transubstantiatio
Transubstantiation
tran-sub-stan-shee-AY-shun
The Church's name for what happens at the consecration — the whole substance of the bread and wine is changed into Christ's Body and Blood while the appearances remain.
a change of substance
The Council of Trent taught that by the consecration “a change is brought about of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood,” and that the Church “fittingly and properly” calls this change transubstantiation. The bread and wine still look, taste and weigh the same — their “accidents” or appearances remain — but what they are has changed entirely. The word does not explain how; it names what the Church has always believed happens.
Not to be confused with Consubstantial.
Councils
Where the Church settled or debated this. Follow a council to read our article on it, or the decrees themselves.
- 1215Fourth Lateran Councilthe decrees
- 1545–1563Council of Trentthe decrees
Sources
Primary sources
- Council of Trent, Session 13, Decree on the Most Holy EucharistCouncil of Trent, Session 13 (11 October 1551), Decree on the Most Holy Eucharist, ch. 4 and canon 2, in Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, vol. 2, ed. Norman P. Tanner (1990), pp. 695, 697.
Sources checked 29 September 2026