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Gluten Free Eucharist


If you are allergic to wheat gluton (Celiac Disease‎) and cannot take communion in the form of a normal host, two options are:

 

  • Take communion from the cup, without taking a host.
    Many people only take communion only in the form of the host, and likewise you can take communion only from the cup.
     

  • Take a host that is so low in gluten that is does not bother most people with gluten allergies. 

To use a "gluten-free" host at St. Pius X masses:

 

  1. Please bring the host to Mass in a pyx which we can supply.
    If this is your first time or you do not have a host with you, we keep extras in the sacristy freezer.
     

  2. Bring the pyx to the Sacristy before Mass so that it can be placed on the altar for consecration. 
     

  3. At Communion please get in the line for the presiding priest of the Mass. He will have the pyx in his Communion bowl.

 

We keep a small supply of low-gluten hosts in a freezer in the Sacristy for anyone who has not yet ordered their own supply.

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For information about the low gluten host or to order, call the Benedictine Sisters of Perptual Adoration at 1-800-223-2772, or click here to visit their website and to order.

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Information about the low gluten hosts from the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration:

 

  • "These special hosts are indeed made according to the requirements of both the Code of Canon Law (c.924) and the special considerations set out by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, in his July 24, 2003 letter to the Presidents of Episcopal Conferences (Prot. N. 89/78-17498) and may be validly used at Mass in the diocese of the United States with appropriate permission."
     

  • "The Celiac community's response to us (the Benedictine Sisters)… Since we began selling these breads we have served over 2000 celiac sufferers. Our low gluten altar breads were featured in an article in the magazine Gluten-Free Living. The editorial and accompanying write-up cited data from the Center for Celiac Research that showed that the less than 0.01% gluten content of our breads would be perfectly safe for most celiacs. The article states:

    The measurement cited here, 0.01%, represents 100 PPMs (parts per million). But the more important number is 37 micrograms, because it is daily exposure to gluten that counts. The best current information shows that 10 milligrams a day should be safe.
    Ten milligrams is the same as 10,000 micrograms. If you divide 37 micrograms into 10,000 micrograms, you will find that you would have to eat 270 wafers every day to reach the danger point. At most, celiacs would consume one wafer per day or about 0.04% (four tenths of one percent) of the amount considered dangerous."

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