Fr. Innocent Smith explores the origins and theological significance of the Feast of Corpus Christi, emphasizing how liturgical tradition, scriptural foundations, and figures like Saint Juliana of Liège shape the Church’s understanding and celebration of the Eucharist.

This lecture was given on October 25th, 2024, at Dominican House of Studies.

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About the Speaker:

Fr. Innocent Smith, O.P. entered the Order of Preachers in 2008 and was ordained to the priesthood in 2015. From 2015 to 2018, Fr. Innocent served as parochial vicar at the Parish of St. Vincent Ferrer and St. Catherine of Siena in New York City. From 2018 to 2021, he lived in Munich while completing a doctorate in liturgical studies at the University of Regensburg. From 2021 to 2023, Fr. Innocent served as Assistant Professor of Homiletics at St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore. In 2023, he joined the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception.

Fr. Innocent’s teaching and research interests include liturgy, homiletics, sacramental theology, ecclesiology, and sacred music. His S.T.L. thesis, “In Collecta Dicitur: The Oration as a Theological Authority for Thomas Aquinas,” explored the importance of the liturgy as a source for scholastic theology. His monograph Bible Missals and the Medieval Dominican Liturgy focuses on medieval manuscripts of the Bible that also contain liturgical texts for the celebration of Mass.

This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63391 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Keywords: Christian Liturgy, Corpus Christi, Dei Verbum, Eucharist, Incarnation, Liturgical Year, Mystery of the Eucharist, Saint Juliana of Liège, Acts of the Apostles, First Corinthians