glass door — as they prayed. It was a very creative solution.

In Catholic churches throughout the country, glass or crystal chalices were frequently used for decades. Similar to Richen’s idea with the glass ciborium, the advantage was that the community could see the wine being poured, and, if it was red wine, it would be a more profound visual symbol of the Blood of Christ.

I used them for many years when I was the pastor at St. Anthony in Forest Grove. During my time there, several chalices were broken in the simple process of cleaning and storing them. In short order, we ended up using a mish-mash of different chalices.

In 2003, the Church promulgated a new edition of the General Instructions to the Roman Missal (though the acronym is written as “the GIRM,” it’s verbally referred to as “the Germ”). This is basically the “how-to” for Mass. In the section on “Sacred Vessels,” it specifies what material should be used:

“Sacred vessels should be made from precious metal. . . [or] from other solid materials which in the common estimation in each region are considered precious or noble. . .provided that such materials are suitable for sacred use. In this case, preference is always to be given to materials that do not easily break or deteriorate” (GIRM, 328-329).

It was thus determined by then-Archbishop Vlazny that all glass chalices and ciboria should be phased out. Over the years, the GIRM and Archdiocesan guidelines have offered other adaptations/corrections to previous local traditions. You’ll find throughout the Archdiocese that some changes were immediately implemented and some are still being phased in. To that effect, some time ago I had mentioned in passing at a daily Mass that we would move away from our own use of glass vessels when the timing was right and the funds were available.

Many of you may be asking, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?” That’s a fair question, and we’re definitely fortunate that it wasn’t broken in the past 22 years! Quite simply (and independent of my earlier comments), in late January we received a donation that the donor specifically wanted used to purchase liturgical items. The timing was right and the funds were available, so we ordered the new ciborium which arrived (finally!) last Wednesday.

So, there you have it! I’m happy to dive deeper on this topic with you, whether or not you’re a Catholic liturgical geek (like me!) or answer any other questions you may have. I pray that the celebration of Mass brings you hope and joy as you hear the Word proclaimed and the Eucharist broken and distributed this weekend — especially for the nearly 100 children celebrating their First Holy Communion!

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor