This early 20th century portrayal of a Corpus Christi procession in Santa Fe, New Mexico is by John French Sloan, an Easterner who routinely spent the summers in Santa Fe. It is oil on canvas and measures 30 X 36 inches. It was auctioned by Christie's (auctioneer) in 2016 and is in a private collection.
One of the most beautiful of Catholic devotional practices is the Corpus Christi procession. After mass, the priest carries a monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament held high through the nearby streets while the faithful sing Eucharistic hymns such as Tantum Ergo and Pange Lingua and make the sign of the Cross.
The image above depicts such a procession in Peru during the late Spanish Colonial period. It is oil on canvas and measures about 38 by 96 inches. It can be found in the Lima Museum, Lima, Peru.
This Thursday, June 4, is the Feast of Corpus Christi. Orange or golden flowers seem particularly suitable. The color of the vestments and altar frontals is white. A church flower book by Katherine Morrison McClinton (an Anglican/ Episcopalian) says that "yellow and white or white and gold are the appropriate flowers" for Corpus Christi. She suggests using Shasta daisies, calla lilies, or white and yellow roses. See the post Orange Flowers for Church Decoration for more information. (It includes golden flowers as well as orange).
Also, please see Gemma's altar flowers for Corpus Christi.
Source for text:
McClinton, Katherine Morrison, Flower Arrangement in the Church (Morehouse-Gorham Co., New York, 1958), p. 97.
Image:
A yellow rose, from Wikimedia Commons. Some rights reserved (Click for license.)
